Emma Boland

• Please introduce yourself.   

I’m Emma Boland an Ocean Modeller at British Antarctic Survey.

• Tell us about your professional and academic career before becoming part of the BIOPOLE Community.  

I’ve been at BAS for almost 17 years, starting out as a PhD student. I specialise in using adjoint modelling approaches to uncover the causal chains that link forcings at the ocean’s surface to changes in interior ocean properties. In the past I’ve used these methods in projects such as ORCHESTRA.

• What do you do within BIOPOLE?   

I’m in Work Package 3, working to understand what the physical controls are on the variability of nutrient exports from the Southern Ocean. The aim is to find out what surface forcings control the seasonal cycle and inter-annual variability of nutrient exports. This involves using adjoint modelling techniques, that effectively run a physical model ‘backwards’ to track the causal chains through the model code.

• What have you enjoyed about BIOPOLE so far?  

The community has been really friendly, and it’s been interesting learning more about biogeochemical processes.

• Tell us about a skill or trait unique to you that you would like to share?  

I am a keen wool crafter, and often knit or crochet gifts for friend’s babies.