Ocean Modelling and Climate

The work of the Ocean Modelling and Climate group aims at describing past, present and future states of the ocean using a wide range of numerical models. We also investigate how the ocean interacts with other parts of the earth system, e.g., ice sheets and biogeochemical cycles.

On a global level our research investigates how global ocean tides have changed over past geological eras and the potential impact of these changes on climate. This work has included studies of how collapsing ice sheets, both during the last 140,000 years and in the future, can impact global ocean circulation and climate (e.g. Green et al., 2011; Wilmes and Green, 2014; Green and Schmittner, 2015; Schmittner et al. 2015). This work includes studies of the tides and mixing, due to tidal dissipation, which contributes to the maintenance of the meridional overturning circulation and influences the evolution of the Earth-moon system, and the Earth's ability to host life (Green et al., 2009; Green, 2010; Green and Huber, 2013; Green et al., 2017; 2018; Wilmes et al., 2017).

Our work also aims to identify the key role of the tides in the evolution of the evolution of land-walking vertebrates some 400,000 years ago as reported in both Science (http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/strong-tides-may-have-pushed-ancient-fish-evolve-limbs) and Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02034-w).

On a regional scale we have simulated changes in wave and tidal dynamics of our shelf seas (Neill et al., 2009; Neill et al., 2010) and the impact of rising sea level, and the changing tides, on the strength of the shelf sea CO₂ pump (Rippeth et al., 2008) since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We have also studied the controls on larval dispersal and connectivity in a highly energetic shelf sea (Lee et al., 2013; Robins et al, 2013).

We have examined the uncertainties within future climate and sea-level projections to provide flood risk estimates for coastal communities (Quinn et al., 2014), for example for tropical cyclone storm surge inundation in the Bay of Bengal (Lewis et al., 2014). Furthermore, we have used novel approaches to develop methodologies for quantifying future flood hazard uncertainties arising from temporal and spatial scales not currently resolved within ocean and climate models (Lewis et al., 2013; Hashemi et al., 2015).