Dr James Clark is a Senior Scientist who works within the Marine Systems Modelling Group at PML. He has a Masters degree in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of York, and a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia, where he studied under the primary supervision of Prof. Andrew Watson FRS. Before moving to PML in 2013, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher with Prof. Tim Lenton at the University of Exeter.
His research interests span a range of topics, including evolutionary adaptation and acclimation in phytoplankton, marine ecology, marine biogeochemistry, marine pollution and machine learning for automatic plankton identification.
He leads the NERC-funded Automated Plankton Imaging and Classification System (APICS) project (2022 – 2024), in which two automated plankton imaging systems are being configured for remote deployment in the Western English Channel. He is also the PML Principle Investigator (PI) and Work Package 5 Lead for the Horizon Europe New Copernicus Capability for Trophic Ocean Networks (NECCTON) project (2023 – 2027), which is co-funded by Innovate UK; and PML PI for UK Regional Environmental Prediction project, which is led by the UK Met Office (2017 –). Previously, he was the PI for the Copernicus Climate Change Marine, Coastal and Fisheries Sectoral Information System project (2018 – 2019).
Over the past decade, he has also actively contributed to projects based around using particle tracking models to study ocean connectivity. He is the lead developer of the particle tracking model PyLag, which he has used to study the fate of plastic, seaweed detritus and sediments in the ocean.
In February 2023, his publications had received > 2500 citations with a h-index of 18 (Google Scholar).
PML PI and Work Package 5 Lead for the Horizon Europe New Copernicus Capability for Trophic Ocean Networks (NECCTON) project (2023 – 2027).
PI for the NERC Automated Plankton Imaging and Classification System (APICS) project (2022 – 2024),
PML PI for UK Regional Environmental Prediction project (2017 - ).
PI for the Copernicus Climate Change Marine, Coastal and Fisheries Sectoral Information System project (2018 – 2019).
PML PI for the Economics of Marine Plastic Pollution: What are the benefits of International Cooperation project (2019 – 2023)
- Kerr, T., Clark, J. R., Fileman, E. S., Widdicombe, C. E. and Pugeault, N. (2020) Collaborative deep learning models to handle class imbalance in FlowCam plankton imagery. IEEE Access, 8, pp. 170013-170032.
- Schmidt, K., Birchill, A. J., Atkinson, A., Brewin, R. J. W., Clark, J. R. et al., 2020. Increasing picocyanobacteria success in shelf waters contributes to long-term food web degradation. Global Change Biology, 26: 5574– 5587.
- Clark, J. R., Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Fileman, E., Blackford, J., Lewis, C. Lenton, T. M., Galloway, T. S. 2016. Marine microplastic debris: a targeted plan for understanding and quantifying interactions with marine life. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 14, 317-324.
- Cole, M., Lindeque, P. K., Fileman, E., Clark, J. R., Lewis, C., Halsband, C., Galloway, T. S. Microplastics Alter the Properties and Sinking Rates of Zooplankton Faecal Pellets. Environmental Science & Technology, 2016.
- Butenschön, M., Clark, J. R., Aldridge, J. N., Allen, J. I., Artioli, Y., Blackford, J., Bruggeman, J., Cazenave, P., Ciavatta, S., Kay, S., Lessin, G., van Leeuwen, S., van der Molen, J., de Mora, L., Polimene, L., Sailley, S., Stephens, N., Torres, R. ERSEM 15.06: a generic model for marine biogeochemistry and the ecosystem dynamics of the lower trophic levels Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, 2015, 8, 7063-7187.
- Hellweger, F. L., Clegg, R. J., Clark, J. R., Plugge, and J. U., Kreft. 2016. Advancing microbial sciences by individual-based modelling. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 14, 461–471.
Recent publications
- Queiros, AM; Tait, K; Clark, JR; Bedington, M; Pascoe, CK; Torres, R; Somerfield, PJ; Smale, DA; 2022. Identifying and protecting macroalgae detritus sinks toward climate change mitigation. Ecological Applications.
- Omeyer, LCM; Duncan, EM; Aiemsomboon, K; Beaumont, NJ; Bureekul, S; Cao, B; Carrasco, LR; Chavanich, S; Clark, JR; Cordova, MR; Couceiro, F; Cragg, SM; Dickson, N; Failler, P; Ferraro, G; Fletcher, S; Fong, J; Ford, AT; Gutierrez, T; Shahul Hamid, F; Hiddink, JG; Hoa, PT; Holland, SI; Jones, L; Jones, NH; Koldewey, HJ; Lauro, FM; Lee, C; Lewis, M; Marks, D; Matallana-Surget, S; Mayorga-Adame, CG; McGeehan, J; Messer, LF; Michie, L; Miller, MA; Mohamad, ZF; Nor, NHM; Müller, M; Neill, SP; Nelms, SE; Onda, DFL; Ong, JJL; Pariatamby, A; Phang, SC; Quilliam, R; Robins, PE; Salta, M; Sartimbul, A; Shakuto, S; Skov, MW; Taboada, EB.; Todd, PA; Toh, TC; Valiyaveettil, S; Viyakarn, V; Wonnapinij, P; Wood, LE; Yong, CLX; Godley, BJ; 2022. Priorities to inform research on marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia. Science of The Total Environment.
- Kerr, T; Clark, JR; Fileman, ES; Widdicombe, CE; Pugeault, N; 2020. Collaborative Deep Learning Models to Handle Class Imbalance in FlowCam Plankton Imagery. IEEE Access.
- Schmidt, K; Birchill, AJ; Atkinson, A; Brewin, RJW; Clark, JR; Hickman, AE; Johns, DG; Lohan, MC; Milne, A; Pardo, S; Polimene, L; Smyth, TJ; Tarran, GA; Widdicombe, CE; Woodward, EMS; Ussher, SJ; 2020. Increasing picocyanobacteria success in shelf waters contributes to long-term food web degradation. Global Change Biology.
- Schmidt, K; Birchill, AJ; Atkinson, A; Brewin, RJW; Clark, JR; Hickman, AE; Johns, DG; Lohan, MC; Milne, A; Pardo, S; Polimene, L; Smyth, TJ; Tarran, GA; Widdicombe, CE; Woodward, EMS; Ussher, SJ; 2020. Increasing picocyanobacteria success in shelf waters contributes to long-term food web degradation. Global Change Biology.