Professor Robert Marsh

WP1 Lead (Oceanography)

Organisation: University of Southampton

Position: Professor of Geography, Environment and Development

Background

Professor Marsh is a Physical Oceanographer, with a background in climate science. He uses a combination of computer models and observations to study the oceans and climate, from Equator to poles.

In recent years, he has led research on the extent to which changing ocean salinity patterns are revealing an intensification of the global water cycle, whereby wet places and seasons are getting wetter, while dry places and seasons get drier. He has also led research on the drift and melting of icebergs at high latitudes, as ice sheets disintegrate.

Of particular relevance to SARTRAC, he uses “particle tracking” to explore how a wide range of objects and material drift through our oceans, including organisms, plastics and pumice. This methodology is now being applied to Sargassum drift in the tropical Atlantic.

Bob is currently finishing an undergraduate text book, “Ocean Currents of the World”, with a strong emphasis on these applied contexts.