Plymouth Marine Laboratory

The mounting pressures to tackle global change issues (post Kyoto), together with the evidence that our oceans play a crucial role in the processes that will change our planet over the coming decades, are issues being taken seriously by increasing numbers of politicians and peoples around the world. Our research and findings have fed into a national understanding of the legacy of over 200 years of increasing greenhouse gases through burning fossil fuels. The pressure and impacts from human activities are increasingly affecting the health and sustainability of our oceans, with changes now occurring on an unprecedented scale.

Half of the world population resides within the coastal margins. Our understanding of the functional consequences of impacts from pollution in coastal systems and the pressures on biodiversity and habitats resulting from global change and global population growth have highlighted just how important sustainable management of marine ecosystems will be in the future.

Playing an integral part in the UK’s strategic marine science and technology capability for over 30 years, we advise Government, the European Union and international regulating bodies on strategic issues ranging from the ‘ecosystem approach’ to global change issues such as ocean acidification.