My research focuses on carbon in coastal and near-shore systems over multiple timescales (Holocene to present day). Through the investigation of the sediments we can better understand the rates at which carbon is buried and the magnitude of the carbon the stores within these environments.
Current PDRA, University of St Andrews
PhD “A long-term perspective on the cycling and storage of carbon in Scottish coastal waters (from source to sink)” Supervisors: Professor William Austin & Dr Althea Davies
I carried out my postgraduate research jointly between The University of Dundee and Flinders University (Australia) where I worked on creating a carbon budget for an irrigation pond system in Lyndoch. When I returned I began work for Millard Consulting as a consultant in the environmental and hydrological teams. In 2013 I started a joint NERC & 6th Century Scholarship funded PhD project which applies skills gained in Australia to a larger natural system.
My research focuses on carbon in coastal and near-shore systems over multiple timescales (Holocene to present day). Through the investigation of the sediments we can better understand the rates at which carbon is buried and the magnitude of the carbon the stores within these environments.
An area of particular interest is understanding the role of the terrestrial environment in the development of these coastal carbon stores. I explore this topic by bringing together methodologies from sedimentology, marine geophysics and geochemistry.
Blue Carbon Audit of Orkney Waters: Scottish Marine and Freshwater Series Vol 11 No 3
Porter, J., Austin, W., Burrows, M., Clarke, D., Davies, G., Kamenos, N., Riegel, S., Smeaton, C., Page, C. & Want, A., 14 Jan 2020, 3 ed. Marine Scotland. 96 p. (Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Reports; vol. 11, no. 3)
Coring and compaction: best practice in blue carbon stock and burial estimations
Smeaton, C., Barlow, N. & Austin, W., 21 Jan 2020, In : Geoderma. 364, C, 114180.
Impacts of climate change on coastal habitats, relevant to the coastal and marine environment around the UK
Burden, A., Smeaton, C., Angus, S., Garbutt, A., Jones, L., Lewis, H. & Rees, S., 15 Jan 2020, In : MCCIP Science Review 2020. p. 228-255 28 p.
