Research group

Ocean Justice

Plastic pollution in the sea by Naja Bertolt Jensenon

We are at the intersections of transdisciplinary ocean studies and concepts of global and environmental justice, exploring how to decolonise our engagements with the ocean and understandings of justice.

About

The Ocean Justice group aims to explore what the ocean brings to the meaning of justice, the presence and representation of the ocean in courts and law, and how we can unlearn and decolonise both our engagement with the ocean and understandings of justice in transdisciplinary manners.  

In 2022-23 we had a launch meeting that focused on how to build the group and on submitting a report to the International Seabed Authority Intersessional (ISA) Working Group on intangible and tangible Underwater Cultural Heritage and the insertion of this concept on their current draft of the ISA Mining Code. The report was co-authored with Mekhala Dave from Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary:

A Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary Submission in Collaboration with Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute Special Interest Group on Ocean Justice (ISA Council’s Intersessional Working Group on Underwater Cultural Heritage, 15 May 2023, pp. 24–34).

For 2023-2024, we plan to hold an international and transdisciplinary hybrid Ocean Justice panel. We hope that the conversations that begin at this panel in early 2024, can be continued during a sandpit and writing retreat with members from the group. This retreat will allow a few members of the group to put together 2 main outputs: a brief publication on ocean justice and a funding bid to spend more time exploring this concept via a larger research project.

We also run a termly reading group, which includes both published work and work-in-progress to support scholars across the University and outside. We hold our discussion on an MS Teams group

To find out more about the Ocean Justice Special Interest Group and what we do, get in touch with group champions Giulia Champion and Dina Lupin.

Join the SMMI Community to sign up to this group, and any others of interest to you. 

(Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensenon)

People, projects and publications

People

Dr Pamela Varley BSocSc, MSc, PhD

Head of Strategic Research Initiatives
Connect with Pamela

Mr Panos Manias

SMMI-CMMI Marine and Maritime SRA

Research interests

  • marine decarbonisation
  • utilisation of alternative fuels 
  • powertrain design and subsequent emission modelling
Connect with Panos

Dr Patrick Beullens

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • Ocean shipping - decisions under risk, environmental performance
  • Retail supply chains - perishable products, food waste management
  • Logistics and reverse logistics

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Patrick

Professor Paul Hughes BSc. Ph.D.

Professor of Palaeoecology
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Professor Paul Kemp

Professor of Ecological Engineering
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Professor Paul Lewin

Professor of Electrical Power Engineerin
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Professor Paul White

Prof of Statistical Signal Processing

Research interests

  • Paul has research interests which include signal processing, underwater acoustics and bioacoustics (the way animals, especially marine mammals, use sound). He is primarily concerned with developing tools to assist in the computer-aided analysis of underwater sounds and understanding the role of those sounds in the marine environment.
  • Acoustics, in the form of sonar, is an important tool for the exploration of the marine environment. It is used by the seismic industry to locate oil and gas reserves, by the military to detect objects, by oceanographers to make measurements and by marine mammals to survive.
  • Man-made underwater acoustic systems rely upon computers to process the data coming from sensors to interpret the environment. The processing methods within the computer systems are a critical component often defining the overall success of the instrument.
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Professor Paul Wilson

Professor

Research interests

  • Greenhouse climates
  • Ice sheet instability
  •  Monsoons and Rainfall Deserts and Aridity 

Accepting applications from PhD students

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Professor Peter G.R. Smith

Professor in Electronics & Comp Science

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Peter G.R.

Related research institutes, centres and groups

Related research institutes, centres and groups

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Enquiries

If you're interested in joining us or collaborating, get in touch with the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute.