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URL: http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/53655
Updated: 35 min 24 sec ago

Wed 01 May 14:00: Ocean, ice, and the spherical cow

Wed, 24/04/2024 - 15:19
Ocean, ice, and the spherical cow

“Consider a spherical cow in the vacuum…” – that’s how most physics problems start. A very simplified version of the real world that we can wrap our heads around and find answers using pencil and paper. Numerical models that simulate the components of the climate system are no different: we start simple and build it up as scientific knowledge of the system advances and technology allows us to explore smaller-scale processes. My research focuses on understanding ice-ocean interactions, focusing on the behaviour of icebergs and their impacts in the polar oceans, using said models. Join me as I explain my journey towards drawing a cow that looks less like a balloon and more like a quadruped.

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Wed 22 May 13:00: Title to be confirmed

Wed, 24/04/2024 - 15:14
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Wed 01 May 14:00: Ocean, ice, and the spherical cow

Wed, 24/04/2024 - 13:00
Ocean, ice, and the spherical cow

“Consider a spherical cow in the vacuum…” – that’s how most physics problems start. A very simplified version of the real world that we can wrap our heads around and find answers using pencil and paper. Numerical models that simulate the components of the climate system are no different: we start simple and build it up as scientific knowledge of the system advances and technology allows us to explore smaller-scale processes. My research focuses on understanding ice-ocean interactions, focusing on the behaviour of icebergs and their impacts in the polar oceans, using said models. Join me as I explain my journey towards drawing a cow that looks less like a balloon and more like a quadruped.

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Wed 24 Apr 14:00: On using mathematical 'snakes' to study the effects of cell divisions on auxin patterning in plant roots

Wed, 24/04/2024 - 10:05
On using mathematical 'snakes' to study the effects of cell divisions on auxin patterning in plant roots

Abstract not available

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Wed 15 May 13:00: Bradford Hill seminar - Is perfection the enemy of good? Challenges and opportunities for building the evidence-base to inform sexual and reproductive health policy and practice

Fri, 19/04/2024 - 15:01
Bradford Hill seminar - Is perfection the enemy of good? Challenges and opportunities for building the evidence-base to inform sexual and reproductive health policy and practice

All are welcome to our next hybrid Bradford Hill Seminar by Prof Cath Mercer of the UCL Institute for Global Health, who will discuss:

‘Is perfection the enemy of good? Challenges and opportunities for building the evidence-base to inform sexual and reproductive health policy and practice’.

This will be a hybrid event

No registration required to attend in person at:

Large Seminar Room, East Forvie Building, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SRT .

Registration required to attend online

Please register in Teams in advance at https://rb.gy/4svy5i

About this talk

Poor sexual and reproductive health causes significant morbidity. Last year, nearly 400,000 new sexually transmitted infections were diagnosed in England alone. Additionally, there is increasing awareness of sexual rights, the role of sexual pleasure and wellbeing, and what these mean for a satisfying sex life and our general health and wellbeing.

Yet this critical aspect of our lives is highly sensitive and sometimes stigmatised making sexual behaviour, its drivers and consequences difficult to research. Methods are required that maximise response and minimise bias so that the resulting evidence is of sufficient quality, including for informing policy and practice.

Such methodological rigour is neither cheap nor quick, and since the COVID -19 pandemic shifted expectations around both the timelines for acquiring evidence and the public’s willingness to participate in research, do we need to re-think how we do research in challenging fields such as sexual and reproductive health? Do we need to revise in our definition of what is ‘good enough’?

About Professor Cath Mercer

Cath Mercer is Professor of Sexual Health Science at University College London. A statistician and demographer by training, Cath is internationally recognised as an expert in developing and employing robust methods that advance the scientific study of sexual behaviour, one of the most socially-sensitive disciplines, leading studies that work for – and with – marginalised communities through to the general population, in a variety of settings, employing a range of study designs and research methods.

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Wed 01 May 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Fri, 12/04/2024 - 09:55
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Wed 01 May 15:00: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 11/04/2024 - 13:56
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Wed 17 Jul 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 11/04/2024 - 13:56
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Wed 12 Jun 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 11/04/2024 - 13:55
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Wed 24 Apr 14:00: Carbon isotope modelling implications for changes in the Southern Ocean carbon cycle during the last deglaciation

Thu, 11/04/2024 - 11:43
Carbon isotope modelling implications for changes in the Southern Ocean carbon cycle during the last deglaciation

