Professor David Thomas
My main academic interests include: Antarctic, Arctic and Baltic sea ice ecology & biogeochemistry; Role of dissolved organic matter in aquatic systems and land-ocean transitions; Inorganic nutrients & phytoplankton primary production; Industrial-scale microalgal biomass production & utilisation; Seaweed & halophyte ecology & physiology; Conveying science to non-specialist audiences; Connections between science & art.
My work is international in scope (worked & lived - apart from UK - in Germany for 7 years; Finland for 2.5 years; Denmark 10 months; Israel for 6 months).
Since the award of my PhD in 1988 I have:
- Participated in 14 research-cruises of between 2 weeks and 3 months: Southern Ocean (6), Arctic (2), North Sea (5) & North East Atlantic (1).
- I have conducted other fieldwork in the Baltic Sea (Finland & Sweden), Red Sea (Israel & Egypt) & White Sea (Russia), The Philippines, Vietnam & Wales.
- I have also led teams of between 10 and 20 scientists in 4 large-scale facility ice tank experiments in Hamburg (≈30 days each).
Latest News
Potential Availability of NERC Ship Time During the 25/26 Programme Year
The NERC Marine Facilities Programme for 2025/2026 for the RRS Discovery and the RRS James Cook has been published on the Marine Facilities Planning website.
The RRS Discovery programme currently contains a 79 day alongside slot between the 2nd of November 2025 and the 19th of January 2026, which is available for science delivery if funded science projects can make use of this time. Due to the location of the vessel, the ship is most likely to be able to deliver fieldwork in the North and East Atlantic regions. Some support for science capability within the National Marine Equipment Pool is potentially available, although there is no capacity for use of autonomous vehicles or remotely operated vehicles. Any fieldwork within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) will need the appropriate diplomatic clearance submitted to coastal states at least 6 months in advance, and to NMF with sufficient lead time for processing via the FCDO.
If interested in making use of this ship time, please contact NERC Marine Planning (marineplanning@nerc.ukri.org) ASAP to start discussions.
THE MARINE FACILITIES ADVISORY BOARD – CAN YOU HELP?
The Marine Facilities Advisory Board advises the National Oceanography Centre on marine facilities and services, including the Natural Environment Research Council’s National Marine Equipment Pool (NMEP), the British Oceanographic Data Centre and the British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility.
NOC Association AGM 2025
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. Although discussion topics are being finalised, we will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join. To participate, please complete your registration here. For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk