Intersection Crossing paths

Crossing paths with engineers.

Marine physicist Natalie Robinson specialises in Antarctic oceanography and climate change and is looking forward to her eighth trip to Antarctica, planned for later this year. Spending more than a month on the frozen continent at a time, she’s been the science leader five times, and typically works on sea ice – ice that formed from ocean water to a thickness of 2m over the previous winter, but which will break up and melt in the summer. Her work has significantly contributed to understanding the oceanic connection between sub-glacial ice and sea ice regimes. She’s led research on understanding the ocean boundary layer beneath platelet ice, and is a Principal Investigator on a core Antarctic Science Platform project: sea ice and carbon cycle feedbacks. She's passionate about making science accessible to everyone and was named by Forbes as an Outstanding Woman in STEM in 2021.

How do you work with engineers?

We carry out cutting-edge science that’s crucial for understanding Earth’s changing climate. We do this in the challenging, dynamic and relatively unknown physical environment of Antarctica. Our latest research project required us to collect samples of a delicate two-phase (ice/water) lattice structure known as platelet ice, which constitutes an important habitat of the Southern Ocean. As this was the first time anyone had attempted this, the sampling required a bespoke engineered solution. We tested it successfully in field trials in Antarctica over summer, and the sampling system is now ready to be deployed to support our team’s interdisciplinary research in the coming field seasons.

How does your work impact on engineers?

Our scientific community continually seeks to push into increasingly remote and harsh locations, creating opportunities for engineers to respond creatively to new issues. I have seen many examples of engineers excited to use their skills and experience to meet these unique challenges.

How do engineering decisions impact on your work?

The interaction of Antarctic ice with the underlying ocean represents the biggest uncertainty in future projections of climate change, hence there is considerable urgency to better understand these processes. However, if the processes themselves weren’t sufficiently complex, they're also occurring in locations that are extremely remote, with many barriers to physical access, and often concealed beneath hundreds of metres of ice. We are therefore critically reliant on a collaborative approach between engineers and scientists to come up with creative solutions to unique problems to advance understanding. It wouldn’t be possible to push the boundaries of science in these ways without the input and enthusiasm from engineers.

Dr Natalie Robinson

Role: Marine physicist, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Based in: Wellington Qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, Victoria University of Wellington, 2001; Bachelor of Science (Hons) Victoria University of Wellington, 2002; Master of Science (Geophysics), Victoria University of Wellington, 2005; PhD (Marine Science), University of Otago, 2012

What are three observations you’d make after working with engineers?

I’ve benefitted from the contribution of engineers at many points in my career. I'm grateful for their forward thinking – often identifying solutions that meet not only immediate challenges, but leave space for issues not yet identified. They're also highly safety conscious – we work in an unusual, hazardous environment so it is reassuring to know that the people designing solutions have an eye on how the personnel operating the equipment will respond to the unfamiliar equipment and conditions. Also, engineers are just as interested in, and motivated by, the science as the researchers, and simply bring a different skill set to advancing understanding of the world we live in.

What do engineers all seem to do well?

Listen hard to understand the fundamental problems to be solved and therefore avoid the temptation to jump in with premature or ill-conceived solutions.