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2) concentrations increased by about 80 ppm from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the early Holocene, reflecting the climate system’s response to gradual changes in insolation. Previous models have suggested that this deglacial pCO2 increase was mainly due to CO2 released from the ocean, partly influenced by abrupt shifts in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and associated interhemispheric climate changes. However, a comprehensive understanding of how changes in ocean circulation and geochemical properties during the last deglaciation influenced atmospheric pCO2 remains elusive.This study narrows the focus to the Southern Ocean and examines its role in changes in the ocean carbon cycle during the last deglaciation (21 to 11 ka BP) using three-dimensional ocean fields from the MIROC 4m climate model, which successfully simulates abrupt AMOC shifts seen in reconstructions. We aim to improve our understanding by comparing modeled carbon isotope ratios with sediment core data, identifying model biases and highlighting potentially underestimated processes. The simulation is in qualitative agreement with ice core records of atmospheric pCO2 fluctuations: an increase of 10.2 ppm during the Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), a decrease of 7.0 ppm during the Bølling-Allerød (BA), and a subsequent increase of 6.8 ppm during the Younger Dryas (YD). Nevertheless, the model underestimates pCO2 changes compared to ice core data, suggesting that some ocean dynamics have been missed in the simulations. A particular limitation of the model is its underestimation of the influence of the Southern Ocean, especially during HS1 . This suggests a misrepresentation of the complex interplay between activated deep ocean ventilation, reduced biological carbon export efficiency, and their cumulative effect on atmospheric pCO2. The decomposition of the drivers of ocean pCO2 changes highlights temperature and alkalinity as key drivers. Their interaction reveals the intricate link between AMOC shifts, Southern Ocean carbon dynamics leading to changes in SST and geochemical properties, and the resulting atmospheric pCO2 variations during deglaciation. This study underscores the critical need for detailed modeling of Southern Ocean biogeochemical processes to refine our understanding of past and future climate dynamics.

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Wed 24 Apr 14:00: Carbon isotope modelling implications for changes in the Southern Ocean carbon cycle during the last deglaciation

Mon, 01/04/2024 - 12:51
Carbon isotope modelling implications for changes in the Southern Ocean carbon cycle during the last deglaciation

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2) concentrations increased by about 80 ppm from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the early Holocene, reflecting the climate system’s response to gradual changes in insolation. Previous models have suggested that this deglacial pCO2 increase was mainly due to CO2 released from the ocean, partly influenced by abrupt shifts in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and associated interhemispheric climate changes. However, a comprehensive understanding of how changes in ocean circulation and geochemical properties during the last deglaciation influenced atmospheric pCO2 remains elusive.This study narrows the focus to the Southern Ocean and examines its role in changes in the ocean carbon cycle during the last deglaciation (21 to 11 ka BP) using three-dimensional ocean fields from the MIROC 4m climate model, which successfully simulates abrupt AMOC shifts seen in reconstructions. We aim to improve our understanding by comparing modeled carbon isotope ratios with sediment core data, identifying model biases and highlighting potentially underestimated processes. The simulation is in qualitative agreement with ice core records of atmospheric pCO2 fluctuations: an increase of 10.2 ppm during the Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), a decrease of 7.0 ppm during the Bølling-Allerød (BA), and a subsequent increase of 6.8 ppm during the Younger Dryas (YD). Nevertheless, the model underestimates pCO2 changes compared to ice core data, suggesting that some ocean dynamics have been missed in the simulations. A particular limitation of the model is its underestimation of the influence of the Southern Ocean, especially during HS1 . This suggests a misrepresentation of the complex interplay between activated deep ocean ventilation, reduced biological carbon export efficiency, and their cumulative effect on atmospheric pCO2. The decomposition of the drivers of ocean pCO2 changes highlights temperature and alkalinity as key drivers. Their interaction reveals the intricate link between AMOC shifts, Southern Ocean carbon dynamics leading to changes in SST and geochemical properties, and the resulting atmospheric pCO2 variations during deglaciation. This study underscores the critical need for detailed modeling of Southern Ocean biogeochemical processes to refine our understanding of past and future climate dynamics.

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Wed 17 Jul 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 01/04/2024 - 12:50
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Wed 12 Jun 14:00: Title to be confirmed

Mon, 01/04/2024 - 12:50
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Fri 14 Mar 17:30: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 28/03/2024 - 14:22
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Fri 07 Mar 17:30: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 28/03/2024 - 14:21
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Fri 28 Feb 17:30: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 28/03/2024 - 14:20
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Fri 21 Feb 17:30: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 28/03/2024 - 14:18
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Fri 14 Feb 17:30: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 28/03/2024 - 14:18
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Fri 31 Jan 17:30: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 28/03/2024 - 14:17
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Fri 07 Feb 17:30: Title to be confirmed

Thu, 28/03/2024 - 14:17
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