"The ocean covers two-thirds of the earth’s surface, contain about 97% of all the water on the planet’s surface and form 99% of the habitable space. The photosynthetic life within the oceans provides half of the oxygen in the atmosphere and the balance of both gases and energy in the atmosphere is strongly tied to the biogeochemical cycles of the oceans. It is therefore essential that we monitor as much of the oceans as we can, as often as we can, in as much detail as we can. It is a pleasure to tackle this challenging problem as part of the remote sensing and earth observation team at PML, in collaboration with peers at institutes around the world."
I joined the PML group following my PhD (Earth Sciences, University of Oxford) as a scientist within the Earth Observation and Satellite Applications group. Since then, I have become involved in a variety of projects and was promoted to Senior Scientist as I increased my scientific and institutional responsibilities.
My research interests include the creation and validation of remotely sensed data and ocean colour products, the improvement of bio-optical algorithms and primary production models, and the response of phytoplankton to climate forcing.
I have experience in tutoring, staff management, laboratory-based optics measurements and research-cruise planning and execution. I have also built computational models for primary production, and modular systems for large scale data processing for scientific research and operational services.
For much of the last seven years I have worked on large scale ocean-colour remote-sensing data processing, particularly the generation and validation of products for the European Space Agency as part of the Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI). I have also focused on the development, use and interpretation of optical water classes for ocean-colour remote sensing.
I manage, or have managed in the past, multiple projects/work packages for the European Space agency (ESA), the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Commission Copernicus and Horizons 2020 Programmes, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
In addition to working on scientific projects and publishing papers most scientists also perform a number of roles beyond their institute. In my case these professional activities have included reviewing journal articles, giving invited lectures (such as the ESA Dragon Training Course), Chairing conference sessions and giving scientific advice on topics such as new satellite sensors (TRUTHS), Eutrophication (GEO Blue Planet), and model-data intercomparisons (CBIOMES).
United Nations Environment Programme Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme (UNEP TWAP)
Ocean Colour Multi-Mission Algorithm Prototype System (OMAPS)
View more publications on our repository Using a sensor attached to surfboard to measure sea temperatures. Used as cover image for Scientific American article: https://bit.ly/SurfingForScience
