"I have the absolute pleasure of working alongside an interdisciplinary team of world class scientists, to understand the wide reaching impacts of marine plastic pollution and to be part of the solution. "
Dr Rachel Coppock is a marine ecologist within the Marine Ecology and Biodiversity research group at PML, investigating the impact and fate of microplastics in the marine environment. She is currently investigating the impact of biodegradable plastics on marine organisms and ecosystems, and developing Nature Based Solutions to microplastic pollution.
Rachel completed her PhD in 2019 at PML and the University of Exeter, where her research contributed to our understanding of biologically mediated microplastic transport through the water column and burial in marine sediments.
Rachel led sample collection for the Changing Arctic Ocean Sediment project (ChAOS) research cruise in the Barents Sea in 2018, and is analysing samples to assess the distribution and abundance of waterborne microplastics in the Arctic. She is keen to pursue polar research in the future.
Rachel forms part of the benthic survey team, conducting monthly faunal sampling of sediments from L4 as part of the western Channel Observatory long-term time series.
Key Projects
- NERC Highlight topic grant; Biodegradable Bioplastics – Assessing Environmental Risk (BIO-PLASTIC-RISK 2020-2024).
- PhD studentship at Plymouth Marine Laboratory & University of Exeter, Microplastics in the marine environment; From top to bottom (2015-2019).