Dr Craig Smeaton
Lecturer in Physical Geography
Research areas
My principal research focus is to improve our understanding of the role marine and intertidal sedimentary environments play in the global carbon cycle over different spatial and temporal scales.
Marine sediments and intertidal soils (saltmarsh, seagrass and mangroves) are capable of burying and storing globally significant quantities of carbon (sometimes referred to as Blue Carbon) away for thousands of years potentially providing a highly important climate mitigation service.
These sedimentary environments are recognised, as crucial components of the global carbon cycle, yet many unknowns remain hindering there inclusion in global climate models, national carbon accounting and greenhouse gas inventories.
To tackle this issue I bring together techniques from across the different geoscience disciplines (Geo- physics, chemistry, morphology, spatial analysis) to better understand:
- The quantity of carbon held with marine and intertidal sediments.
- The rate at which carbon is buried and locked away in these sedimentary environments.
- The source of the carbon (terrestrial vs marine).
- The natural and anthropogenic mechanisms that govern the preservation of carbon in these sedimentary systems.
Geographically, my research is currently focused on the saltmarshes of the United Kingdom and continental shelf sediments in the North East Atlantic with particular focus on fjord sediments
Selected publications
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Open access
Potential effects of bottom trawling on organic carbon stocks in Denmark's marine sediments
Smeaton, C. & Austin, W., 6 Feb 2024, Danmarks Naturfredningsforening. 29 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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Open access
Saltmarsh blue carbon accumulation rates and their relationship with sea-level rise on a multi-decadal timescale in northern England
Gore, C., Gehrels, R., Smeaton, C., Andrews, L., McMahon, L., Hibbert, F., Austin, W., Nolte, S. & Garrett, E., Apr 2024, In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 299, 11 p., 108665.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
UAV approaches for improved mapping of vegetation cover and estimation of carbon storage of small saltmarshes examples from Loch Fleet, northeast Scotland
Hiles, W., Miller, L., Smeaton, C. & Austin, W., 20 Feb 2024, In: Biogeosciences. 21, 4, p. 928-948 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Blue forests: a review of carbon offset strategies with seaweed aquaculture – feasibility, current knowledge, and suggestions for future research.
O’Dell, A., Canvin, M., de Bettignies, F., Rob, G., Filbee-Dexter, K., Hughes, A., Hancke, K., Krause-Jensen, D. K-J., Macleod, A., Moore, P., Ricart, A., Rostan, J., Smeaton, C., Stanley, M., Smale, D., Thomas, J-B., Troell, M. & Burrows, M., 5 Jul 2023, Scottish Association for Marine Science. 22 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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Open access
Carbon accumulation and storage across contrasting saltmarshes of Scotland
Miller, L., Smeaton, C., Yang, H. & Austin, W., 5 Mar 2023, In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 282, 15 p., 108223.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Global dataset of soil organic carbon in tidal marshes
Maxwell, T. L., Rovai, A. S., Adame, M. F., Adams, J. B., Álvarez-Rogel, J., Austin, W., Beasy, K., Boscutti, F., Böttcher, M. E., Bouma, T. J., Bulmer, R. H., Burden, A., Burke, S. A., Camacho, S., Chaudhary, D. R., Chmura, G. L., Copertino, M., Cott, G. M., Craft, C., Day, J., & 66 others , 11 Nov 2023, In: Scientific Data. 10, 14 p., 797.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Organic carbon stocks of Great British saltmarshes
Smeaton, C., Ladd, C., Miller, L., McMahon, L., Garrett, E., Barlow, N., Gehrels, W. R., Skov, M. W. & Austin, W., 4 Dec 2023, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 10, 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Assessing the potential vulnerability of sedimentary carbon stores to bottom trawling disturbance within the UK EEZ
Black, K. E., Smeaton, C., Turrell, B. & Austin, W., 4 Aug 2022, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 9, 892892.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Best practice for upscaling soil organic carbon stocks in salt marshes
Ladd, C., Smeaton, C., Skov, M. & Austin, W., 15 Dec 2022, In: Geoderma. 428, 15 p., 116188.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Carbon storage in UK intertidal environments
Austin, W. E. N., Smeaton, C., Ruranska, P., Paterson, D. M., Skov, M. W., Ladd, C. J. T., McMahon, L., Havelock, G. M., Gehrels, R., Mills, R., Barlow, N. L. M., Burden, A., Jones, L. & Garbutt, A., 7 Mar 2022, Challenges in estuarine and coastal science: Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association 50th anniversary volume. Humphreys, J. & Little, S. (eds.). Exeter: Pelagic PublishingResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review