Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)

📣 Exciting #PhD opportunities! Please share. SAMS is leading and supporting a number of funded PhD projects through the E5 Doctoral Training Partnership. Find out if your next academic step could be with us! www.sams.ac.uk/study/postgr...

Currently at SAMS on work experience is Rosie Gage-Struthers, the grand-daughter of the late SAMS scientist Prof. John Gage, a pioneer of deep-sea research. Rosie met Prof. Bhavani Narayanaswamy, whose PhD was supervised by Prof. Gage! @mastscot.bsky.social

Scientists at SAMS have trained an AI taxonomist as part of a new method that will revolutionise how seabed health below fish farms is monitored. The software has now been formally adopted by SEPA, the aquaculture industry regulator in Scotland. www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne... 🧪🌊

Congratulations, Dr Webber! 🐬 🥂 🎉 Huge congratulations to SAMS (UHI) PhD student Thomas Webber, who has successfully defended his viva on Risso's dolphin distribution in Scottish waters. Thomas was supervised by Dr Denise Risch, Dr Nienke van Geel Dr Gordon Hastie and Rona Sinclair.🌊🧪🐬

The extraordinary diversity, biology and complexity of #protists pose significant challenges to the #genomics community. We're part of a new collaboration addressing some of the major technical barriers for sequencing protists from bulk cultures and the environment.🧪 www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

A new chapter for MASTS! After 15 years as Executive Director, Prof David Paterson is stepping down and we're delighted to welcome Prof Bhavani Narayanaswamy (@samsocean.bsky.social, UHI) as Executive Director, co-leading MASTS with Dr Mark James. Welcome, Bhavani! 🎉

📣 NEW PODCAST EPISODE "The biodiversity crisis: How do we halt the losses?" 🎧 Available on your preferred streaming platform or from www.buzzsprout.com/1080152/epis... Featuring marine ecologist Dr Clive Fox of SAMS and Dr Flavio Affinito, of the United Nations Convention on Global Biodiversity.

📢 Master’s Project Opportunity: Hidden Biodiversity in the Southern Ocean APPLICATION DEADLINE APPROACHING 🌊 www.sams.ac.uk/study/postgr... Director of Studies: Dr Bernadette Snow (SAMS)🧪 Application Deadline: 1 June 2026 📷Lisa Friberg/SAMS

SAMS scientists have developed the most comprehensive view yet of how large-scale north Atlantic currents that dictate our climate may be changing.🌊🧪 Their Scotland-Canada Overturning Array (SCOTIA) is examining the AMOC and incorporates data from a range of sources. www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

Make sure you register to join our #ThirdThursdayScience webinar on Dark Oxygen! The session will be on Thursday 21 May 2026 from 13:00-14:00 CEST and we will be joined by speaker Andrew Sweetman from @samsocean.bsky.social. Find out more and register here: www.marineboard.eu/events/dark-...

What's it like being at sea in 30-metre waves..? 🌊 SAMS Ocean Explorer podcast guests Penny Holliday of the @noc.ac.uk & Mark Inall of SAMS share memories of an expedition to the north Atlantic in February 2000. www.buzzsprout.com/1080152/epis... Part of a wider discussion on ocean observations.

📢 Fully-funded PhD opportunity Exploring the effects of anthropogenic changes on deep-sea abyssal plain and seamount benthic ecosystems in the North Atlantic using in-situ experimentation and modelling Director of Studies: Prof. Andrew K. Sweetman www.sams.ac.uk/study/postgr...

Dark Oxygen? What is it and why is it important? Our May #ThirdThursdayScience session on Thursday 21 May 2026 from 13:00-14:00 CEST will reveall all! Join is to hear from speaker Andrew Sweetman from @samsocean.bsky.social. Find out more and register here: www.marineboard.eu/events/dark-...

Our Seaweed Academy has partnered with @wwf.org.uk and the Michael Uren Foundation to offer scholarships for UK residents to attend our Seaweed Nursery Course this August here at SAMS in Oban. Applications close 5pm, 8 May 2026. 👉 tinyurl.com/SeaweedAcade...

