Andy Watson (scientist)

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Andrew Watson
Born1952
Alma materImperial College London
University of Reading
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Exeter
University of East Anglia
ThesisConsequences for the Biosphere of Forest and Grassland Fires (1978)
Doctoral advisorJames Lovelock
Doctoral studentsTim Lenton[1]

Andrew James Watson FRS (born 1952) is a British marine and atmospheric scientist and an expert in processes affecting atmospheric carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations. He was formerly a Professor of biogeochemistry in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, in 2013 he moved to a position as Professor at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Exeter.

Earth sciences

Watson graduated with a first class BSc in physics from

Anthropic Principle to evolution on Earth,[3]
suggesting that long-term regulation of the Earth’s temperature and environment may be a necessary pre-requisite to allow sufficient time for the evolution of complex life and intelligence, rather than an intrinsic property of the biosphere as Lovelock proposed.

Tracing ocean waters

While at the

sulphur hexafluoride and perfluorodecalin.[4] He and colleagues applied these to measure the slow mixing vertical rates in the ocean,[5] and to trace the movement of patches of surface water.[6] He also applied the technology to enable iron fertilization experiments.[7] More than a dozen such experiments have now been carried out[8]
and have proved that iron is an essential limiting nutrient in important areas of the world ocean.

Popular science

Watson published the popular book Revolutions that Made the Earth

Philomena Cunk.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Professor Tim Lenton Chair in Climate Change/Earth Systems Science". University of Exeter. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  2. ^ Watson, A. J. and J. E. Lovelock (1983). Biological homeostasis of the global environment: the parable of Daisyworld. Tellus 35B, 284-289
  3. ^ Watson, A. J., (2004). Gaia and observer self-selection. In Scientists debate Gaia: the next century, eds Schneider, S. H., Miller, J. R., Crist, E., and Boston, P. J. pp201-208. MIT press, Cambridge, Mass, USA.
  4. ^ Watson, A. J., Liddicoat, M. I. and J. R. Ledwell (1987). "Perfluorodecalin and sulphur hexafluoride as purposeful marine tracers: some deployment and analysis techniques." Deep-Sea Research, 34, 19-31.
  5. ^ Ledwell, J. R., Watson, A. J., and Law, C. S. (1993). Evidence of slow mixing across the pycnocline from an open ocean tracer release experiment. Nature. 364, 701-703
  6. ^ Watson, A. J., Upstill-Goddard R. C. and P. S. Liss (1991). Air- sea gas exchange in rough and stormy seas measured by a dual- tracer technique. Nature 349, 145-147.
  7. ^ Watson, A. J., P. S. Liss, and R. A. Duce (1992). Design of a small-scale iron fertilisation experiment. Limnology and Oceanography 36, 1960-1965
  8. ^ . Boyd, P. W., et al., (2007). Mesoscale iron-enrichment experiments 1993-2005: synthesis and future directions. Science 315, 612-61
  9. ISBN 978-0199587049
    .
  10. BBC2. 19 February 2015 – via YouTube
    .
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