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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.