Dr Jennifer A Graham

Physical Oceanographer

I am a physical oceanographer with expertise in the use of ocean models. I have experience using and developing a variety of regional ocean models, for a variety of locations and applications, from the poles to the tropical ocean. I use models to investigate both the current and potential future state of the marine environment, placing observations in wider context of space and time, and exploring different scenarios. 

My research interests centre around understanding mechanisms of variability within the ocean, as well as how the physical climate drives changes and impacts in the wider marine ecosystem (from physics to fish).

Contact details:

My research interests include, but are not limited to:

* Ocean modelling, including regional model development and the impact of model resolution.

* Exchange between shelf seas and open ocean.

* Ocean variability, and role of ocean-atmosphere-ice interactions.

* Role of physical oceanography in understanding ecosystem change/variability.

 

List of current research projects

TIMBER: Forecasting Tipping points in Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Responses. Funded by ARIA April 2025 - March 2030: TiMBER aims to develop the first Ocean Systems Model (OSM) worldwide and integrate a large model ensemble with observations using AI approaches, to assess the risks and consequences of tipping points in marine ecosystems.

The OSM will be designed to assess the predictability of tipping points in marine systems in the North Atlantic and Subpolar Gyre (SPG), determine the potential impacts for the UK economy (focusing on fisheries) and support the establishment of an early warning observing system. I am co-leading Work Package 1.

Peer-reviewed publications

Harrison, L.C., Graham, J.A., Chowdhury, P., Silva, T.A.M., Hoehn, D.P., Samanta, A., Chakraborty, K., Joseph, S., Nair, T.M.B., and Kumar, T.S. (2024), Monsoonal influence on floating marine litter pathways in the Bay of Bengal, Ocean Science, 21, 1369–1393, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1369-2025 

Holt, J. Katavouta, A., Hopkins, J., Amoudry, L.O., Appendini, C.M., Arneborg, L., Arnold, A., Artioli, Y., Aucan, J., Berx, B., Cagigal, L., De Dominicis, M., Denamiel, C., Galli, G., Graham, J.A., Jacobs, Z., Jevrejeva, S., Kamranzad, B., Langlais, C., Larsen, M.A.D., Lira-Loarca, A., Lyddon, C., Mathis, M., Melet, A., Méndez, F., Muis, S., Myers, P., O’Donovan, M., Olbert, A.I., Palmer, M.D., Phillips, L., Polton, J., Pozo Buil, M., Robins, P., Ruju, A., Schlaefer, J.A., Senatore, A., Siedlecki, S., Tinker, J., Verri, G., Vilibić, I., Wei, X., Pinardi, N. (2025) Future climate projections in the global coastal ocean. Progress in Oceanography, 235:103497, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2025.103497 

Atkins, J.R.C., Tinker, J., Graham, J.A., Scaife, A.A., Halloran, P.R. (2024), Seasonal forecasting of the European North-West shelf seas: limits of winter and summer sea surface temperature predictability. Climate Dynamics, 62, 10113–10130, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-024-07439-0 

Watson, J.W., Radford, Z., Bannister, H., Bradley, R., Brown, M., Ciotti, B.J., Goodwin, D., Graham, J.A., Nash, R.D.M., Roche, W.K., Wogerbauer, C., Hyder, K. (2024), Assessing the coherence in biological and environmental drivers of young sea bass abundance across important estuarine nursery areas of the northern European sea bass stock. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1209311 

Graham, J.A., Watson, J.W., García García, L.M., Bradley K., Bradley R., Brown M., Ciotti, B., Goodwin, D., Nash, R.D.M., Roche, W.K., Wogerbauer, C., Hyder, K. (2023), Pelagic connectivity of European sea bass between spawning and nursery grounds, Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1046585 

Lincoln, S., Cowburn, B., Howes, E., Birchenough, S., Pinnegar, J., Dye, S., Buckley, P., Sheppard, C., Wabnitz, C.C.C, Dutra, L.X.C, Graham, J., Archer-Rand, S., Hardman, E., Engelhard, G.H., Townhill, B. (2022). Climate change impacts on the coral reefs of the UK Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands: Resilience and adaptation considerations. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002531542200090X 

Fronkova, L., Greenwood, N., Martinez, R., Graham, J.A., Harrod, R., Graves, C.A., Devlin, M.J., Petus, C. (2022) Can Forel-Ule act as a proxy of water quality in temperate waters? Application of plume mapping in Liverpool Bay, UK, Remote Sensing, 14(10), 2375, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14102375 

Tidbury, H.J., Copp, G.H., Davison, P.I., Olsson, K.H., Graham, J.A., Hill, T., Vilizzi, L., Stebbing, P.D. Southern Caribbean marine non-native species risk screening and vector analysis: towards cost-effective management (2021), Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3712 

Painting, S.J., Haigh, E.K., Graham, J.A., Morley, S.A., Clingham, E., Hobbs, R., Mynott, F., Bersuder, P., Walker, D.I., Stamford, T. (2021) St Helena marine water quality: background conditions and development of assessment levels for coastal pollutants, Frontiers in Marine Science, 8:655321, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.655321 

Cowburn, B., Graham, J., Schratzberger, M., Brown, J., Henry, L., Clingham, E., Beard, A., Nelson, P. (2021) Rocky reefs of St Helena and the tropical Atlantic: how the lack of coral and an isolated oceanic location drive unique inshore marine ecology, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 663, 31-49, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13633 

Bakir, A., Desender, M., Wilkinson, T., Van Hoytema, N., Amos, R., Airahui, S., Graham, J., and Maes, T., Occurrence and abundance of meso and microplastics in sediment, surface waters, and marine biota from the South Pacific region, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 160, 111572, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111572 

