Karen Heywood

Last updated

Karen Heywood

Karen Heywood at sea (cropped).jpg
Born
Karen Joy Heywood
Nationality Britain
Alma mater University of Bristol (BSc)
University of Southampton (PhD)
Awards Georg Wüst Prize (2009)
Scientific career
Fields Physical oceanography [1]
Institutions University of East Anglia
Bangor University
Thesis A Lagrangian study of the diurnal heating of the Upper Ocean  (1986)
Doctoral advisor Neil Wells [2]
Website people.uea.ac.uk/k_heywood

Karen Joy Heywood OBE FRS is a British Antarctic oceanographer and Professor of Physical Oceanography at the University of East Anglia (UEA). [3] She is best known for her work developing autonomous measurements of the Southern Ocean. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Heywood attended the University of Bristol where she was awarded a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Physics[ when? ] followed by a PhD at the University of Southampton where her research investigated the heat budgets of mixed layers [2] and was supervised by Neil Wells  [ Wikidata ].

Career and research

Following her PhD, Heywood was a postdoctoral researcher at Bangor University, working on eddies caused by flow around the Indian Ocean island of Aldabra. [4]

In 1989 Heywood was appointed a lecturer at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in physical oceanography and promoted to professor in 2005, when she became the first female professor of oceanography in the UK. [5] Since then Heywood has trained more than 40 PhD students [6] in a personal mission to increase the number of observational oceanographers in the UK.

During the 1990s Heywood was heavily involved in the World Ocean Circulation Experiment serving as Chief Scientist of the A23 WOCE hydrographic section from Antarctica to Brazil in 1995. This sparked a lasting interest in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean water masses and formation processes, and Heywood has since led several projects in polar regions developing and maintaining a close collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey team.

Heywood has led the field in using autonomous underwater gliders and is currently leading the UEA Seaglider group as well as providing community leadership in observational oceanography and autonomous ocean observing.

She has participated in the following research cruises: [6]

Her work was exhibited at the Royal Society summer science fair in 2013. [7]

Honours and awards

Heywood received the Georg Wüst Prize in 2009 for her work in the southern ocean. [8] She was also awarded the Challenger Medal for 2016 in recognition of her major contribution to physical oceanography both in the UK and worldwide; particularly for her contribution to understanding physical oceanographic processes in the Antarctic, for her work in applying novel techniques to understanding ocean processes and for her wider work in developing UK marine science, particularly within SCOR (Scientific Committee for Oceanographic Research). [4]

The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) presented its 2015 Oceanography Award to Heywood for her outstanding contribution to the field of oceanography. [9] In particular because she was an early advocate for the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) as carriers of sensors and samplers in experiments. Her work has used sea gliders in the Antarctic, including under icebergs. [10]

Heywood was named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2019 [11] and a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 2021. [12]

In 2020 the Heywood Glacier in Antarctica was named after her. [13] It is located at 72°45’S, 61°45’W. The citation says "Glacier about 18 km long and 3 km wide flowing north from the Wegener Range, Palmer Land, to the west of Heezen Glacier, to join Maury Glacier. Named for Professor Karen Heywood (b. 1961), Professor of Physical Oceanography, University of East Anglia. Leader of six oceanographic research cruises to Antarctica since 1995, including Pine Island Bay, the Weddell Sea and the Scotia Sea and a pioneer of the use of autonomous ocean gliders".

Heywood was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to oceanography. [14]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</span> Private, nonprofit research and education facility

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iceberg</span> Large piece of freshwater ice broken off a glacier or ice shelf and floating in open water

An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The sinking of the Titanic in 1912 led to the formation of the International Ice Patrol in 1914. Much of an iceberg is below the water's surface, which led to the expression "tip of the iceberg" to illustrate a small part of a larger unseen issue. Icebergs are considered a serious maritime hazard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Oceanography Centre Southampton</span> Centre for research, teaching, and technology development in Ocean and Earth science

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underwater glider</span> Type of autonomous underwater vehicle

An underwater glider is a type of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that employs variable-buoyancy propulsion instead of traditional propellers or thrusters. It employs variable buoyancy in a similar way to a profiling float, but unlike a float, which can move only up and down, an underwater glider is fitted with hydrofoils that allow it to glide forward while descending through the water. At a certain depth, the glider switches to positive buoyancy to climb back up and forward, and the cycle is then repeated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Island Glacier</span> Large ice stream, fastest melting glacier in Antarctica

Pine Island Glacier (PIG) is a large ice stream, and the fastest melting glacier in Antarctica, responsible for about 25% of Antarctica's ice loss. The glacier ice streams flow west-northwest along the south side of the Hudson Mountains into Pine Island Bay, Amundsen Sea, Antarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and United States Navy (USN) air photos, 1960–66, and named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) in association with Pine Island Bay.

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, England. It is the UK’s largest institution for integrated sea level science, coastal and deep ocean research and technology development. The Centre was established to promote cooperation with institutions across the UK marine science community, to better address key issues including sea level change, the ocean's role is climate change, computer simulation of the ocean's behaviour, and the long term monitoring and future of the Arctic Circle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Deacon</span> British oceanographer and chemist (1906–1984)

Sir George Edward Raven Deacon CBE FRS FRSE was a British oceanographer and chemist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Klenova</span> Russian and Soviet marine geologist

Maria Vasilyevna Klenova was a Russian and Soviet marine geologist and one of the founders of Russian marine science and contributor to the first Soviet Antarctic atlas.

