We investigate past, present, and future changes in our dynamic ocean and link this to human societies.

Our Living Ocean is a dynamic multi- and trans-disciplinary group focused on advancing knowledge about our global ocean and inspiring the next generation of ocean stewards.  Our diverse team of researchers are interested in questions including, but not limited to: What is/was the role of oceanic processes in past and present biogeochemical cycles? How can the skeletons of marine organisms record information about ocean conditions as well as their physiology? How does the new mixoplankton paradigm in marine ecology change our understanding of the major drivers of life in the ocean, especially under the climate crisis? How can we enhance and foster ocean literacy to support a healthy and sustainable ocean for future generations?

Our research aligns with Wales’s Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (2015),  the goals of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Under Water), as well as other relevant SDGs and international commitments (e.g. The UN’s ‘Plankton Manifesto’).

Our work takes us physically and metaphorically all around the globe and involves the use of state-of-the-art analytical instruments, observational data collected during scientific cruises, remote sensing, numerical and system dynamics models at a range of scales, as well as social science methodologies to understand human-ocean relationships. We also develop model institutional and policy frameworks and are actively involved in international, national and local coastal and estuary management projects, such as Wales’s first Ocean Literacy Strategy and the local Severn Estuary Strategy through our work with the Severn Estuary Partnership.