Category

Place-based Impact

Science group

Place-based impact

PML is committed to creating impactful research that provides solutions to challenges in the marine environment at both local and regional scales. By promoting optimal use of data and information, we aim to make a significant difference in our local community and beyond. Our extensive natural scienc...

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  AgZero+ Towards sustainable, climate-neutral farming

  Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) is a partner in a major five-year £13.8 million research programme, named “AgZero+’, to support the UK’s transition towards home-grown food production that is sustainable, carbon-neutral and has a positive effect on nature.
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  Marine Social and Natural Capital Laboratory

  Launching the first Marine Social and Natural Capital Laboratory of its kind, linking social and natural sciences enabling data for ground-breaking research into sustainable use, human well-being and ecosystem services. In fact, this new laboratory provides the perfect testbed for novel and transfor...
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  Automated, in situ Plankton Imaging and Classification System (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.
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  MyCOAST

  MyCOAST will develop risk management tools and a Coordination Atlantic Coastal Operational Observatory to improve coastal monitoring and forecasting tools to support threat and emergency response by in the Atlantic area.
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  Western Channel Observatory (WCO)

  The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) is an oceanographic time-series and marine biodiversity reference site in the Western English Channel. In-situ measurements are undertaken weekly at coastal station L4 and fortnightly at open shelf station E1 using our research vessels and that of the Marine Bio...

28 August 2026

“Expect different” – PML’s Prof Tim Smyth on the effects of warming UK waters

PML’s Director of Science Professor Tim Smyth featured on Channel 5 News this week, speaking to Simon Vigar about the Mediterranean octopus thriving in warmer UK waters.

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  Satellites are helping scientists track changes in the health of the ocean – and a new study shows their precision is growing

  Scientists at Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) have conducted the largest ever global assessment of the accuracy of

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  Global ocean hits highest temperature on record as El Niño grows

  The average surface temperature of the planet’s seas outside the polar regions hit 21.1C (70F) on Saturday, according to figures from the European Copernicus climate change service

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  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.

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  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...