Dark Oxygen? What is it and why is it important? Join us on Thursday 21 May 2026 from 13:00-14:00 CEST to find out! Our May #ThirdThursdayScience session will discuss dark oxygen with speaker Andrew Sweetman from @samsocean.bsky.social. More and register here: www.marineboard.eu/events/dark-...

We recently developed a successful tank-based method for growing the highly-valued red seaweed Palmaria palmata. Learn more about the discovery in Dr Puja Kumari's interview on Food Ingredients First. 🎥https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/video/red-seaweed-food-flavor-protein-cultivation.html

Congratulations to SAMS PhD student Hayley Swanlund on her first first-author paper about how #seaweed farming can enhance ecosystem services. The global review of 134 studies shows seaweed aquaculture can help improve water quality and offer habitat for marine life. doi.org/10.1080/2330...

CCAP will be at the Edinburgh Science Festival 2026 - if you are visiting come and say hello! We will be in Dynamic Earth on 16 & 17 April 10-4, with an ioLight microscope and a bioreactor, plus several of our algae strains. @samsocean.bsky.social #edinburgh #marinescience #STEM #pondlife #algae

Two international conferences will create a keynote talk with a difference by simultaneously involving speakers on either side of the Atlantic🌊. Find out which event the Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewables Conference (EIMR2026) in Oban is pairing with. www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

🎧 What’s next for ocean science amid funding cuts and growing demand for research? Hear Janice Lachance, CEO of AGU, discuss the state of ocean science in a special episode of the @samsocean.bsky.social podcast, recorded at #OSM26. Listen to the full episode : buff.ly/6Wsn6bl

Interested in marine mammals, or renewable energy. Might you even have an interest in both..?! 🧐 The Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewables conference #EIMR2026 in Oban next month combines marine renewable energy and environmental science. ➡️https://eimr2026.com

🎧NEW PODCAST EPISODE! Ocean carbon storage: how much is too much? www.buzzsprout.com/1080152/epis... Download from the link above, or search 'SAMS Ocean Explorer' on your preferred streaming platform.

A beautifully shot episode of BBC Countryfile aired yesterday featuring our flapper skate research and the glorious surroundings of Oban and Lorn.🌊 📺https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002rx34/countryfile-hamzas-highlands-flapper-skate

The red seaweed Palmaria palmata - aka dulse - is highly valued. There's just one thing...it's tricky to grow. SAMS researchers believe they have developed a successful tank-based method for growing the seaweed, observing a weekly doubling in biomass.🧪 www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

@epocproject.bsky.social are bringing ocean science to the science centre on Sat 21 Feb ahead of #OSM2026   🌊 Ocean visualisation @noc.ac.uk 🤖 Robot gliders @samsocean.bsky.social 🔬 Sediment cores @ucl.ac.uk 💦 How The Ocean Shapes Our World in IMAX @helenczerski.bsky.social

Thinking about attending this year's Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewables (EIMR) Conference in Oban? 🐳🌊🧪 Well, the draft conference programme is now available to view at eimr2026.com. Please don't forget to register if you plan on coming! We look forward to seeing you all at #EIMR2026!

We're bringing ocean science to @glasgowscience.bsky.social on Sat 21 Feb ahead of #OSM2026 🌊 Ocean visualisation @noc.ac.uk 🤖 Robot gliders @samsocean.bsky.social 🔬 Sediment cores @ucl.ac.uk @helenczerski.bsky.social ocean tech debate glasgowsciencecentre.org/whats-on/eyes-on-the-ocean

Postgraduate student projects that will investigate coastal creatures through to the deep Pacific Ocean are underway this week as a new cohort arrived at SAMS, a partner of @thinkuhi.bsky.social The students are pictured with Prof. Bhavani Narayanaswamy, Head of SAMS Graduate School.

