Climate change impacts on the Antarctic coastal ocean carbon sink (BAKKERD_U26ENVTS)
Key details
- Application deadline
- 22 July 2026 (midnight UK time)
- Location
- UEA
- Funding type
- Competition funded project (Home students only)
- Start date
- 1 October 2026
- Mode of study
- Full-time
- Programme type
- PhD
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Project description
Dr Tristan Sjoeberg Postgraduate Scholarship
Primary Supervisor - Professor Dorothee Bakker(opens in a new window)
Scientific background
The Southern Ocean takes up about 10% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by human activity, thus slowing down climate change. Investigation of the unique year-round Rothera CO2 timeseries (2010-2020) has highlighted how wintertime sea ice cover controls CO2 uptake by Antarctic coastal waters [1]. Rapid sea ice decline, strong glacial melt and warming raise concerns on how these climate-driven changes will impact future CO2 uptake by these polar waters.
Project objectives
The project objectives are to extend the Rothera carbonate chemistry timeseries through a period of rapid sea ice decline, to explore the effect of changes in sea ice extent on ocean CO2 uptake and to investigate climate change impacts on ocean CO2 uptake at Rothera and along the Antarctic Peninsula.
Research methodology
In this varied project you will be trained in and carry out carbonate chemistry analyses at the University of East Anglia, while extending the Rothera (https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/rats/) timeseries forwards. You will explore the effects of variable sea ice and of a shift to a long-term low sea ice regime on ocean CO2 uptake for Rothera. You will identify any long-term changes in ocean CO2 uptake along the Antarctic Peninsula using data from Rothera, SOCAT (www.socat.info) and mapped CO2 products, while determining the drivers of these changes from the oceanographic data, as well as satellite and reanalysis products.
Training
You will develop skills in chemical analysis, data processing, visualisation and interpretation using coding (Python or Matlab). You will collaborate with the dynamic Rothera science team via your supervisor at the National Oceanography Centre (https://noc.ac.uk/). You will present the research findings at national and international scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed publications. Fieldwork is not part of this project, however, there may be opportunities for it.
Person specification
We seek an enthusiastic, pro-active team player with strong scientific interests, self-motivation, combining an aptitude for practical research with numerical skills. You will have a degree in natural sciences, environmental sciences, physics, or similar subject.
Shortlisting and interviews will take place shortly after the application deadline, with outcomes communicated to successful candidates by 14 August 2026. Applicants who have not heard by this date should assume that their application has not been taken forward on this occasion.
Entry requirements
The minimum entry requirement is 2:1 in Natural Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physics, or similar subject.
Funding
This project is in a competition for a funded studentship and is open to Home applicants only. Funding covers tuition fees, an annual tax-free stipend (£21,805 in 2026/27) and an annual research and training allowance of £4,000.
References
i) Droste, E. S., Bakker, D. C. E., Venables, H. J. V., Jones, E. M., Meredith, M. P., Dall’Olmo, G., Hoppema, M., Legge, O. J., Lee, G. A., Queste, B. (2025) Sea ice controls net ocean uptake of carbon dioxide by regulating wintertime stratification. Communications Earth and Environment 6: 457. doi:10.1038/s43247-025-02395-x.
ii) Dong, Y., Bakker, D C. E., Bell, T. G., Yang, M., Landschützer, P., Hauck, J., Rödenbeck, C., Kitidis, V., Bushinsky, S. M., and Liss, P. S. (2024) Direct observational evidence of strong CO2 uptake in the Southern Ocean. Science Advances 10, 10 pp. eadn5781, doi:10.1126/sciadv.adn5781.
iii) Droste, E. S., Hoppema, M., González-Dávila, M., Santana-Casiano, J. M., Queste, B. Y., Dall’Olmo, G., Venables, H. J. V., Rohardt, G., Ossebaar, S., Schuller, D., Trace-Kleeberg, S., Bakker, D. C. E. (2022) The influence of tides on the marine carbonate chemistry of a coastal polynya in the south-eastern Weddell Sea. Ocean Science 18(5), 1293-1320, doi:10.5194/os-18-1293-2022.
iv) Meyer, M. G., Portela, E., Smith Jr., W. O., and Heywood, K. J. (2025) Critical uncoupling between biogeochemical stocks and rates in Ross Sea springtime production–export dynamics, Ocean Science, 21, 1223–1236, doi:10.5194/os-21-1223-2025.
v) Legge, O. J., Bakker, D. C. E., Meredith, M. P, Venables, H. J., Brown, P. J., Jones, E. M., Johnson, M. T. (2017) The seasonal cycle of carbonate system processes in Ryder Bay, West Antarctic Peninsula. Deep-Sea Research II 139: 167-180. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.11.006.