Return of the fishing seiner after the catch
The University of East Anglia (UEA), a public research university located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is leading the project 'Forecasting Tipping Points in Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Responses' (TiMBER) to assess the consequences of these phenomena on the UK's fishing industry.
The project has a budget of £4.25 million and has received financial support from the UK Government’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), which focuses on projects with the potential to produce transformative technological change or a paradigm shift in a scientific area. The ARIA program has been running for five years, received £81 million in funding, and includes 27 international teams.
Specifically, TiMBER focuses on the physical climate tipping points in the North Atlantic that could lead to annual flooding, impacting biodiversity and food security.
"Here we bring together a world-class team of researchers from different disciplines including experienced policy advisors, to develop the tools and understanding necessary to assess the risks of tipping points in marine ecosystems and their consequences and opportunities for the UK," said TiMBER's lead R&D Creator Corinne Le Quéré, Royal Society Research Professor of Climate Change Science at UEA.
TiMBER has developed an Ocean Systems Model along with other AI methods, that will assess the risks of tipping points in marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry.
For example, it will identify early warning indicators for "sentinel" marine species sensitive to climate change and recommend monitoring and adaptation strategies. It will also study the consequences of the ocean's carbon uptake from human emissions.
The project also involves collaboration between the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the Institute of Computing for Climate Science (ICCS) at the University of Cambridge, and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).
"By bringing together our expertise across different aspects of marine ecosystem and biogeochemistry to understand the potential impacts and opportunities in the UK, we hope to translate that into practical advice to support the fisheries and aquaculture sectors adapt to the impacts of climate change," Dr Bryony Townhill, Principal Climate Change Scientist at Cefas expressed.
