Science Group

Environmental Intelligence

Integrating leading and cutting-edge marine ecosystem and process modelling, data science and machine learning to enhance knowledge and understanding of marine systems, we are pushing the boundaries of scientific exploration and delivering trusted and innovative solutions that transform complex marine knowledge and data into timely, actionable, environmental intelligence.

Head of Group

Professor Matthew Palmer

Head of Environmental Intelligence Group

The Environmental Intelligence Group leads in strategic delivery of transformative solutions to understand, predict, and respond to marine environmental change.
We have a whole systems, interdisciplinary approach, integrating physics, chemistry, biology, ecology, data science and AI to consider all dimensions of the impacts and values of marine systems, from weather and climate, at all depths including sediments and from coast to deep ocean, poles and freshwater systems.
We deliver trusted, evidence-based solutions that enable decision-making across marine policy, management, and industries, underpinning national and international environmental and sustainability goals, and enhancing PML’s leadership in delivering impactful science for ocean action.

Our expertise includes:

State-of-the-art computational models to simulate and predict how marine systems function and respond to local and global pressures across broad time and space scales
Integration of observations, model outputs and advanced analysis to empower researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to make more informed decisions.
Designing, developing, and deploying autonomous and uncrewed marine robotic vehicles and sensors that enable agile, adaptable and efficient data collection in challenging marine environments
Cutting-edge data analysis, artificial intelligence (AI) and visualisation tools
Environmental Digital Twins, providing optimised simulations of real-world systems to deliver timely, actionable evidence and support intelligent solutions
Decision Support Tools that translate complex datasets, information and knowledge into actionable insights.

PML Projects

PML Projects

DEAL: DEcentrAlised Learning for automated image analysis and biodiversity monitoring

DEAL will create an application that allows owners of biological image data to participate in decentralised, collaborative networks, where they can leverage the data and expertise of all participants to obtain better, higher efficacy classification results for their data.

Monitoring Integrated Digital Support Tool – for CO2 and hypersaline brine monitoring applied to UK

In MIDST-UK, an open source, user friendly, pre-operational Decision Support Tool (DST) will be extended to also included brine release (high salinity, high temperature and varied contaminants) for impact assessment, monitoring, and detection criteria. Case studies are then to be…

TYRE-LOSS: Lost at Sea – where are all the tyre particles?

Tyre particles are increasingly recognised as a potentially major source of microplastic pollution, yet limited data exists on their accumulation and risks in the marine environments. The TYRE-LOSS project is tackling this critical knowledge gap.

FOCUS: Future States of the global Coastal ocean: Understanding for Solutions

The Future states Of the global Coastal ocean: Understanding for Solutions (FOCUS) project is working to understand how climate change and human activities are impacting coastal seas worldwide.

APICS

The Automated, in situ Plankton Imaging and Classification System (APICS) will radically improve the understanding of how environmental changes are affecting plankton, the microscopic organisms at the foundation of the marine food chain.

Environmental Monitoring at Calstock flood defence improvement scheme

Measuring the effects of new Calstock intertidal wetland on water biogeochemistry

MOET – Managing the Environmental Sustainability of the Offshore Energy Transition

MOET will assess the environmental sustainability of offshore wind, blue and green hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage for selected test areas of the UK offshore, and will develop solutions for planning the technology and infrastructure of the offshore energy…

TerraFIRMA: Future Impacts, Risks and Mitigation Actions in a changing Earth system

Global climate change is the leading environmental challenge facing humanity today. Reliable guidance on the risks and impacts of future climate change, and clear assessment of mitigation options for limiting future change, are urgently required. Through the TerraFIRMA programme we…

COMFORT: Our common future ocean in the Earth system – quantifying coupled cycles of carbon, oxygen, and nutrients for determining and achieving safe operating spaces with respect to tipping points

COMFORT will identify tipping point in future marine ecosystems induced by climate change and the associated multiple stressors. The impact of these tipping points on ecosystems will then be assessed and the safe operating space to avoid them identified.

SEAMLESS: Services based on Ecosystem data AssiMiLation: Essential Science and Solutions (SEAMLESS)

SEAMLESS aims at improving the current European capability to simulate and predict the state of marine ecosystems.

DREAMS – Decommissioning – Relative Effects of Alternative Management Strategies

The highly integrated DREAMS project is designed to bring together information about the effects of man-made structures on the marine ecosystem and the benefits that it provides for humans.

Mission Atlantic

Mission Atlantic is the first ever initiative to develop and systematically apply Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs) at the Atlantic basin scale.

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Environmental Intelligence

Head of Group

Professor Matthew Palmer

Our expertise includes:

PML Projects

People who work in this area of research