Six new ambitious joint UK-US projects are set to improve our understanding of how marine life influences the storage of carbon in the ocean and how these processes are represented in global models. 

They are funded through an exciting new partnership between NERC and NASA. Building on the shared aims of the NERC BIO-Carbon and NASA EXPORTS programmes, this initiative supports collaboration between UK and US researchers to strengthen predictions of future ocean carbon storage. 

Dr Adrian Martin, BIO-Carbon Lead, said: “These innovative joint projects promise major advances in our ability to assess how the storage of carbon through the marine ecosystem may alter in the future. 

“Partnering with NASA is incredibly exciting. Their EXPORTS programme is a world-leader in this field. Jointly tackling the shared aims of BIO-Carbon and EXPORTS, these new projects highlight the strength in pooling skills and capabilities across countries to tackle globally pressing questions.” 

The funded projects are:

  • From Monod to Macromolecules: assessing nutrient-carbon coupling in a hierarchy of ocean-ecosystem models 
    Led by Ben Ward (University of Southampton, UK) and Stephanie Dutkiewicz (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US)
  • DIVE: Diel vertical migration Impact on Vertical carbon export and transfers in ESMs 
    Led by Sari Giering (National Oceanography Centre, UK) and Daniele Bianchi (University of California, Los Angeles, US)
  • Individual animal energy use as a target for ecosystem model prediction and validation 
    Led by Clive Trueman (University of Southampton, UK) and Colleen Petrik (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, US)
  • EMBOSS: Ensemble Multi-model analysis of Bioegeochemical Ocean carbon Storage Sensitivity 
    Led by Andrew Yool (National Oceanography Centre, UK) and Anand Gnanadesikan (John Hopkins University, US)
  • BIODEPOT: BIOlogical Drivers of Export flux Patterns in the Ocean Twilight zone 
    Led by Yuri Artioli (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK) and David Nicholson (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, US)
  • PROMISE: Probabilistic Resolution of Marine ecosystems to Improve Simulated carbon Export 
    Led by Sophie Clayton (National Oceanography Centre, UK) and Sasha Kramer (Boston University, US) 

Combining biology, marine ecology, and biogeochemistry in new modelling approaches, they will improve understanding of how ocean life drives carbon storage. The research will test innovative modelling approaches and reduce key uncertainties to support more accurate predictions of the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle.

Find out more about the BIO-Carbon programme and its research community at www.bio-carbon.ac.uk. 

Further information on the new projects will be shared soon.