Vanessa Hui Fen Neo

University of Leicester

Project

Project title Improving thermal stress prediction for coral reefs from observational, modelled and proxy datasets across the Tropics

Supervisors

  • Jens Zinke 
  • John Remedios 

PhD Summary

Coral reefs are subjected to increasing frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves. However, sea surface temperature data used to predict thermal stress has been shown to be inconsistent across data types. Hence, my PhD focuses on combining information from multiple SST sources such as coral proxies, in-situ data loggers and multiple high-resolution satellite data to evaluate health and changes of coral reefs across the globe. 

Previous activity

Prior to the PhD, I did a Masters in marine science research in Macquarie University, Sydney. My work focused a lot on optimizing available satellite data in prediction of coral bleaching around the world. Whilst focusing mainly on Western Australian reefs at that time, it has led to my current work which aims to combine data loggers and in-situ coral proxies SST data with satellite information to explore coral health and changes during marine heatwaves. 

Why did you choose doctoral research?

During my time in Sydney, I was intrigued by the plethora of skills that researchers are exposed to. After talking to many Australian marine scientists in a course ‘Topics in Australian marine science’, I gained interest in developing my own research topics and gaining valuable skills in the process. 

Why did you choose CENTA?

I have previously collaborated with my current CENTA-related supervisor when I was conducting coral reef research. Through him, I got to know about CENTA studentship in the UK. 

Future plans

CENTA studentship provides the opportunity to attend useful workshops and gain practical skills. I hope to be able to learn from these and employ it on practical purposes to improve the monitoring of coral reefs.