The deep sea is the largest, yet least investigated environment that we as researcher’s study. It is still often thought of as a place where not much life resides, what does live there isn’t all that interesting and as a result why should we really care. Professor Bhavani Narayanaswamy has spent over20 years exploring the deep sea in different oceans, specifically investigating biodiversity and how this may change in relation a variety of impacts.

In this lecture, Bhavani will take us on a journey providing insights into various elements of fundamental research from understanding how biodiversity changes in various areas of the deep-sea from our own doorstep of the Faroe-Shetland Channel, the North-east Atlantic through to the polar realms of the Weddell Sea and Barents Sea. Bhavani’s research has contributed to the various strategic environmental assessments undertaken in deep waters around the UK, the results of which have been used by both the Joint Nature Conservation Committee as well as for the United Nations World Ocean Assessment. More recently Bhavani has been studying the distribution, concentration, and diversity of plastics in both the deep sea as well as in coastal ecosystems, investigating how these change both spatially and temporally.

Bhavani is passionate about raising awareness of both the deep sea and the impact of plastics. As a result she has worked with the local school and artists, with support from the Royal Society, to make science interesting, engaging and more accessible to the next generation of scientists.

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