EPOC’s Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are at the heart of EPOC’s scientific work. They bring fresh perspectives to some of the most challenging questions in AMOC science, spanning observations, modelling, and palaeoclimate reconstruction. As the next generation of ocean scientists, they will carry this research forward beyond the project’s end.
National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), University of Reading, UK
3. Explaining Past AMOC Changes | 4. Future AMOC Evolution
As we cannot observe the AMOC directly at every point and time, scientists use “fingerprints”; indirect signals in ocean temperature and heat content that track how the circulation has changed over the past 150 years. Léo investigates how well climate models reproduce these fingerprints, and whether higher-resolution models give a more accurate picture. He is also working to identify signals that could warn of rapid, large-scale shifts in the AMOC.
Léo’s research focuses on tropical ocean variability (including ENSO and Atlantic / Benguela Niños) extreme events, teleconnections, large-scale dynamics, and climate change. Within EPOC, he investigates the sensitivity of AMOC fingerprints to model resolution, using proxy-based approaches to understand past AMOC changes and improving their representation in climate models. This work also feeds into WP4, contributing to the identification of indicators of abrupt AMOC change.
Léo is Brazilian, completed his PhD in Physical Oceanography at GEOMAR in Kiel in 2025, and is now a Research Scientist at the University of Reading. He enjoys cooking, gardening, reading, discussing politics, and, as he puts it, doing all football-related activities including playing it, watching it, and suffering with the struggles of supporting his hometown team.
Universität Bremen, Germany
2. Key Processes of Meridional Transport
The ocean’s surface is not flat. Currents, heat, and salinity push it up and down by tens of centimetres, and satellites can measure these shifts from space. Francesca uses this technique to study the North Atlantic Current, a key branch of the AMOC that carries warm water northwards across the boundary between the subtropical and subpolar Atlantic. By combining satellite measurements with ship-based profiles of the water column, she investigates how this boundary region drives changes in ocean transport over months to decades.
Francesca’s research focuses on sea surface height variability and the dynamics of ocean currents. Her early work concentrated on the Arctic; within EPOC she has shifted to the North Atlantic. She combines satellite altimetry and hydrographic profiles to investigate how spatial and temporal variability of the North Atlantic Current affects the AMOC in the transition zone between the subpolar and subtropical North Atlantic.
Francesca comes from a small town near Venice, Italy, where the smell of sea salt was part of the feeling of home. She studied in Italy, spent time in Southampton in the UK where she first got excited about marine research, and now does her own research in Germany. Two passions run through every move and every city: swimming, and singing. Or music-making in general. To get a sense of how she feels about ocean and music, listen to ‘The Anchor Song’ by Björk.
National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading, UK
3. Explaining Past AMOC Changes | 4. Future AMOC Evolution
Gaurav’s work asks a simple question: when greenhouse gases warm the planet, how does the AMOC change, and why do different climate models give different answers? He focuses on the subpolar North Atlantic, a region south of Greenland where the ocean loses heat to the atmosphere and helps power the overturning circulation. Using climate-model experiments, he tracks how changes in heat, salt, freshwater and density reshape the AMOC, and where climate models most disagree about its future.
Gaurav is a Research Scientist in Physical Oceanography and Climate Change at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the University of Reading. His work addresses why coupled climate models disagree on the magnitude, structure and timing of the AMOC’s response to anthropogenic forcing, with particular attention to the subpolar North Atlantic, the North Atlantic Warming Hole, and the ocean heat and freshwater budgets that govern overturning adjustment. His recent work examines the cross-North Atlantic Current density gradient in CMIP6 abrupt-CO₂ simulations, part of a broader effort spanning CMIP7 and AMOC tipping risk, distinguishing genuine physical uncertainty from missing or misrepresented model physics.
Gaurav was born and raised in New Delhi, India. He began storytelling while running across the Indian subcontinent, and has since performed in Delhi, Montreal, Toronto and Kingston, including at the Montreal Intercultural Storytelling Festival. While doing graduate research in Ocean Sciences and Climate Change at Memorial University, he hosted a monthly storytelling circle in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Outside research, he is an ultrarunner, storyteller and photographer, which probably explains why he likes long journeys, difficult landscapes, and complex systems.
Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany
1. Quantifying past AMOC change
Rebecca studies how much heat the ocean carries into the Arctic. Her focus is Fram Strait, the main gap between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic, where warm, salty water flows north as part of the AMOC’s upper branch. Using nearly three decades of measurements from a long-term mooring array, Rebecca tracks how this inflow of warm water has changed from year to year and over recent decades, and what is driving those changes.
Rebecca uses observations of ocean temperature, density and currents to determine how much ocean heat enters the Arctic Ocean through the Fram Strait. Fram Strait is the main gateway between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic, where warm, saline Atlantic Water flows northward via the West Spitsbergen Current as part of the AMOC’s upper limb. Within EPOC, Rebecca has been using data from the 28-year long-term mooring array that monitors the inflow of Atlantic Water in the West Spitsbergen Current. She has determined how the current and the heat it transports have been changing both year-to-year and over recent decades, and what has been driving these changes.
Rebecca was born in Scotland and studied Mathematics at the University of St Andrews, before moving to New Zealand where she completed her PhD in Physical Oceanography based at NIWA in Wellington. She is now a research scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany. When not participating in research cruises to the Arctic, Rebecca trains and competes in triathlons for St. Pauli, and plays tennis and padel.
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Germany
2. Key processes of meridional transport
María studies how changes in the AMOC connect across the Atlantic Ocean. Using high-resolution climate models, she investigates whether variations in one region of the ocean are reflected elsewhere, and how these connections change over time. Her research also explores how different ways of describing the AMOC can shape our understanding of its behaviour. By identifying the processes that strengthen or weaken these connections, María aims to improve how scientists interpret ocean observations, compare climate models, and understand how the Atlantic circulation may respond to future climate change. She is author of EPOC’s what the AMOC is spotlight article.
María studies the meridional connectivity of the AMOC using two ocean resolutions of the MPI-ESM model, with further work planned using the ICON-EPOC model. Her research investigates how connectivity depends on timescale, model resolution, and the way the overturning circulation is defined, while exploring the physical processes that establish, weaken, or obscure coherent variability across the Atlantic. She is particularly interested in the mechanisms that connect the subpolar and subtropical North Atlantic.
María grew up in Chile and has been curious about how the Earth works since she was a child. She studied a bachelor’s degree in Geophysics and a master’s degree in Meteorology and Climatology at the University of Chile. She was missing how the ocean works, so she is now doing her PhD in Physical Oceanography at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg. Outside of research, she enjoys reading, dancing, embroidering, and planning her next trip.
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, UK
4. Future AMOC Evolution
The upper layer of the ocean acts as the climate system’s memory bank, storing and releasing heat in ways that influence weather and climate far from where the heat was absorbed. Balaji studies how this ocean-atmosphere exchange shapes long-term climate variability, with a focus on the tropical Atlantic. His work spans the dynamics of why sea-surface temperatures rise and fall differently across seasons, and what this means for climate models and for regions that depend on a stable AMOC.
Balaji’s research focuses on ocean-atmosphere coupling and large-scale climate variability across interannual to multidecadal timescales, with emphasis on upper-ocean mixed-layer processes. During his PhD he identified and characterised the Southern Hemisphere circumpolar wavenumber-4 pattern and its dynamical origin. At Reading, he has developed a new mechanistic perspective on tropical Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV), highlighting the role of ocean-atmosphere interaction and mixed-layer depth variability. His current EPOC work examines AMOC dynamics and its implications for regional and global climate using coupled climate models.
Balaji grew up in India, completed his PhD at IIT Kharagpur, and is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Reading. Away from research, cooking is his favourite way to switch off — followed by badminton, 5k runs, and weekend hikes in the British countryside. He fits in two or three trekking trips a year, making the most of conference travel to explore the Himalayas, the Alps, or the hills closer to home.
IFREMER, Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, France
2. Key Processes of Meridional Transport
Felipe investigates what drives the AMOC’s variability near the Flemish Cap — a shallow underwater plateau off eastern Canada where warm and cold water masses collide. Using data from nine ocean moorings combined with a high-resolution ocean model, he explores how changes in temperature and salinity at this western boundary influence the strength of the wider circulation.
