The role of deep ocean currents in carbon storage

George Edwards dives into the latest research at Exeter University and what this means for the fight against climate change

OUR oceans are key players in the fight against climate change. By capturing excess carbon and heat from the atmosphere, they reduce the severity of global warming. Yet the processes of transporting this carbon and heat within the ocean are relatively unknown, causing uncertainty as to how much more heat and carbon the ocean will be able to absorb in future.

A new research project by the Universities of Exeter and California aims to shed light on this by capturing the movement of the deep ocean and improve our understanding of the ocean’s capacity to absorb atmospheric heat and carbon.

The research will be undertaken on a vessel in the southwest Atlantic Ocean, where the warm Atlantic and cold Southern oceanic waters mix.

The project aims to map ‘sub-mesoscale current flows’ (deep ocean currents around one to ten kilometres long), which are thought to play a key role in moving heat, carbon and nutrients around the oceans, using sonar technology (transmitting sound waves from the vessel and capturing the reflected echoes).

The reflections recorded from different water layers will be used to create four-dimensional maps of the deep ocean currents in great detail. These will then be used to model the transport of carbon and heat throughout the oceans.

Dr Katy Sheen, the lead researcher on the project, said: "This work will help us to understand a realm of sub-surface ocean currents that are very poorly understood, due to difficulties in observing and modelling them. The ultimate goal will be to quantify and model the role these currents play in mixing and stirring key properties such as heat, carbon and nutrients throughout the ocean thereby helping to map out our future climate and biosphere."

Recommendations for a new generation of Brain Health Services

Anabel Costa-Ferreira, Comment Editor, explores how researchers at the University of Exeter are working to prevent dementia

THOUGH dementia remains an incurable condition, recent scientific discoveries are aptly calling into question why treatment is often left until symptoms become visible. While the current diagnosis procedure seeks to assist with the long-term impact, there remains less focus on preventative measures surrounding this illness.

Recent research by a European Task Force (also involving the University of Exeter) strongly encourages individuals to look out for early-stage signs. This can even involve establishing whether a person is genetically predisposed to developing the illness at a later stage in life.

The new recommendations take the form of a ‘four pillar’ plan that combines together to create an evidence-based map. These are defined as: Risk Assessment, Risk Communication, Risk Reduction and Cognitive Enhancement. These individual pillars work to establish contributing factors such as other medical conditions or lifestyle impacts. They also help the patient to understand the illness to the best of their ability, to enable them to make important decisions surrounding which treatments they feel would best suit them.

Reduction primarily looks at nonmedical interventions; however, this proposal does reference "the adminis- tration of newly developed anti-amyloid drugs which work specifically to lower beta-amyloid quantities in the brain" (peptides found often in the brains of those suffering from Alzheimer's) and the use of monoclonal antibodies to help keep brain cells working longer (proteins able to attack specific antigens).

Finally, enhancement attempts to stimulate the brain and aid in regaining memories using techniques such as computer exercises and even magnetic stimulation.

The entirety of these pillars' purpose is, in the words of Professor David Llewellyn (University of Exeter Medical School), "an important step forward in our

Celebrating LGBTQIA+ people in STEM

fight to combat dementia." He goes on to rightly acknowledge how "we now recognise that this fight begins many decades earlier than anyone previously realised".

These discussions were generated from an assembly of 28 institutions, and looking to the future there is hope this framework will prove an important scientific milestone for Brain Health Services.

Hayley Power, Science Editor, celebrates LGBTQ+ history month by discussing the experiences of members of the community who work in STEM

IN LGBTQ+ history month, it is important to celebrate the work of LGBTQIA+ people in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) .

The barriers faced by the community are often a result of a hostile work environment, with a reported 28 per cent of LGBTQ+ people surveyed stating that they have considered leaving their jobs at some point due to discrimination in the workplace. they were urged to ‘stay in the closet’ by colleagues, in order to ensure they would be respected. This mistreatment is even more common for LGBTQ+ people of colour, in addition to women in the community.

This number is staggeringly higher for transgender (or otherwise gender non-conforming) physicists, at 50 per cent, with one-third stating

Unfortunately, it isn’t just coworkers who impact the work lives of LGBTQ+ people working in STEM — often it’s the people they are trying to help. 59.2 per cent of LGBTQ+ surgery residents have reported discrimination by patients when working, 47.5 per cent have experienced harassment and a whopping 74.8 per cent have been subjected to bullying.

However, in spite of all the barriers they face, LGBTQ+ people continue to flourish in STEM. A few examples are given below, to commend them for their resilience in the face of adversity.

MARTIN JOHNSON: A gay reproductive scientist (now retired), who was based at Cambridge University. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He reported studying in a "very homophobic environment", so much so that he didn’t come out until his late 40s. Thankfully, however, he and his partner of 40 years never experienced any rejection from their colleagues because of their sexual orientation.

IMOGEN GYNGELL: A transgender woman and Royal Society Research Fellow, working as a space physicist at the University of Southampton. She aims to make herself "visible" to ensure that LGBTQ+ perspectives reach all levels of leadership, "especially given the dif- ficult political climate for trans people".

E.W. TEKWA: A non-binary and fluid postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Colombia. They have worked in many fields, from microbiology and evolution to data science and economics. When interviewed, they said that they believe their journey in discovering their gender identity went hand-in-hand with discovering which area of academia they belonged in.

DARBY PROCTOR: A lesbian working as a faculty member in an unspecified university. She views herself as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, stating that: "For those of us who are established in our careers it is important to be visible representatives so that we can be both scientific and social role models for the next generation."