Tim Smyth

Professor Tim Smyth is the Director of Science at Plymouth Marine Laboratory and has led the NERC funded Western Channel Observatory (WCO) for 19 years. He has a 25+ year track record in hydrological optics measurements and modelling as well as upscaling to the global level using satellite remote sensing. He has published 130 ISI journal articles with two of his most recent articles mapping the global extent of underwater light pollution in the marine environment and the impact of ALAN around global megacities compared with the natural lunar cycles. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society for 30 years.

Since joining PML in 1997 as a data analyst and algorithm developer for the then newly launched SeaWiFS ocean colour satellite, his research interests have broadly encompassed theoretical and experimental atmospheric and in-water optics. He has a strong interest in developing innovative technologies for automated marine measurements including the WCO buoys, ship emissions and atmospheric aerosols.

He has around 280 days of sea-going experience including being Chief Scientist on two Atlantic Meridional Transect (2014, 2015) expeditions between the UK and Falkland Islands.