SAMS Ocean Explorer

He is one of the world's most cited climate scientists and is part of the research collaboration that defined the term 'marine heatwave', but after 35 years at SAMS Prof. Mike Burrows is sailing into retirement. In this special episode, host Euan Paterson sits down with Prof. Burrows to find out how his research has been guided by the theme of climate change and why ocean temperatur...

You might not have heard of The Ellett Line, but it's one of the most important and influential projects in ocean science today. A series of data points in the Atlantic between Scotland and Iceland, The Ellett Line is visited by a research ship every two years to collect data from equipment at each of these points.  More than 50 years since it was established, The Ellett Line has given scient...

In a very special episode of the SAMS Ocean Explorer podcast, recorded at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026 in Glasgow, we discuss the current state of ocean research as it navigates reductions in funding while facing an urgent demand for new knowledge. We explore the impact of U.S. federal government cuts to environmental science and ask: Can scientists be political? What actions are needed to addr...

Like a giant carbon sponge, the ocean has been absorbing much of the excess carbon dioxide humans have produced - but for how long can that last? While we see the effects of climate change more clearly on land, the impact on our ocean is less obvious.  In this episode, guests Dr Robyn Tuerena and Dr Clare Johnson of SAMS discuss how their latest research project, C-STREAMS, is measuring changes in...

The term 'robotics' is fairly wide reaching. From amateur enthusiasts to teams of developers working on the next ingenious idea, there are many applications too. Environmental scientists are excited about a new-found capability in environmental monitoring. Surveying an area of land or sea that would previously have taken days - even many weeks - can now be done in minutes, thanks to auto...

Marine restoration is the helping hand that nature needs in the battle against biodiversity loss and also a way to offset human impacts in the ocean. But the benefits can be more than ecological. In this episode, we welcome Peter Watson of SSEN Transmission, the company responsible for laying new power cables on our seabed as part of the de-carbonising of our energy grid. There's much more it...

With a global human population in excess of eight billion, governments and planners are looking to aquaculture to provide food security in a sustainable way. But this is a diverse global industry that comes in many forms, with various societal and ecological challenges.    In this episode, two of the academics behind a highly-rated aquaculture Masters Degree, ACES, reflect on 10 years of the progr...

Oceanographers spend a lot of time exploring the deep sea, but what is it really like taking measurements in the middle of the ocean and how is it done?  In this episode real-life Octonauts, Drs Neil Fraser and Lewis Drysdale, explain to Euan how detailed ocean observations give us an insight into the changing climate. They also describe how the latest technology has become a game changer in the q...

Images of a seahorse clutching a cotton bud, or a marine mammal choking on a plastic bag provoke shocking and saddening reactions - but how much change is made as a result? As they discover a new plastic threat to mangrove habitats on the Ghanaian coast, SAMS scientists Prof. Bhavani Narayanaswamy and Dr Geslaine Lemos Concalves explain the extent of plastic pollution in our ocean and what we can...

A discovery in the dark depths of the Pacific Ocean has been challenging the scientific consensus of how oxygen is produced and has even called into question how life on Earth began. Photosynthetic organisms like plants and algae use energy from sunlight to create the planet’s oxygen. But new evidence published by Prof. Andrew Sweetman and collaborators, including his former PhD student Dr Daniell...

From creating the atmosphere that led to life on Earth, to providing food for the entire ocean food web, plankton have been pivotal to the world we know today. Indeed, by absorbing vast quantities of carbon dioxide, they have been protecting us from the worst effects of global warming. But do plankton get the credit they deserve..? Find out from guests Prof Paul Tett and Dr Callum Whyte why plankt...

They are giants of the sea in northern Europe, yet not many people have heard of them, let alone seen any... The flapper skate, considered critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is faring relatively well within a Marine Protected Area off the west coast of Scotland, but the future for the wider population looks more bleak. In this episode, we speak to experts Dr Steven B...

We've all heard creepy noises in the forest, but you probably haven't heard one like this... In this episode, we hear an artist's take on what a kelp forest looks like below the water surface and listen to a 'creepy' sound from the beneath waves as host Euan Paterson meets SAMS artist-in-residence Helena Hunter and marine ecologist Alasdair O'Dell. We discuss how scie...

In part two of our season-opening episode, SAMS Director Prof. Nick Owens talks to host Euan Paterson and guest co-host Ross Lupton about his time as Director of the prestigious British Antarctic Survey. He also shares his thoughts on the future of the ocean and how a change at boardroom level could make the environmental outlook a little better. We also get answers to the big questions of the day...

To kick off season two of the Ocean Explorer podcast, host Euan Paterson and guest co-host Ross Lupton, an undergraduate student at SAMS, quiz SAMS Director Prof. Nick Owens on how marine science has changed over the decades. In this part one of our interview, we ask Prof. Owens: how does his student experience compare, how has academia changed and did his generation of scientists not see climate...

Whether it's an attack by another marine creature, or disorientation in a noisy ocean, there are various reasons for marine mammals to wash up on the shoreline. So how do we find out the cause of each stranding? The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) undertakes forensic investigations into strandings around the Scottish coast. Its work complements marine mammal research at instit...

A superfood, a sustainable source of fuel and an overall environmentally-friendly industry; there's plenty to like about seaweed farming! But following some recent unsuccessful planning applications in the UK, it seems that 'green' credentials alone may not be enough to ensure industry growth. As seaweed farmers grapple with issues of scaling up and cost in the UK and Europe, will t...

Can whales be famous? Are they becoming more of less common in our coastal waters? How are they affected by climate change and pollution? Despite being among the largest creatures on the planet, whales can be difficult to monitor, given the distances they travel and the time they spend below the sea surface. In this episode, we welcome Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Director Alison Lomax to tal...

It's all contained within a yellow case, the size of a small suitcase, but the SIMBA instrument is revolutionising the way scientists measure ice melt rate and thickness and, more recently, how they assess avalanche and flood risk. SIMBA, or Snow Ice Mass Balance Apparatus, is developed and built by SAMS Enterprise and now has a number of applications. The research and development into this t...

Marine heatwaves are becoming more common and more intense. They can have devastating effects on ocean life, particularly corals and other species that are fixed in one location. This year, large parts of the ocean have been at a state of near permanent heatwave, with one particular heatwave off northern UK, lasting 237 days, from August 2022 to April 2023.  To learn more, we speak to Prof Mike Bu...

A typical image of a whale is a majestic creature cruising through the deep and vast ocean. But our coastal seas contain unseen hazards, including creel lines, in which they can become entangled.  Continuing our #WhaleTalk series, we meet Susannah Calderan and Dr Steven Benjamins to discuss the extent of the whale entanglement problem and reveal how a collaboration between researchers and fisherme...

Introducing the new Ocean Explorer podcast from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), an ocean research institute and partner of UHI based in Oban.  In this episode, part of our #WhaleTalk campaign, host Euan Paterson speaks to marine mammal experts Dr Denise Risch and Dr Nienke van Geel to find out how they listen to whales and dolphins, what they can learn from the sounds, and how...