Felipe’s research focuses on (i) mechanisms of AMOC variability, (ii) air-sea interaction along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, (iii) water subduction in the Southern Ocean, and (iv) eddy genesis at the Deep Western Boundary Current in the South Atlantic. At IFREMER, he examines the link between AMOC strength at 47°N and western boundary temperature and salinity anomalies, using a nine-mooring array near the Flemish Cap together with a high-resolution ocean model. He is also a University Associate at the University of Tasmania.
Felipe grew up in Brazil, studied oceanography at the University of São Paulo, and later at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He did his PhD at the University of Tasmania and CSIRO in Australia, and is now a postdoctoral researcher at IFREMER in France. Outside research, he is a cyclist and an aspiring rock climber.
National Oceanography Centre, Liverpool, UK
1. Quantifying past AMOC change
The AMOC carries huge amounts of heat and freshwater across the Atlantic, helping to regulate climate around the world. But because ocean observations are patchy in space and time, working out exactly how much heat and freshwater it moves can be difficult. Parvathi brings together many different types of ocean observations using different types of statistical modelling, combining the strengths of each to build a clearer, more reliable picture of how much heat and freshwater the AMOC transports, and how this varies from year to year.
Parvathi is a physical oceanographer currently working at the National Oceanography Centre, Liverpool, UK. Her research interests include the response of the ocean to bio-physical coupling, air-sea interaction, and climate change, using both ocean models and observations. Her current focus is on Atlantic Ocean processes, including large-scale circulation such as the AMOC and the interaction between the Arctic and North Atlantic. Within EPOC, Parvathi uses a Bayesian hierarchical modelling approach that integrates all available observations to produce statistically robust estimates of meridional heat and freshwater transport in the Atlantic. Her results also provide insight into the meridional coherence of these transports, illuminating the large-scale structure and variability of the AMOC on interannual timescales.
Parvathi grew up in India and earned her PhD from the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography in Goa, on India’s west coast. She then moved to New York University Abu Dhabi for her postdoctoral research, before joining the National Oceanography Centre in Liverpool, UK, as a Research Scientist in June 2023. Beyond her research, Parvathi enjoys immersing herself in nature, often spending time on quiet beaches or in peaceful parks. She values time with family and friends and is equally passionate about exploring the philosophies and traditions of different cultures, particularly how societies, ideas, and ways of life have evolved over time.
Institute of Oceanography, Universität Hamburg, Germany
5. Observing Systems
The AMOC is often pictured as a conveyor belt moving water continuously around the Atlantic. But we monitor it from multiple locations using many different methods but those measurements don’t always tell the same story. Simon investigates why, and what that means for how we interpret observations of the circulation as a whole. Part of the answer lies in ocean bottom pressure; a measurement that helps compare readings across different monitoring arrays. Better bottom pressure measurements could be the key to a more consistent picture of how the AMOC is changing.
Simon is a physical oceanographer working on observations of the AMOC, with a particular focus on the subpolar North Atlantic. He investigates subpolar AMOC variability and its connectivity with other latitudes. Within EPOC, he analyses ocean bottom pressure data from novel self-calibrating pressure sensors, evaluating their performance and potential application in future AMOC observing systems. This work addresses uncertainties arising from the choice of geostrophic reference level in existing AMOC transport estimates.
Simon grew up in northern Germany, never far from the sea, and has had a fascination for the ocean since childhood. Most of his ocean research happens from an office, which makes the occasional research cruise all the more meaningful. Outside work, he is a keen landscape photographer, often up before dawn to catch a sunrise and the stillness before the world wakes up. He also makes the most of a tiny balcony, growing his own cucumbers, tomatoes, and herbs for home cooking.
University College London, UK
3. Explaining past AMOC changes
Jack studies the history of the Atlantic Ocean by looking at mud from the seafloor. Layer by layer, these sediments preserve tiny fossils and chemical clues that record how the ocean changed hundreds to thousands of years ago. His work focuses on how the deep waters of the North Atlantic, which form the return branch of the AMOC, have shifted with past climate change. By reconstructing how these deep waters behaved from the last Ice Age to the last few centuries, his research helps us understand how stable the AMOC might be in the future.
