Cara B. G. James

I am a 5th year PhD Candidate in Geophysics at the University of British Columbia, in the Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences (correct as of May 2026).

I completed my Bachelors and Masters in Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

I study the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining using laboratory experiments, and I also study and develop new procedures and technologies for monitoring potential commercial mining activities.
My research is multi-disciplinary containing both basic and applied scientific research as well as policy and science-policy analysis of environmental regulations for deep-sea mining.

I am part of the Minerals Working Group for the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, a non-profit group of deep-sea experts who provide policy briefs for the international community of deep-sea policy makers, as well as fact-checking services at UN meetings.