Research areas
My principle 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 coniential shelf sediments in the North East Atlantic with particular focus on fjord sediments
Selected publications
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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
Assessing the potential vulnerability of sedimentary carbon stores to bottom trawling disturbance within the UK EEZ
Black, K. E., Smeaton, C., Turrell, W. & 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
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Open access
Distribution of particulate and dissolved organic carbon in surface waters of northern Scottish fjords
Smeaton, C. & Austin, W. E. N., 5 Sep 2022, In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 274, 6 p., 107952.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Global fjords as transitory reservoirs of labile organic carbon modulated by organo-mineral interactions
Cui, X., Mucci, A., Bianchi, T., He, D., Vaughn, D., Williams, E., Wang, C., Smeaton, C., Koziorowska-Makuch, K., Faust, J., Plante, A. & Rosenheim, B., 18 Nov 2022, In: Science Advances. 8, 46, 12 p., eadd0610.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Quality not quantity: prioritizing the management of sedimentary organic matter across continental shelf seas
Smeaton, C. & Austin, W., 14 Mar 2022, In: Geophysical Research Letters. 49, 5, 11 p., e2021GL097481.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Scottish saltmarsh, sea-level rise, and the potential for managed realignment to deliver blue carbon gains
Austin, W., Smeaton, C., Houston, A. & Balke, T., 30 Jun 2022, Climate XChange. 77 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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Open access
Sedimentary carbon on the continental shelf: emerging capabilities and research priorities for Blue Carbon
Graves, C., Benson, L., Aldridge, J., Austin, W., Dal Molin, F., Fonseca, V., Hicks, N., Hynes, C., Kröger, S., Lamb, P., Mason, C., Powell, C., Smeaton, C., Wexler, S., Woulds, C. & Parker, R., 8 Sep 2022, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 9, 22 p., 926215.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Understanding the role of terrestrial and marine carbon in the mid-latitude fjords of Scotland
Smeaton, C. & Austin, W., 11 Nov 2022, In: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 36, 11, 18 p., e2022GB007434.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review