Jack is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCL , working with Prof. David Thornalley on marine sediment archives that record past changes in Atlantic circulation. His work combines geochemical and sedimentological proxies (benthic foraminiferal stable isotopes, Mg/Ca palaeothermometry, sortable silt, and radiocarbon) to reconstruct deep-ocean temperature, water-mass structure, and circulation from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Common Era. He is particularly interested in how the different components of North Atlantic Deep Water have responded to past climate change, and what these records can tell us about the future stability of the AMOC.
Outside of research, Jack is a big sports fan and will happily watch almost anything. During his PhD he got hooked on US sports, which has become a bit of a problem given that many of the biggest games start at 3am in the UK. He also loves travelling, especially discovering great food and drink wherever he goes. One of the unexpected perks of fieldwork and conferences is the chance to explore new places with friends, whether that’s finding an excellent local restaurant or heading off on an impromptu hike.
Max Planck Institute for Meteorlogy, Germany
2. Key Processes of Meridional Transport
Chathurika’s research examines how processes in the Labrador Sea shape circulation across the wider North Atlantic. Each winter, intense cooling makes surface waters dense enough to sink to great depths, forming water masses later carried southward by strong boundary currents that redistribute heat and shape climate. Many of the processes driving this exchange, including ocean eddies (swirling currents that transport heat and water properties), occur at scales most climate models cannot yet resolve. Chathurika uses a very fine resolution model simulation to study these dynamics in detail, aiming to understand how changes originating in the Labrador Sea are transmitted through the ocean and ultimately influence the AMOC.
Chathurika’s research focuses on the processes linking deep convection, water-mass transformation, boundary-current transport, and regional overturning in the subpolar North Atlantic, with particular emphasis on the Labrador Sea. Using an eddy-rich ICON ocean simulation with a finer-resolution telescope over the North Atlantic, she investigates how mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics, turbulent mixing, and boundary current processes regulate the formation, export, and downstream transformation of Labrador Sea Water. A central objective is understanding how locally generated convective signals are transferred into the boundary current system and ultimately communicated to the AMOC. The ICON telescope configuration provides a rare opportunity to examine these kilometre-scale connections in a way that has previously been difficult to achieve with climate simulations.
Chathurika is from Sri Lanka, where she studied oceanography before working as a researcher at the President’s Office, collaborating closely with policymakers. She then moved to China for a master’s degree in Physical Oceanography, where she discovered and named a new ocean current south of Sri Lanka. She later moved to Germany for her PhD, completed in the middle of the COVID pandemic, before working as a software engineer at DKRZ and now as a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg. She loves travelling, reading, quiet moments, and trying out new recipes. Living in Hamburg, she has come to love the rainy, dark, gloomy weather
Faroe Marine Research Institute (Havstovan), Faroe Islands
1. Quantifying AMOC Changes | 5. Observing Systems
The Faroe Islands sit close to two critical gateways where warm Atlantic water flows northward into the Arctic and cold deep water returns south. James uses a combination of satellites and ocean instruments to track these flows and understand what they tell us about changes in the AMOC and what those changes mean for the climate of northern Europe.
James is an observational oceanographer at the Faroe Marine Research Institute. His research combines in situ hydrographic measurements with satellite altimetry to study the structure and variability of the water column from space. Within EPOC, he investigates ocean exchange across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, focusing on the transport of Atlantic Water entering the Nordic Seas through the Faroe-Shetland Channel and the Iceland-Faroe Ridge, and the dense overflow waters exiting the Arctic — critical gateways in the AMOC system.
Born on a farm in regional Australia, James somehow always ended up thinking about the ocean. He studied Physical Oceanography in Tasmania, spent a decade mountain biking, trail running and hiking, and ran a 100-mile race in 2025, ending up with a stress fracture for his trouble. He also claims the Southern Ocean marathon world record, having run a full marathon on a treadmill during a research voyage in the Southern Ocean. His next target: the Arctic Ocean record.