Climate Change

Science topics & groups

Underwater view of light rays and seaweed

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Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR)

Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) (also known as Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal oCDR) activities are designed to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere using the marine environment and its chemical and biological processes.

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Offshore energy

Globally and in particular in UK waters there is a huge development of renewable energy infrastructure mainly led by offshore wind. The provision of clean energy is vital for sustaining prosperity whilst aiming for net zero carbon emissions and limiting global temperature rises. However, the degree ...

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Blue carbon

Blue carbon research focuses on the ways that oceans and vegetated coastal ecosystems, like mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrass beds, contribute to the global carbon budget.

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Flooding and coastal erosion

Climate change is leading to rising sea levels and an increased number and severity of extreme weather events which are putting coastal communities at risk of flooding and coastal erosion.

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Sea-level rise

Sea level has been rising for most of the last hundred years, with potential devastating impact on coastal communities. The challenge is to quantify this accurately enough that regional patterns can be discerned and understood, and the contributions from thermal expansion and from ice sheet melting...

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Ocean acidification

The term ocean acidification is used to describe the ongoing decrease in ocean pH caused by human CO2 emissions, such as the burning of fossil fuels. This is having an adverse effect on many important marine species such as corals, oysters, crabs and plankton. Due to the unprecedented rate of acidif...

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Air-sea gas exchange

Ocean-atmosphere exchange has profound implications for the environment and the Earth’s climate.

Carbon from earth Observation between Ocean and Land (COOL)
The COOL (Carbon from Earth Observation between Ocean and Land) project is a European Space Agency (ESA)-funded initiative focused on improving how we observe and understand the carbon cycle in coastal waters using satellite data.
Establishing a Framework for Quantifiable Evidence of Ecosystem Change in Floating Offshore Wind (EQUIFy)
EQUIFy is a pioneering research project led by Plymouth Marine Laboratory under the NERC and The Crown Estate Ecological Effects of Floating Offshore Wind (ECOFlow) programme. The project will develop a robust, transferable framework to quantify and understand ecosystem change across the full lifecy...
Climate and Marine Production (CAMP)
Climate and Marine Production (CAMP) is improving our understanding of ocean productivity and how it responds to climate change by enhancing marine ecosystem and biogeochemical models.
Tipping Points and Abrupt Changes in Marine Ecosystems (TIME)
The Tipping points and abrupt changes In the Marine Ecosystem (TIME) project is developing new ways to identify early warning signs of major changes in marine ecosystems. By combining satellite observations, in situ measurements, and ecosystem models, TIME aims to improve our understanding of how ma...
Satellite-based observations of Carbon in the Ocean: Pools, Fluxes and Exchanges (SCOPE)
In the Satellite-based observations of Carbon in the Ocean: Pools fluxes and Exchange (SCOPE) project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), we bring together an international team of experts to study the ocean carbon cycle from space to better understand how much carbon the ocean stores and ho...
Closing the budget in marine atmospheric Oxidative Capacity through the quantification of Oceanic VOC emissions (COCO-VOC)
Roughly half of the oxidation of methane (a key greenhouse gas) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (VOCs) occurs over the oceans via reactions with the hydroxyl radical (OH). Some of these reactions lead to secondary organic aerosols (SOA), which are important for cloud formation, and ozone,...

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Related News

Image: PML scientists joined the research expedition in 2022 that led to the discovery of the mechanism that increases the number of cloud-forming particles in the Arctic atmosphere. Image credit: PML’s Dr Loren Temple.

14 August 2026

As Arctic sea ice melts, it can produce clouds that can reduce warming – but what happens next for the climate?

A new study provides the first real-world evidence of how melting sea ice can boost cloud-seeding particles in the Arctic. But whether more clouds could help cool the region – or trap heat – remains uncertain.

Building trust in AI for better ocean forecasting
The International Telecommunication Union recently published their ‘AI for Good, Innovate for Impact’ interim report 2026, which features a PML-led case study that offers potential for trustworthy, lower-cost marine early war...
New autonomous monitoring capability demonstrated for floating offshore wind
Scientists test novel sensor integration to help advance autonomous ecosystem assessment and facilitate sustainable offshore wind expansion.
New report forecasts major impacts on the marine food web as sea temperatures rise and plankton shift
A new study from the UK’s Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) warns that continued warming of UK waters is likely causing major changes to the tiny drifting organisms that are the foundation of marine food webs – plankton.
State of the South-West’s Seas 2025 report highlights warming waters and octopus boom
Marine heatwaves, rising sea temperatures and a boom in Common Octopus populations are among the standout findings in the newly published State of the South-West’s Seas 2025 report. Produced by the South-West Marine Ecosystems (SW...