Viktoria Nikolaus

Q&A: Bold Research in the Southern Ocean – with Viktoria Nikolaus

Thanks to the generous support of donors including The Amar-Franses & Foster-Jenkins Trust, Viktoria Nikolaus is pursuing climate research as part of her PhD at UEA. Viktoria, a member of the Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Associate Tutor in the Faculty of Science, is working alongside Professor Karen Heywood OBE FRS to study the Southern Ocean using autonomous underwater vehicles known as Seagliders.

Her research deepens our understanding of how oceans influence the global climate and highlights the vital role philanthropic support plays in enabling students and researchers to take on bold, world-changing work.

Can you tell us about your research with Professor Karen Heywood, and what excites you most about it?

I’m working with Professor Heywood to study the Southern Ocean using autonomous underwater vehicles called Seagliders. Our research focuses on understanding how this region influences the global climate. What I find most exciting is the opportunity to use new technology to gather data in areas that are still not well studied. It’s a chance to contribute to our knowledge of how the ocean and climate systems interact.

“Having Viktoria working in the group has made a huge difference to our progress and effectiveness. She’s already got some super interesting results about the water coming out from underneath the Larsen Ice Shelf, and is busy writing a paper on this. Her enthusiasm is infectious – she’s currently at sea gaining skills in ocean observing, and has been helping in the glider lab too. This will open up new opportunities for her career.”

- Professor Karen Heywood OBE FRS

What first sparked your interest in ocean science and climate research?

I’ve always been interested in environmental issues, and as I learned more, I realised how important the ocean is to the climate. It plays a key role in absorbing heat and carbon and shaping weather patterns. That connection made ocean science feel like an area where I could contribute to work that has real-world relevance.

Your work involves autonomous Seagliders — how do these help us better understand the changing climate?

Seagliders help us collect data in parts of the ocean that are hard to reach with ships. They can operate for months at a time and at multiple locations, which gives us more consistent and wide-ranging data. This helps improve our understanding of how the ocean is changing and how those changes relate to climate.

What kind of data do the Seagliders collect, and how might this help us predict or even reduce the impact of climate change?

They measure things like temperature, salinity, oxygen, and chlorophyll. These are important for understanding how the ocean stores heat and carbon, and how ecosystems are responding to change. By feeding this data into climate models, we can improve predictions and support better decision-making around climate adaptation and policy.

If you could change one thing about how we study or protect the oceans, what would it be?

I think we need more long-term support for ocean observing. Reliable, long-term data is essential for detecting trends and understanding changes over time, but it often depends on short-term funding. More consistent investment and collaboration would help make sure we’re not missing important changes.

UEA’s Dare to Do Different campaign is all about bold thinking. How does that spirit shape your work?

Working in the polar regions with autonomous platforms means taking on technical and logistical challenges, so there’s already an element of doing things differently. At UEA, there’s a strong culture of collaboration and openness to new ideas, which helps support that kind of work.

Your PhD is supported by The Amar-Franses & Foster-Jenkins Trust. What difference has that support made to you and your research?

This generous support from The Amar-Franses & Foster-Jenkins Trust has made it possible for me to do my PhD. It covers the personal and academic costs of my studies. That’s allowed me to focus on the research full-time and be part of a project that contributes to our understanding of the climate system.