Today, we welcome aboard subsea engineers Aquatitans, the latest company to join our Ocean Changemakers initiative. Ocean Changemakers supports SAMS to maintain long-term research programmes and respond quickly to emerging environmental challenges. Read more: www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

Two world-first seabed landers that can withstand extreme pressure will help answer one of the ocean’s deepest mysteries – where does Dark Oxygen come from? The SAMS-led research, funded by The Nippon Foundation, includes Northwestern University & Boston University. www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

SAMS #vacancies Associate Director of Finance www.sams.ac.uk/vacancies/as... If you've got an eye for numbers and would like to play your part in ensuring a healthy ocean for thriving people, we want to hear from you.

"Twinkle, twinkle, wandering star" As we approach the festive holiday break, we would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. Our Christmas card star is made up of different diatoms, small algal cells of exceptional beauty that drift, or wander, in the ocean as part of the plankton.

Marine robotics will aid restoration efforts on Scottish loch - @SAMSocean.bsky.social Restoration efforts on a Scottish loch have been boosted by experimental techniques using sea-going robotics that can identify the most suitable reintroduction sites. c-js.co.uk/4iYMoCe

It that a coral, or an upside-down squid..? New suspected species, coined the ‘muddy squid’, displays ‘unusual’ burrowing behaviour observed for the first time in the deep sea. Read more: www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne... @thinkuhi.bsky.social @noc.ac.uk

We're prizewinners! 🏆 A fantastic result at last night's Scottish Renewables Scottish Green Energy Awards as we picked up the Judges Award for our work on marine growth assessments of offshore structures. Thank you to #SGEA25 organisers and sponsors. Read more: www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

A new transatlantic connection has been established between SAMS in Oban, a partner of @thinkuhi.bsky.social, and the Oceanography Department at @dalhousieu.bsky.social in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Find out more👇 www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

Former SAMS Director Prof. Graham Shimmield was born on this day in 1958. Graham was at the helm of SAMS from 1995 - 2008 and later led the Bigelow Laboratory in Maine until his death on Christmas Eve in 2016. He is remembered as an accomplished marine scientist and a visionary leader.

@sophiefresson.bsky.social can we please join the UK Ocean News feed?

Congratulations, Dr Ashley-Wheeler! 🎉🍾🎊 SAMS and UHI PhD student Victoria Ashley-Wheeler has successfully defended her viva on eDNA metabarcoding. Her NERC-funded SUPER DTP PhD was supported by the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), MOWI and SEPA.

SAMS and @thinkuhi.bsky.social Prof. Michael Burrows is included on the global list of Highly Cited Researchers for the 6th consecutive year.🏆🌊🧪 The @clarivateag.bsky.social list considers papers ranking in the top 1% by citations for field & publication year over the past decade. #HighlyCited2025

We did it! A successful Crowdfunder will see the development our table-top game Drones & Droids.🤖 As well as being available to anyone to buy after we've honoured our fundraiser commitments, copies of the game will be given to local schools. www.sams.ac.uk/news/sams-ne...

Fully funded MRes opportunity! "Determining the origins and ages of plastic arriving on Scotland's shoreline" www.sams.ac.uk/study/postgr... Application deadline: 12th November This one year, fully funded MRes studentship begins on 2nd February 2026.🌊🧪

📣 #PhD opportunities As part of the NERC E5 Doctoral Training Partnership through The University of Edinburgh, SAMS has submitted three options for PhD studentships. 🧪🌊 Is your dream PhD here? e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item... e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item... e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item...

Great first visit at the European Elasmobranchs Association's Annual Science Conference in #Rotterdam #blijdorp talking about flapper skates #skatespotter #EEA2025

Congratulations, Dr Sands! 🎉🍾🎊 Huge congratulations to SAMS @thinkuhi.bsky.social and @bas.ac.uk (BAS) PhD student Chester Sands who today successfully defended his viva. Chester, a father of three, works at BAS as a molecular ecologist and completed his PhD while working in this role.

Bluesky - can you help us? Drones & Droids is an innovative STEM strategy game created by scientists at SAMS. We've only 5 days to raise the money needed to bring this project to life. If we don’t reach 100%, we lose match funding. ✅ Back the campaign: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/drones-and-droids