Anna Belcher
Ecological Biogeochemist
Biography
Previous Appointments:
2021 – present: Postdoctoral researcher: Ecological biogeochemist, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge
2017-2020: Postdoctoral researcher: Biogeochemical marine ecologist, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge
2011-2013: Oceanographic Surveyor, Titan Environmental Surveys, Wales
Post-school Education:
2013 – 2017: PhD: Controls on the attenuation of sinking particulate organic carbon in the mesopelagic. National Oceanography Centre and University of Southampton
2008-2009: Study Abroad Year, University of Washington, Seattle
2006-2010: MSci Oceanography, University of Southampton
2004-2006: International Baccalaureate, United World College of the Atlantic
Scientific committees:
2018 – present: UK Polar Network co-president
2018 – present: APECS early career representative on Antarctic Science Ltd board
2017 – 2018: UK Polar Network Head of Education and outreach
Recent Conferences:
Cook, K. and Belcher, A. et al. (2021) Carbon budgets of the South Atlantic mesopelagic zooplankton and nekton communities. ICES ASC, online (poster)
Belcher, A. et al. (2021). Measuring respiration of mesopelagic fish ICES ASC, online (invited discussion speaker)
Belcher et al (2021) Determining krill biomass: Can we see krill swarms from space?, PolarECC, Online (talk)
Belcher et al. (2020) Krill swarms: the carbon export highway, Atmospheric and Marine Biogeochemistry Seminars, University of East Anglia, delivered remotely (invited seminar speaker)
Belcher et al. (2019) A day in the life of Southern Ocean mesozooplankton and micronekton: Measuring respiration, IMBER Future Oceans 2, Brest, France and AMBIO IX, Norwich, UK (talk and session convenor)
Belcher A. (2019) The UK Polar Network: A successful ECR network, Royal Society Future Earth Meeting, Royal Society, London (invited speaker), and Polar Educators International, Cambridge (poster and panel member)
Belcher et al. (2019) Finding the diatoms amongst the cloud: can satellites help us understand copepod fitness?, Changing Arctic Ocean ASM 2019, Birmingham, UK (talk and poster)
Belcher et al. (2018) Acantharian cysts: the soluble contributors to deep particulate organic carbon fluxes, UK Challenger Society, Newcastle, UK (talk)
Belcher et al. (2017) Deep transfer of faecal pellets: role of deep zooplankton communities, AMBIO VIII, Oban, UK (talk)
Belcher et al. (2016) The mesopelagic carbon budget: What are we missing?, EuroMarine Foresight Symposium: The Biological Carbon Pump in a Changing World, Bremen (invited poster, and session chair)
Belcher et al. (2016) Controls on the attenuation of sinking particulate organic carbon in the mesopelagic, POETS Seminar Series, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK (seminar)
Belcher et al. (2016) The mesopelagic carbon budget: processes controlling particulate carbon flux attenuation, Dissertations Symposium in Chemical Oceanography XXV (DISCO), Hawaii (talk)
Belcher et al. (2016) Particle associated microbial respiration: The missing carbon sink?, UK Challenger Conference, Liverpool, UK (poster)
Belcher et al. (2016) Antarctic krill faecal pellets as an agent of POC flux transfer in the Southern Ocean, UK Antarctic Conference, Norwich, UK (talk)
Belcher et al. (2016) Depth-resolved particle associated microbial respiration in the NE Atlantic, Gordon Research Conference in Biogeochemistry, Hong Kong (poster)
Belcher et al. (2016) The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic, Scotia Sea, Antarctica, POETS Seminar Series, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK (seminar)
Belcher et al. (2016) Particle Associated Microbial Respiration – Role in POC flux attenuation, NE Atlantic, Ocean Sciences, New Orleans (talk)
Belcher et al. (2016) Microbial versus zooplankton driven POC attenuation in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica, Ecosystems Seminar Series, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK (seminar)
Belcher et al. (2016) Microbial versus zooplankton remineralisation – Scotia Sea, Antarctica, AMBIO VII, Oxford, UK (talk)
Research interests
My research interests are marine biogeochemistry and ecosystems; I enjoy taking an interdisciplinary approach to understand the complexities of ocean environments. I am particularly interested in the oceanography of Polar Regions due to the vital role they play in the changing global climate.
Currently I am working with the SCOOBIES project (https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/scoobies/) looking at the biogeochemical fluxes near South Georgia and supporting the long term mooring.
