Dr Craig Smeaton
Lecturer in Physical Geography
Research areas
My research is centred on the nexus between land and ocean systems and the interface between science and policy. I investigate the processes controlling carbon storage in coastal and marine sedimentary environments including saltmarshes, fjords, and continental‑shelf settings using field observations, geochemical analyses, and advanced spatial modelling.
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
- Lauren Carl
- Aysegul Dogan
- Alyssa Kovalski
- Lucy Robinson
- Lauren South
Selected publications
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Open access
Blue nitrogen follows the fate of tidal wetlands
Langley, J. A., Chapman, S. K., Wang, L., Maxwell, T. L., Rivera, P., Adame, M. F., Arias-Ortiz, A., Asanopoulos, C., Blanco, J. F., Breithaupt, J. L., Canty, S. W. J., Chambers, L. G., Cornwell, J. C., Craft, C., Cross, S., Feller, I. C., Friess, D. A., Grey, A., Holmquist, J. & Jones, S. F. & 22 others, , 23 Jun 2026, In: Earth's Future. 14, 6, 12 p., e2025EF006747.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
From fjord to shelf: drivers of organic carbon transformation and storage across connected marine sedimentary systems
Smeaton, C., Hiles, W., Gulliver, P. & Austin, W. E. N., 11 May 2026, In: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 40, 5, 15 p., e2025GB008738.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Heterogenous thermochemical stability of sedimentary organic carbon in high-Arctic Svalbard fjords
Zhang, X., Koziorowska, K., Yang, H., He, S., Ho, K., Yan, M., Smeaton, C., Bianchi, T. S. & Cui, X., 1 Apr 2026, In: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 40, 4, 21 p., e2025GB008788.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Long-term nitrogen burial exceeds denitrification in global fjords
Cheung, H. L. S., Levin, L. S., Smeaton, C., Politi, T., Thamdrup, B., Santos, I. R. & Bonaglia, S., 1 Apr 2026, In: Nature Communications. 17, 9 p., 3148.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Spatial heterogeneity of sedimentary organic carbon in fjords around Stavanger, Norway: implications for upscaling
Diesing, M., Bøe, R., Elvenes, S., Knies , J. & Smeaton, C., 5 May 2026, In: Biogeosciences. 23, 9, p. 3005-3022 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The role of English seabed sediments in carbon storage, impact of human activities, environmental pressures and potential management options: evidence review
Parker, R., Graves, C., Aldridge, J., Heal, R., Hughes, D., Mason, C., Powell, C., Austin, W., Bell, T., Clarkson, S., Elias, J., Hicks, N., Hiddink , J., Homoky, W., Hunt, C., Hunter, B., Ivanovic, A., Kaiser, M., Kennedy, H. & Marsh, M. & 21 others, , 25 Feb 2026, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). 86 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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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
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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
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Open access
Efficient burial of labile organic carbon in sediments of oxygenated Icelandic fjords
Watts, E. G., Zautcke, K., Santos, I., Smeaton, C., Ljungberg, W., Cheung, H. L. S., Bonaglia, S., Politi, T., Liu, Z. & Bianchi, T. S., Nov 2025, In: Estuaries and Coasts. 48, 6, p. 1-20 20 p., 167.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Hotspots and coldspots of seabed organic carbon on the Norwegian continental margin
Diesing, M., Smeaton, C., Bjarnadóttir, L. R. & Thorsnes, T., 30 Oct 2025, In: Environmental Research Communications. 7, 10, 11 p., 105030.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review