The Centre for Polar Observation & Modelling (CPOM) is a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre of Excellence that studies processes in the Earth's polar environments. CPOM conducts research on sea ice, land ice, and ice sheets using satellite observations and numerical models.

The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) is an international learned society for marine science and technology with headquarters in London, England that was founded in 1966. There are branches in Aberdeen (Scotland), Houston (USA), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Newcastle (England), Perth (Australia), London (England), Melbourne (Australia), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singapore, Norway (Bergen), China (Beijing) West Africa (Nigeria), the Middle East (UAE) and new branches in early stages of development in St John's Newfoundland & the Eastern Mediterranean to be based in Cyprus. Membership is open to individuals, companies, and institutions with a genuine interest in the broad field of underwater technology. SUT is registered as a charity in the UK, other branches are constituted as charities or 'not-for-profits' as per local legislation.

Johnson Robin ('Joe') Cann FRS is a British geologist.

RRS Discovery II was a British Royal Research Ship which, during her operational lifetime of about 30 years, carried out considerable hydrographical and marine biological survey work in Antarctic waters and the Southern Ocean in the course of the Discovery Investigations research program. Built in Port Glasgow, launched in 1928 and completed in 1929, she was the first purpose-built oceanographic research vessel and was named after Robert Falcon Scott's 1901 ship, RRS Discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corinne Le Quéré</span> French-Canadian climatologist (born 1966)

Marie Corinne Lyne Le Quéré is a French-Canadian scientist. She is Royal Society Research Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of East Anglia and former Director of Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. She is the chair of the French High Council on Climate and member of the UK Climate Change Committee. Her research focuses on the interactions between the carbon cycle and climate change.

RRS <i>Discovery</i> (2012) Royal Research Ship operated by the Natural Environment Research Council

RRS Discovery is a Royal Research Ship operated by the Natural Environment Research Council. The ship is the third such vessel to be built and named for the ship used by Robert Falcon Scott in his 1901-1904 expedition to the Antarctic.

<i>Boaty McBoatface</i> British autonomous underwater vehicle

Boaty McBoatface is the British lead boat in a fleet of three robotic lithium battery–powered autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) of the Autosub Long Range (ALR) class. Launched in 2017 and carried on board the polar scientific research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, she is a focal point of the Polar Explorer Programme of the UK Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Wåhlin</span> Swedish Antarctic oceanographer

Anna Wåhlin is a Swedish researcher on the Antarctic and the polar seas. She is a professor of physical oceanography at the University of Gothenburg and co-chair of the Southern Ocean Observing System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Schloss</span> Argentine antarctic researcher

Irene R. Schloss is an Antarctic researcher, best known for her work on plankton biology. She is a researcher at the Argentine Antarctic Institute and was a correspondent researcher of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina until July 2017. She became an independent researcher since August 2017 and an associate professor at the University of Quebec.

Anne Haour is an anthropologically trained archaeologist, academic and Africanist scholar. She is Professor in the Arts and Archaeology of Africa at the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom. In July 2021 she was elected Fellow of the British Academy in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the social sciences, humanities and arts.

Mary Jane Perry is an American oceanographer known for the use of optics to study marine phytoplankton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert L. Dale</span> American pilot (1924–2020)

Robert Dale, known as Bob Dale, was an American aircraft pilot for the United States Navy from 1942 to 1966; and a pilot for the National Science Foundation from 1967 to 1975. For his efforts as a pilot in Antarctica as Lieutenant Commander, USN, and part of the Antarctic Operation Deep Freeze (1959–1960), Dale Glacier was named after him by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) in 1963.

References

  1. 1 2 Karen Heywood publications indexed by Google Scholar OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. 1 2 Thomas, Karen Joy Heywood (1986). A Lagrangian study of the diurnal heating of the Upper Ocean. Soton.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Southampton. OCLC   499833386. EThOS   uk.bl.ethos.376187. Lock-green.svg
  3. "Karen Heywood - Research Database, The University of East Anglia". people.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Prof. Karen Heywood - University of Liverpool". Liverpool.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  5. Anon. "Women in Oceanography: A Decade Later" (PDF). Tos.org. The Oceanography Society.
  6. 1 2 "Karen Heywood - Research Database, The University of East Anglia". People.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  7. Anon (2013). "Salty ocean". Royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017.
  8. Wolff, J.O., 2009. Heywood received the 2009 Georg Wüst Prize. Ocean Dynamics 59, 429–431 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-009-0200-y
  9. "SUT Award Winners | SUT | Society for Underwater Technology".
  10. "Subsea compression innovator presented with President's Award by SUT". Sut.org. Society for Underwater Technology. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  11. Bell, Robin; Holmes, Mary (2019). "2019 Class of AGU Fellows Announced". Eos. 100. doi: 10.1029/2019eo131029 . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  12. "Royal Society elects outstanding new Fellows and Foreign Members". The Royal Society. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  13. "Latest News · Antarctic Place-names Committee".
  14. "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B13.