Since June 2014, I have been based at BAS as a NERC Independent Research Fellow. My principal research interest concerns the mixing of warm waters on polar ocean shelves and the impact of these processes on the stability of the cryopshere around both Antarctica and Greenland. My collaborators at BAS include Prof. Michael Meredith and Dr. Hugh Venables. I also have a number of external partners from the University of Southampton, NOC Liverpool and the Scottish Association of Marine Science.

Prior to my move to BAS, I was heavily involved in understanding the rates and mechanisms of Southern Ocean mixing, through my postdoctoral work within the Diapycnal and Isopycnal Mixing Experiment in the Southern Ocean (DIMES) under the leadership of Prof. Alberto Naveira Garabato (University of Southampton). I have also been heavily involved in understanding deep water pathways on the East Greenland shelves through work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Research interests

Physical oceanography, particularly in the polar regions

Ocean turbulence and mixing

Ocean dynamics

Mesoscale-internal wave interactions

Brearley, J.A., Sheen, K.L., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Smeed, D.A., Speer, K.G., Thurnherr, A., Meredith, M.P., and Waterman, S.N. (2014). Deep boundary current disintegration in Drake Passage, Geophysical Research Letters, 41 (1), 121-127 (doi: 10.1002/2013GL058617).

Brearley, J.A., Sheen, K.L., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Smeed, D.A. and Waterman, S.N. (2013). Eddy-induced modulation of turbulent dissipation over rough topography in the Southern Ocean, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 43, 2288–2308.

Sheen, K.L., Brearley, J.A., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Waterman, S.N., Smeed, D.A., Ledwell, J.R., Meredith, M.P., St Laurent, L., Thurnherr, A., Toole, J.M. and Watson, A.J. (2013). Rates and mechanisms of turbulent dissipation and mixing in the Southern Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 118, (6), 2774-2792. (doi:10.1002/jgrc.20217).

Brearley, J.A., Pickart, R.S., Valdimarsson, H., Jonsson, S., Schmitt, R.W. and Haine, T.W.N. (2012). The East Greenland boundary current south of Denmark Strait. Deep Sea Research I, 63, 1–19.

Sheen, K.L., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Brearley, J.A., Meredith, M.P., Polzin, K.L., Smeed, D.A., Forryan, A., King, B.A., Sallée, J.B., St. Laurent, L., Ledwell, J.R., Thurnherr, A.M., Toole, J.M., Waterman, S. and Watson, A.J. (2014). Changes in Southern Ocean abyssal mixing on climatic timescales, Nature Geoscience, in press.

Sevellec, F., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Brearley, J.A. and Sheen, K.L. (2014). Vertical flow in the Southern Ocean estimated from individual moorings, Journal of Physical Oceanography, submitted.

Sheen, K.L., Brearley, J.A., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Smeed, D.A., L. St. Laurent, M.P. Meredith and S. Waterman (2014). Modification of turbulent dissipation rates by a deep Southern Ocean eddy, Geophysical Research Letters, submitted.

Mackay, N., Watson, A., Messias, M-J. Sheen, K.L., Brearley, J.A., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Ledwell, J., Meijers, A. and St Laurent, L. (2013). Diapycnal mixing in Drake Passage as diagnosed by the DIMES tracer, Journal of Physical Oceanography, submitted.

Gille, S.T., Ledwell, J., Naveira Garabato, A., Speer, K., Balwada, D., Brearley, A., Girton, J., Griesel, A., Ferrari, R., Klocker, A., LaCasce, J., Lazarevich, P., Mackay, N., Meredith, M. P., Messias, M-J., Owens, B., Sallee, J-B., Sheen, K.L., Shuckburgh, E., Smeed, D.A., St Laurent, L.C., Toole, J.M., Watson, A.J., Wienders, N. and Zajaczkovski, U. (2012). The diapycnal and isopycnal mixing experiment: a first assessment. CLIVAR Exchanges, 58(17(1)), 46–48.

Bourke, M.C., Haas, W.R., Brearley, J.A. and Viles, H.A. (2007). Fluvial features, in Bourke, M.C. and Viles, H.A. (eds.) A Photographic Atlas of Rock Breakdown Features in Geomorphic Environments, Planetary Science Institute, Tucson.

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

1. Polar Ocean Mixing by Internal Tsunamis

   POLOMINTS investigates how glacier calving triggers internal tsunamis, reshaping polar ocean mixing and influencing climate, ecosystems, and carbon cycling.

   Read more of: Polar Ocean Mixing by Internal Tsunamis

   

2. PRESCIENT

   PRESCIENT supports long-term, strategically important measurements and capabilities for the wider science community.

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3. Heat and carbon regulation in the Southern Ocean

   SO-CHIC is a European research project investigating how the Southern Ocean regulates global climate through heat and carbon exchanges.

   Read more of: Heat and carbon regulation in the Southern Ocean

   

4. Tracking Antarctica’s Ice Fluctuations

   The recent extreme swings in Antarctic sea ice extent emphasise the need to increase our knowledge of the drivers and climate implications of Antarctic sea ice loss.

   Read more of: Tracking Antarctica’s Ice Fluctuations

   

5. Biogeochemical processes in polar ecosystems

   BIOPOLE studies how climate change is affecting the release of nutrients from the polar regions, and their redistribution around the world’s oceans.

   Read more of: Biogeochemical processes in polar ecosystems

   

6. Southern Ocean Carbon and Heat Regulation

   Understanding the Ocean Regulation of Climate by Heat, Carbon Sequestration and Transports

   Read more of: Southern Ocean Carbon and Heat Regulation

   

7. Rothera Time Series

   Earth System indicators in Antarctica

   Read more of: Rothera Time Series

   

1. 6 March 2026: Postcard from Rothera Research Station

   Work continues at pace at Rothera Research Station, Antarctica. More areas of the Discovery building, our new scientific support and operations facility, are now handed over to us as we remove some of the legacy buildings.

   Read more of: 6 March 2026: Postcard from Rothera Research Station

   

2. Underwater robotic gliders provide new insights into the impact of a melting megaberg

   Scientists have collected measurements close to a giant iceberg, giving an unprecedented window into the impact of meltwater on the surrounding Southern Ocean and ecosystem.

   Read more of: Underwater robotic gliders provide new insights into the impact of a melting megaberg

   

3. The changing Southern Ocean: Heat and carbon

   A series of studies on the Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica, reveal how it is changing. A special issue of the Journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, led by the […]

   Read more of: The changing Southern Ocean: Heat and carbon

   

4. World Oceans Day at the National Maritime Museum

   Find out what it takes to carry out vital climate research in some of the toughest conditions in the world. British Antarctic Survey scientists will be bringing both our expertise and our equipment to the National Maritime Museum this June, giving explorers of all ages a taste of what it’s like to be a polar scientist.

   Read more of: World Oceans Day at the National Maritime Museum

   

5. End of giant iceberg A-68

   The mission to determine the impact of the giant A-68a iceberg on the important marine ecosystem of sub-Antarctic South Georgia is a success.

   Read more of: End of giant iceberg A-68