Project Description

Primary Supervisor - Professor Dorothee Bakker

Scientific background:

Remote Southern Ocean waters take up ten percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by human activity, effectively slowing down global climate change. Wintertime sea ice cover controls CO2 uptake by Antarctic coastal waters. Recent and ongoing rapid sea ice decline, strong glacial melt and warming raise concerns on how these changes will impact future CO2 uptake by these polar waters.

Project objectives:

In this PhD project you will address these aims:

• Extend the unique, year-round marine carbonate chemistry timeseries (2010-2020, https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/rats/) in Ryder Bay, Antarctica, forward through a period of rapid sea ice decline,

• Develop an innovative, idealised ocean-ice model of processes affecting ocean CO2 uptake in Ryder Bay,

• Investigate the impacts of climate-driven changes in biological productivity and sea ice extent on inorganic carbon cycling and ocean CO2 uptake along the Antarctic Peninsula.

Research methodology:

In this varied project you will carry out carbonate chemistry analyses. You will explore the effects of a shift to a low sea ice regime on ocean CO2 uptake in Ryder Bay, using your data and model experiments. You will identify long-term changes in ocean CO2 uptake and their drivers along the Antarctic Peninsula using your data, a surface ocean CO2 synthesis (www.socat.info), associated ocean CO2 products, satellite and reanalysis products.

Training:

You will develop skills in chemical analysis, data processing, visualisation and interpretation using coding (Python or Matlab) and learn to develop an idealised ocean biogeochemical model, while part of UEA’s inspiring Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. You will collaborate with the dynamic POLOMINTS (http://polomints.ac.uk/) science team via your supervisors at the British Antarctic Survey and the National Oceanography Centre. You will present your findings at an international scientific conference and in peer-reviewed publications. While Antarctic fieldwork is not part of this project, there may be opportunities for it.

Person specification:

We seek an enthusiastic, pro-active team player with strong scientific interests and 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.

Entry requirements

At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category).

Funding

ARIES studentships are subject to UKRI terms and conditions. Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend (£21,805 p.a. for 2026/27) and a research training and support grant (RTSG). A limited number of studentships are available for international applicants, with the difference between 'home' and 'international' fees being waived by the registering university. Please note, however, that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK, such as visa costs or the health surcharge.

ARIES is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion in all areas of its operation. We encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation and transgender status. Projects have been developed with consideration of a safe, inclusive and appropriate research and fieldwork environment. Academic qualifications are considered alongside non-academic experience, with equal weighting given to experience and potential.

After submitting their application for the relevant ARIES project(s), applicants are expected to complete the ARIES Equality and Diversity Form Applicants - 2027 Entry – Fill in form. One form is required per application, so applicants applying to more than one project must complete a separate form for each.

Please visit www.aries-dtp.ac.uk for further information.

References

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.

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.

Meyer, M. G., Portela, E., Smith, Jt., W. O., Heywood, K. J. (2025) Critical uncoupling between biogeochemical stocks and rates in Ross Sea springtime production-export dynamics. Ocean Science 21 (4): 1223-1236. doi:10.5194/os-21-1223-2025.

Venables, H. J. V., Meredith, M. P., Hendry, K. R., Ten Hoopen, P., Peat, H., Chapman, A., Beaumont, J., Piper, R., Miller, A. J., Mann, P., Rossetti, H., Massey, A., Souster, T., Reeves, S., Fenton, M., Heiser, S., Pountney, S., Reed, S., Waring, Z., Clark, M., Bolton, E., Mathews, R., London, H., Clement, A., Stuart, E., Reichardt, A., Brandon, M., Leng, M., Arrowsmith, C., Annett, A., Henley, S. F., & Clarke, A. (2023). Sustained year-round oceanographic measurements from Rothera Research Station, Antarctica, 1997–2017. Scientific Data, 10(1), 265. doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02172-5

Hendry, K. R., Briggs, N., Henson, S., Opher, J., Brearley, J. A., Meredith, M. P., ... & Meire, L. (2021). Tracing glacial meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet to the ocean using gliders. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126(8), e2021JC017274. doi:10.1029/2021JC017274.

Climate change impacts on the Antarctic coastal ocean carbon sink (BAKKER_UEA_ARIES27)

Welcome to Norwich

Project Description

Entry requirements

Funding

References