"Every field-scientists should undertake numerical simulations and every modeller should go to sea. "
Dr Vasillis Kitidis graduated from Newcastle University (UK) with a PhD in aquatic photochemistry of dissolved organic matter. Subsequently, he worked on marine methane and nitrous oxide emissions from the ocean, including the Arctic.
In 2006, Vas joined PML to work on greenhouse gas cycling (CO2, CH4, N2O), carbonate chemistry, dissolved organic matter and nitrogen cycling from the ocean surface to the seabed. He draws on this diversity of work to identify synergies between research fields in the context of interactions between climate-change and the ocean.
Vas’s research covers experimental and time-series studies on ocean acidification (OA) such as the first study to quantify the impact of OA on benthic nitrification and one of the first studies to quantify OA across the entire Atlantic Ocean. Recently, he has worked with colleagues across Europe to construct a data-driven budget of C-cycling on the NW European shelf and regularly contributes to the Global Carbon Budget.
At PML, Vas has established methodologies for quantifying benthic nitrogen cycling processes which are key to the recycling of nutrients in the ocean and thereby their future productivity. He has also developed simple numerical models of aquatic photochemistry and work closely with modellers on a variety of topics involving the cycling of greenhouse gases, carbon and nutrients.
Key Projects
SOCAT: Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas
Selected Publications
- Friedlingstein et al. (inc Kitidis), 2020, Global Carbon Budget 2020, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3269–3340, doi:10.5194/essd-12-3269-2020
- Kitidis et al., 2019. Winter weather controls net influx of atmospheric CO2 on the north-west European shelf. Scientific Reports 9, 20153. doi:s41598-019-56363-5
- Kitidis et al., 2017. Surface ocean carbon dioxide during the Atlantic Meridional Transect (1995-2013); evidence of ocean acidification. Progress in Oceanography, doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2016.08.005
- Kitidis et al., 2017. Seasonal benthic nitrogen cycling in a temperate shelf sea: the Celtic Sea. Biogeochemistry 135, 103-119. doi: 10.1007/s10533-017-0311-3
- Kitidis et al., 2014. Oxygen Photolysis in the Mauritanian Upwelling: Implications for Net Community Production. Limnology and Oceanography. 59: 299-310. doi: 10.4319/lo.2014.59.2.0299
- Kitidis et al., 2011. Impact of ocean acidification on benthic and water column ammonia oxidation. Geophysical Research Letters. 38: doi:10.1029/2011GL049095