Collaborations
PICCOLO: Processes Influencing Carbon Cycling: Observations of the Lower limb of the Antarctic Overturning
COMICS Controls over Ocean Mesopelagic Interior Carbon Storage: 2016-2020
PI Prof R Sanders (NOC), CO-Is Drs T Anderson, R Bernardello, S Geiring, S Hartmann, S Henson, R Lampitt, A Martin, D Mayor, S Painter, A Poulton, K Saw, S Torres-Valdes, A Yool, M Zubkov (NOC), S Khatiwala (Uni of Oxford), M Trimmer (Queen Mary), G Wolff (Uni of Liverpool), G Tarling, S Fielding, E Murphy, G Stowasser (BAS), P Lam, M Moore (Uni of Southampton)
DIAPOD : Mechanistic understanding of the role of diatoms in the success of the Arctic Calanus complex and implications for a warmer Arctic
PI Prof David Pond (University of Stirling)
Publications not on NORA
2018
Baker, C. A., Belcher, A., Buzzard, S., Mayers, K., Dayal, A. (2018) Polar science communication: From north to south, Open access government, February 2018
2017
Fassbender, A. J. et al. (2017) Perspectives on Chemical Oceanography in a changing environment: Participants of the COME ABOARD Meeting examine the field in the context of 40 years of DISCO, Marine Chemistry, 196, 181-190
Baker, C. A., S. A. Henson, E. Cavan, S. Giering, A. Yool, M. Gehlen, A. Belcher, J. Riley, H.E.K. Smith, R. Sanders (2017) Slow Sinking Particulate Organic Carbon in the Atlantic Ocean: magnitude, flux and potential controls, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 31(7), 1051-1065
Cavan, E., S. A. Henson, A. Belcher, R. Sanders (2017) Role of zooplankton in determining the efficiency of the biological carbon pump, Biogeosciences , 14, 177-186
2016
Belcher, Anna, Iversen, Morten, Giering, Sarah, Riou, Virginie, Henson, Stephanie A., Berline, Leo, Guilloux, Lioc, Sanders, Richard. (2016) Depth-resolved particle-associated microbial respiration in the northeast Atlantic. Biogeosciences, 13. 4927-4943.
Publications from NERC Open Research Archive
2023
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Henley, Sian, Hendry, Katherine ORCID record for Katherine Hendry, Wootton, Marianne, Friberg, Lisa, Dallman, Ursula, Wang, Tong, Manno, Clara ORCID record for Clara Manno. (2023) Seasonal cycles of biogeochemical fluxes in the Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean: A stable isotope approach [in review]. Biogeosciences: Discussions. 10.5194/bg-2022-246
2022
Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Blackwell, Mayleen, Castellani, Claudia, Cook, Kathryn Barbara ORCID record for Kathryn Barbara Cook, Cottier, Finlo R., Dewar-Fowler, Victoria, Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Gerrish, Laura ORCID record for Laura Gerrish, Johnson, Magnus L., Last, Kim S., Lindeque, Penelope Kate, Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Daniel J. Mayor, Parry, Helen E., Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Gabriele Stowasser, Wootton, Marianne. (2022) Carbon and lipid contents of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus entering diapause in the Fram Strait and their contribution to the boreal and Arctic lipid pump. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9. 18 pp. 10.3389/fmars.2022.926462
Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Banas, Neil S., Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Blackwell, Mayleen, Castellani, Claudia, Cook, Kathryn B. ORCID record for Kathryn B. Cook, Cottier, Finlo R., Daase, Malin, Johnson, Magnus L., Last, Kim S., Lindeque, Penelope K., Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Daniel J. Mayor, Mitchell, Elaine, Parry, Helen E., Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Gabriele Stowasser, Wootton, Marianne. (2022) Can a key boreal Calanus copepod species now complete its life-cycle in the Arctic? Evidence and implications for Arctic food-webs. Ambio, 51. 333-344. 10.1007/s13280-021-01667-y
2021
Alewijnse, Sarah R., Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Gabriele Stowasser, Saunders, Ryan A. ORCID record for Ryan A. Saunders, Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Crimmen, Oliver A., Cooper, Natalie, Trueman, Clive N.. (2021) Otolith-derived field metabolic rates of myctophids (Family Myctophidae) from the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 675. 113-131. 10.3354/meps13827
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Fielding, Sophie ORCID record for Sophie Fielding, Gray, Andrew, Biermann, Lauren, Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Gabriele Stowasser, Fretwell, Peter ORCID record for Peter Fretwell, Ireland, Louise ORCID record for Louise Ireland, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling. (2021) Experimental determination of reflectance spectra of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in the Scotia Sea. Antarctic Science, 33. 13 pp. 10.1017/S0954102021000262
2020
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Cavan, Emma L., Tarling, Geraint ORCID record for Geraint Tarling. (2020) Why krill swarms are important to the global climate. Frontiers for Young Minds, 8. 8 pp. 10.3389/frym.2020.518995
