Photograph of Dr Ben Moat
Group
Marine Physics and Ocean Climate
Site
Southampton
Email
ben.moat at noc.ac.uk
Biography

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 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

Links:

NOC Ocean Circulation and Processes Team Leader

Head of NOC Marine Physics Engagement

Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ambassador

International Panels

  • Member of the International OSNAP steering committee

Scientific Societies

PI of the AMOC 26N project (RAPID-AMOC)

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 18 years.

 

PI of RAPID-Evolution

Design and demonstration of a more sustainable, lower cost, RAPID 26˚N observing system for future observations of the AMOC

 

OptimESM: Optimal High-Resolution Earth System Models for Exploring Future Climate changes

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)

Explain and predict changes in the North Atlantic Climate System

 

NOC PI of BLUE ACTION: Arctic Impact on Weather and Climate

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.

Report available: Flow distortion around underwater gliders and impacts on sensor measurements: a pilot study using large-eddy simulations