Louise Brown

Profile

Brief CV

October 2020 – Present: Higher Scientific Offficer, Agri-Food and biosciences institute (Afbi)

2017 – Present: PhD Student, School of Geography, University of Leeds

2014-2017: Marine Scientist, The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas)

Benthic habitat mapping using object based image analysis

Species distribution modelling

Offshore survey planning and fieldwork.

2013-2014: MRes Ocean Science, University of Southampton

The role of site and scale on ecosystem functioning in mudflat envrionments

2010-2013: BSc Physical Geography, University of Leeds

Impact of aciean acidification on intact mudflat communities

Carbon cycling in Southern ocean chemosynthetic ecosystems

Conferences/training attended

Conferences: Blue Carbon conference (Edinburgh) 2019, Cefas student conference (2018, 2019, 2021), GeoHab 2016

Training: Foundations in Teaching, APM Project Management Fundamentals

Research interests

Project title

Investigating marine benthic ecosystem response to global environmental change

Project overview

Estuarine and shallow coastal systems represent only a small percentage of the ocean floor, but are responsible for a large portion of primary production and are some of the most important locations for long-term carbon storage within the marine environment. Increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere will lead to a variety of impacts on the marine environment, including temperature rises. Due to their shallow nature estuaries and coastal waters will be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of future environmental change.

When studying the influence of temperature on benthic ecosystem function,  many previous studies have only looked at a small subset of the species present within shallow coastal environments, rather than a truly intact community.

This project applied an experimental approach, using the incubation and manipulation of sediment microcosms to understand the impact of environmental change on the functioning of shallow marine ecosystems. This project will also link faunal and biogeochemical approaches to achieve a more holistic understanding of how ocean warming could impact ecosystem functioning, particularly carbon processing.

Funding

Leeds/York NERC DTP

CASE partners: The Centre for Envrionment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) https://www.cefas.co.uk/

Qualifications

• 2013-2014: MRes Ocean Science, University of Southampton
• 2010-2013: BSc Physical Geography, University of Leeds

Research groups and institutes

• River Basin Processes and Management