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Cook, Kathryn ORCID record for Kathryn Cook, Bondyale-Juez, Daniel, Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Gabriele Stowasser, Fielding, Sophie ORCID record for Sophie Fielding, Saunders, Ryan A. ORCID record for Ryan A. Saunders, Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Daniel J. Mayor, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling. (2020) Respiration of mesopelagic fish: a comparison of respiratory electron transport system (ETS) measurements and allometrically calculated rates in the Southern Ocean and Benguela Current. ICES Journal of Marine Sciences, 77. 1672-1684. 10.1093/icesjms/fsaa031
Bohleber, Pascal, Casado, Mathieu, Ashworth, Kirsti, Baker, Chelsey A. ORCID record for Chelsey A. Baker, Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Caccavo, Jilda Alicia, Jenkins, Holly E., Satterthwaite, Erin, Spolaor, Andrea, Winton, V. Holly L. ORCID record for V. Holly L. Winton. (2020) Successful practice in early career networks: insights from the polar sciences. Advances in Geosciences, 53. 1-14. 10.5194/adgeo-53-1-2020
Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Daniel J. Mayor, Cook, Kathryn B. ORCID record for Kathryn B. Cook, Anderson, Thomas R. ORCID record for Thomas R. Anderson, Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Jenkins, Holly, Lindeque, Pennie, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Pond, David. (2020) Marine Copepods, The Wildebeest of the Ocean. Frontiers for Young Minds, 8. 10.3389/frym.2020.00018
2019
Cavan, E.L., Belcher, A. ORCID record for A. Belcher, Atkinson, A., Hill, S. ORCID record for S. Hill, Kawaguchi, S., McCormack, S., Meyer, B., Nicol, S., Ratnarajah, L., Schmidt, K., Steinberg, D.K., Tarling, G.A. ORCID record for G.A. Tarling, Boyd, P.W.. (2019) The importance of Antarctic krill in biogeochemical cycles. Nature Communications, 10. 10.1038/s41467-019-12668-7
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Henson, Stephanie ORCID record for Stephanie Henson, Manno, Clara ORCID record for Clara Manno, Hill, Simeon ORCID record for Simeon Hill, Atkinson, A, Thorpe, Sally ORCID record for Sally Thorpe, Fretwell, Peter ORCID record for Peter Fretwell, Ireland, Louise ORCID record for Louise Ireland, Tarling, Geraint ORCID record for Geraint Tarling. (2019) Krill faecal pellets drive hidden pulses of particulate organic carbon in the marginal ice zone. Nature Communications, 10. 10.1038/s41467-019-08847-1
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Saunders, Ryan A. ORCID record for Ryan A. Saunders, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling. (2019) Respiration rates and active carbon flux of mesopelagic fishes (Family Myctophidae) in the Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 610. 149-162. 10.3354/meps12861
2018
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Manno, Clara ORCID record for Clara Manno, Thorpe, Sally ORCID record for Sally Thorpe, Tarling, Geraint ORCID record for Geraint Tarling. (2018) Acantharian cysts: high flux occurrence in the bathypelagic zone of the Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean. Marine Biology, 165. 11 pp. 10.1007/s00227-018-3376-1
2017
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Tarling, G.A. ORCID record for G.A. Tarling, Manno, C. ORCID record for C. Manno, Atkinson, A., Ward, P., Skaret, G., Fielding, S. ORCID record for S. Fielding, Henson, S.A. ORCID record for S.A. Henson, Sanders, R. ORCID record for R. Sanders. (2017) The potential role of Antarctic krill faecal pellets in efficient carbon export at the marginal ice zone of the South Orkney Islands in spring. Polar Biology, 40. 2001-2013. doi:10.1007/s00300-017-2118-z
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Manno, Clara ORCID record for Clara Manno, Ward, Pete, Henson, Stephanie ORCID record for Stephanie Henson, Sanders, Richard ORCID record for Richard Sanders, Tarling, Geraint ORCID record for Geraint Tarling. (2017) Copepod faecal pellet transfer through the meso- and bathypelagic layers in the Southern Ocean in spring. Biogeosciences, 14. 1511-1525. 10.5194/bg-14-1511-2017
2016
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Iversen, Morten, Manno, Clara ORCID record for Clara Manno, Henson, Stephanie A. ORCID record for Stephanie A. Henson, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Sanders, Richard ORCID record for Richard Sanders. (2016) The role of particle associated microbes in remineralisation of faecal pellets in the upper mesopelagic of the Scotia Sea, Antarctica. Limnology and Oceanography, 61. 1049-1064. doi:10.1002/lno.10269
COMICS: Controls over Ocean Mesopelagic Interior Carbon Storage
http://www.comics.ac.uk/
SCOOBIES: Scotia Sea open-ocean biological laboratories
Processes Influencing Carbon Cycling: Observations of the Lower limb of the Antarctic Overturning (PICCOLO) https://roses.ac.uk/piccolo/
2020
International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2020
News 11 February, 2020
2019
Krill’s influence on CO2 and global climate
News 18 October, 2019
Krill swarms responsible for ‘hidden’ carbon storage
News 21 February, 2019