My main scientific interests relate to the oceans and seas of the Arctic and the Antarctic. The main areas of my research involve the shallow, coastal seas of the Arctic, particularly in the waters around Svalbard and Greenland. My primary research interests are in physical oceanography but I’m also interested in the multi-disciplinary view of high-latitude seas.
Particular areas of research interest include:
-Physical oceanography of Arctic shelves; shelf-ocean exchanges, mixing processes
-Application of analytical models to high-latitude processes
-Use of tracers and proxies, particularly related to oceanographic roles of Atlantic Water and sea ice formation/melt in Arctic waters
-Application of geochemical and sediment proxies for interpretation of water mass histories
-Coupled biological-physical interactions in Arctic shelf systems
2006-present Lecturer in Polar Oceanography, SAMS
2000-2006 Postdoctoral Researcher, SAMS: Observational investigations of mixing and exchange processes in mid- and high-latitude shelf systems. Partner in FP6 EU programme
1999-2000 Lecturer and polar naturalist aboard cruise ships in the Arctic and Antarctic.
1995-1999 PhD in Polar Marine Science, University of Cambridge, Scott Polar Research Institute. Dissertation: Brine distribution in young sea ice
Panarcive: Establishing patterns of zooplankton behaviour from acoustic records collected throughout the Arctic
Arctic Time Series: Operation of a multi-parameter mooring in NW Svalbard as part of Oceans 2025 Theme 10
Ocean Glacier interactions: Coastal and fjordic oceanography in SE Greeland (SeaTrEx)
Last, K.S., Hobbs, L., Berge, J., Brierley, A.S. and Cottier, F., 2016. Moonlight Drives Ocean-Scale Mass Vertical Migration of Zooplankton during the Arctic Winter. Current Biology.
Berge, J., Renaud, P.E., Darnis, G., Cottier, F., Last, K., Gabrielsen, T.M., Johnsen, G., Seuthe, L., Weslawski, J.M., Leu, E. and Moline, M., 2015. In the dark: A review of ecosystem processes during the Arctic polar night. Progress in Oceanography, 139, pp.258-271.
Inall, M.E., Nilsen, F., Cottier, F.R. and Daae, R., 2015. Shelf/fjord exchange driven by coastal‐trapped waves in the Arctic. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.
Luckman, A., Benn, D.I., Cottier, F., Bevan, S., Nilsen, F. and Inall, M., 2015. Calving rates at tidewater glaciers vary strongly with ocean temperature. Nature communications, 6.
Berge, J., Daase, M., Renaud, P.E., Ambrose, W.G., Darnis, G., Last, K.S., Leu, E., Cohen, J.H., Johnsen, G., Moline, M.A. and Cottier, F., 2015. Unexpected levels of biological activity during the polar night offer new perspectives on a warming Arctic. Current Biology, 25(19), pp.2555-2561.