Gilchrist, R.M., Hall, R.A., Bacon, J.C., Rees, J.M., Graham, J.A. (2020) Increased dispersion of oil from a deep water seabed release by energetic mesoscale eddies, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 156, 111258, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111258 

Jones, S., Inall, M., Porter, M., Graham, J.A., Cottier, F. (2020) Storm-driven across-shelf oceanic flows into coastal waters, Ocean Science, 16, 389-403, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-389-2020 

Graham, J.A., Haverson, D., Bacon, J. (2019) Modelling pollution dispersal around Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, Marine Pollution Bulletin, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110589 

Tonani, M., Sykes, P., King, R.R., McConnell, N., Pequignet, A.-C., O'Dea, E., Graham, J.A., Polton, J., and Siddorn, J. (2019) The impact of a new high-resolution ocean model on the Met Office North-West European Shelf forecasting system, Ocean Science, 15, 1133-1158, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1133-2019 

Graham, J.A., Rosser, J.P., O’Dea, E. and Hewitt, H.T. (2018) Resolving shelf-break exchange around the European north-west shelf, Geophys. Res. Lett., https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079399 

Lewis, H.W., Castillo Sanchez, J.M., Arnold, A., Fallmann, J., Saulter, A., Graham, J., Bush, M., Siddorn, J., Palmer, T., Lock, A., Edwards, J., Bricheno, L., Martínez de la Torre, A., and Clark, J. (2019) The UKC3 regional coupled environmental prediction system, Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 2357-2400, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2357-2019

Graham, J.A., O'Dea, E., Holt, J., Polton, J., Hewitt, H.T., Furner, R., Guihou, K., Brereton, A., Arnold, A., Wakelin, S., Castillo Sanchez, J.M., and Mayorga Adame, C.G. (2018), AMM15: a new high-resolution NEMO configuration for operational simulation of the European north-west shelf, Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 681-696, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-681-2018 

Lewis, H.W., Castillo Sanchez, J.M., Graham, J., Saulter, A., Bornemann, J., Arnold, A., Fallmann, J., Harris, C., Pearson, D., Ramsdale, S., Martínez-de la Torre, A., Bricheno, L., Blyth, E., Bell, V., Davies, H., Marthews, T., O'Neill, C., Rumbold, H., O'Dea, E., Brereton, A., Guihou, K., Hines, A., Butenschon, M., Dadson, S.J., Palmer, T., Holt, J., Reynard, N., Best, M., Edwards, J., and Siddorn, J. (2018), The UKC2 regional coupled environmental prediction system, Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 1-42, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1-2018 

Hogg, A.E., Shepherd, A., Cornford, S.L., Briggs, K.H., Gourmelen, N., Graham, J. A., Joughin, I., Mouginot, J., Nagler, T., Payne, A. J., Rignot, E., Wuite, J. (2017), Increased ice flow in Western Palmer Land linked to ocean melting, Geophys. Res. Lett., https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072110 .

Graham, J.A., Dinniman, M.S., Klinck, J.M. (2016), Impact of model resolution for on-shelf heat transport along the West Antarctic Peninsula, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 121, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC011875 

Graham, J.A., Heywood, K.J., Chavanne, C.P., Holland, P.R. (2013), Seasonal variability of water masses and transport on the Antarctic continental shelf and slope in the southeastern Weddell Sea, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 118, 2201–2214, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrc.20174 

Graham, J.A., Stevens, D.P., Heywood, K.J. (2013), Nonlinear Climate Responses to Changes in Antarctic Intermediate Water, J. Climate, 26, 9175-9193, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00767.1 

Graham, J.A., Stevens, D.P., Heywood, K.J., Wang, Z. (2011), North Atlantic climate responses to perturbations in Antarctic Intermediate Water, Clim. Dyn., 37, 297-311, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-010-0981-1 

 

Other publications

Sharples, J., Holt, J., Wakelin, S., Palmer, M.R., Graham, J.A. Climate change impacts on stratification relevant to the UK and Ireland. MCCIP Science Review 2025, 13pp. https://doi.org/10.14465/2025.reu 04.str 

Haverson, D., Beraud, C., Graham, J. (2024): Modelling the Environmental Interactions of Floating Wind Turbines. In: Proceedings of the XXXth TELEMAC User Conference Chambéry, 8-9 October 2024.

McCarthy, G.D., Burmeister, K., Cunningham, S.A., Düsterhus, A., Frajka-Williams, E., Graham, J.A., Hodge, K.R., Holliday, N.P., Inall, M., Jackson, L.C., Menary, M.B., Moat, B.I., Moffa-Sanchez, P., Oltmanns, M., Polton, J.A., Rabe, B., Robson, J. and Thornalley, D.J.R. Climate change impacts on ocean circulation relevant to the UK and Ireland. MCCIP Science Review 2023, 29pp. https://doi.org/10.14465/2023.reu05.cir

Honorary Lecturer in Environmental Science at the University of East Anglia, 2020-present; member of the Collaborative Centre for Sustainable use of the Seas (CCSUS)

National Partnership for Ocean Prediction (NPOP): 2019-present: Co-chair of Coastal Modelling & Applications Activity Group (AG)

Challenger Society for Marine Science: active member since 2008, including participation in Ocean Modelling and Coastal & Shelf Seas SIGs.

Employment history

Since 2025: Principle Investigator in Physical Oceanography, SAMS

2017-25: Principal Ocean Modeller and Team Leader. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Lowestoft, UK

2015-18: Senior Ocean Modelling Scientist. Met Officer, Exeter, UK

2013-14: Postdoctoral Researcher. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

2011-12: Senior Research Associate. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

 

Qualifications

2011 PhD Physical Oceanography and Climate. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

2007 MPhys Astrophysics. University of St Andrews