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Group
Open Ocean Physics
Site
Southampton
Email
ben.moat at noc.ac.uk
Research Interests
- Ben Moat is a Physical oceanographer with interests in understanding the relationships between ocean circulation, and our long term global climate and European weather.
- He is the principal investigator of the Atlantic Meridional Overturniung Circulation (AMOC) RAPID observing programme at 26N.
- His research interests include AMOC and Sub polar Gyre tipping points and there impacts on Society.
- He contributes to Policy documents on the role of ocean circulation in our climate.
- He has lead research expeditions into the North Atlantic and participated in numerous expeditions to the Indian, South Atlantic and Southern Oceans.
- As a Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) ambassador he participates in leading science themed workshops at schools and other events.
Recent PhD Students
- Guillaume Hug: Was the AMOC in the mid-20th Century stronger than at present? (2022 - present)
- Anneke Sperling: Do ocean currents stick together? How ocean current coherence impacts European climate. (2023 - present)
- Jan-Torben Witte: A coupled CFD and observational approach to improve measurements of ocean turbulence from gliders. (2017 - 2022)
- Alex Cattrell: Increasing maritime safety with improved understanding of rogue waves. (2015 - 2020)
Awards
- NOC Team Award 2022.
- TOS award for the RAPID 26N team 2021
- NOC Innovative Thinking Award 2020.
- Awarded best paper at the Ricardo European User conference 2015.
- Awarded the Denny medal by the IMarEST March 2010.
Engagement highlights
- COP30: tipping points discussion panel at the virtual ocean pavilion
- BBC south today : Observing the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
- Into the blue PodCast: Has climate change made it impossible to break sailing records
- Into the blue PodCast: Ocean Climate and temperature with Dr Ben Moat
- World Ocean day 2022: live presenting Our ocean and the climate
- World Ocean day 2021: live presenting The role of the Ocean in the changing climate.
- World Ocean day 2021: Meet a scientist
- Live on twitter for World Ocean day 2020 presenting a 3D tour of the RRS James Cook
- Big bang science festival Winchester, 2020
- MPOC science co-ordinator for NOC open day , 2019 to present
- Science-policy briefing: "The slowing Gulf Stream? What we know and potential impacts", European Parliament, Brussels (BE), 2018
Links:
Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ambassador
International Panels
- Member of the CLIVAR Atlantic Region Panel (2025 - present)
- Guest invitee to the International OSNAP steering committee
Scientific Societies
- Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.
- Member of the Challenger Society for Marine Science
PI of the AMOC 26N project (RAPID 26N)
Observing changes in the AMOC is important for understanding decadal climate variability and change.
The RAPID array across the Atlantic at 26°N has now observed the AMOC continuously for over 20 years.
PI of RAPID-Evolution (2022 -2026)
Design and demonstration of a more sustainable, lower cost, RAPID 26˚N observing system for future observations of the AMOC
CO-I of SORTED: Subpolar Gyre Observations, models and artificial intelligence to Resolve Tipping points and provide Early warning Detection (2025 - present)
Fundamentally improve our ability to detect and monitor the early warning signs of Subpolar Gyre collapse by pushing the spatiotemporal capabilities of existing observational records, using a novel combination of AI and tipping point knowledge from models.
CO-I of SORTED: Subpolar Gyre Observations, models and artificial intelligence to Resolve Tipping points and provide Early warning Detection (2025 - present)
Fundamentally improve our ability to detect and monitor the early warning signs of Subpolar Gyre collapse by pushing the spatiotemporal capabilities of existing observational records, using a novel combination of AI and tipping point knowledge from models.
OptimESM: Optimal High-Resolution Earth System Models for Exploring Future Climate changes ( 2023 -present)
The primary goal of OptimESM is to develop the next generation of ESMs, bringing together increased model resolution and process realism, and to deliver long-term climate projections that better support policy and societal needs, providing guidance on regional climate change at different levels of global warming, the risk of abrupt Earth system changes at these warming levels and the regional impacts arising from such events.
WP1.4 lead of ACSIS (North Atlantic Climate System: Integrated Study: 2016-2022)
Explain and predict changes in the North Atlantic Climate System
NOC PI of BLUE ACTION: Arctic Impact on Weather and Climate (2016 - 2021)
Blue-Action will provide fundamental and empirically-grounded, executable science that quantifies and explains the role of a changing Arctic in increasing predictive capability of weather and climate of the Northern Hemisphere.
ORCHESTRA (Ocean Regulation of Climate through Heat and Carbon Sequestration and Transports)
Improve our ability to measure, understand and predict the circulation of the Southern Ocean and its role in the global climate
MASSMO2: Computational Fluid Dynamics studies of the flows around autonomous underwater vehicles
The potential applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in the study of fluid flow around autonomous underwater vehicles is investigated.