PML scientist honoured with OBE
4th January 2011
PML research scientist Dr Carol Turley has been awarded an OBE,
for ‘services to science’, in the New Year’s Honours list. Carol,
now a senior research scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, has
worked in marine science for over thirty years, building a
reputation, influencing, those she works with, and inspiring the
next generation of scientists.
“It has been a wonderful privilege to explore
and discover how the oceans work, and to be recognised by this
award is a surprise and an honour. Over the years I have
collaborated with many great scientists and I hope they feel they
can share this award, science is, after all a joint endeavour that
develops over a long period of time. Everyone I have worked with,
both at PML and around the world, is being honoured today”, she
said.
Professor Stephen de Mora, PML’s Chief
Executive, was delighted with the news:
“We at Plymouth Marine Laboratory are
both pleased and proud that Carol Turley has been awarded an OBE in
the 2011 New Years Honours List. Her service to science has been
notable. The oceans used to be considered as a safe repository for
the carbon dioxide generated by fossil fuel combustion; Carol was
one of the first people to consider potential adverse effects this
might have. The ‘other CO2 problem’ is ocean acidification. That
this topic is now so well known and recognised internationally as a
significant issue is in no small part due to Carol Turley.
Initially she promoted scientific investigations of the
effect of increased acidity on marine life and the environment.
Subsequently, she used a science-based approach to advise policy
makers and the general public of the environmental consequences of
ocean acidification. The most recent example of her efforts was
seen at COP16 in Cancun, whereby global leaders took note of this
key topic. This distinction honours many years of dedicated work to
understanding, interpreting, educating, and advising the marine
community, in its broadest sense, of ocean acidification as a
global problem.”