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
PhD supervision
- Aysegul Dogan
- Alyssa Kovalski
- Lucy Robinson
- Lauren South
Selected publications
-
Open access
A marine and salt marsh sediment organic carbon database for European regional seas (EURO-CARBON)
Graversen, A. E. L., Lønborg, C., Addamo, A. M., Pedersen, S. G., Chemello, S., Alejo, I., Apostolaki, E. T., Asplund, M. E., Austin, W. E. N., Berov, D., Berto, D., Björk, M., Black, K., Bobchev, N., Bonaglia, S., Borgersen, G., Bouma, T., Costello, M. J., Dahl, M. & Diaz-Almela, E. & 72 others, , 1 Jun 2025, In: Data in Brief. 60, 14 p., 111595.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Anaerobic decomposition dynamics of three kelp species from the North-east Atlantic: implications for blue carbon storage
O'Dell, A., Baxter, J. M., Moore, P., Smale, D., Smeaton, C., Davies , I. & Burrows, M., 27 Feb 2025, In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. 755, p. 63-77Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a fjord catchment NW Scotland, UK since the Last Glacial Maximum: a multi-geochemical approach
Taylor , J., Selby, D., Lloyd, J., Smeaton, C., Bendle, J., Allison, M., Ling, Y., Podrecca, L., Sageman, B., Austin, W. & Szidat, S., 15 May 2025, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 356, 16 p., 109311.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Shellfish carbonate in sediments: assessing historical baselines, dissolution dynamics, and carbon storage beneath shellfish farms, Marlborough, New Zealand
Handley, S. J., Hale, R., Smeaton, C., Swales, A. & Kerr-Hislop, O., 12 Jun 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 109396.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Fjords as globally significant hotspots for carbon burial and storage
Austin, W. & Smeaton, C., 7 Jul 2024, Online: Marine Scotland. 19 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
-
Open access
Investigating the effects of mobile bottom fishing on benthic carbon processing and storage: a systematic review protocol
Felgate, S., Aldridge , J., Bolam, S., Breimann, S., de Borger, E., Claes, J., Depestele, J., Epstein, G., Garcia, C., Hicks, N., Kaiser, M., Laverick, J., Lessin, G., O'Neill, F., Pardis, S., Parker, R., Pereira, R., Poulton, A., Powell, C. & Smeaton, C. & 5 others, , 15 Oct 2024, In: Environmental Evidence. 13, 10 p., 24.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Open access
Organic carbon accumulation in British saltmarshes
Smeaton, C., Garrett, E., Koot, M., Ladd, C., Miller, L., McMahon, L., Foster, B., Barlow, N., Blake, W., Gehrels, R., Skov, M. & Austin, W., 3 Apr 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Science of the Total Environment. 926, 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
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
-
Open access
Saltmarshes do store carbon, but their climate impact may have been overestimated
Smeaton, C. & Garrett, E., 23 May 2024, The Conversation.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
-
Open access
Soil carbon in the world's tidal marshes
Maxwell, T., Spalding, M., Friess, D., Murray, N., Rogers, K., Rovai, A., Smart, L., Weilguny, L., Adame, M., Adams, J., Austin, W., Copertino, M., Cott, G., Costa, M., Holmquist, J., Ladd, C., Lovelock, C., Ludwig, M., Moritsch, M. & Navarro, A. & 8 others, , 26 Nov 2024, In: Nature Communications. 15, 16 p., 10265.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review