UKOA scientist honoured with OBE
04 January 2011
UKOA scientist, Dr Carol Turley, has been awarded an OBE for ‘services to science’ in the New Year’s Honours list. Carol, now a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Knowledge Exchange Coordinator for UKOA, has worked in marine science for over thirty years, building a reputation, influencing, those she works with, and inspiring the next generation of scientists.
“It has been a wonderful privilege to explore and discover how the oceans work, and to be recognised by this award is a surprise and an honour. Over the years I have collaborated with many great scientists and I hope they feel they can share this award, science is, after all a joint endeavour that develops over a long period of time. Everyone I have worked with, both at PML and around the world, is being honoured today”, she said.
Professor Stephen de Mora, PML’s Chief Executive, was delighted with the news:
“We at Plymouth Marine Laboratory are both pleased and proud that Carol Turley has been awarded an OBE in the 2011 New Years Honours List. Her service to science has been notable. The oceans used to be considered as a safe repository for the carbon dioxide generated by fossil fuel combustion; Carol was one of the first people to consider potential adverse effects this might have.
The ‘other CO2 problem’ is ocean acidification; that this topic is now so well known and recognised internationally as a significant issue is in no small part due to Carol Turley. Initially she promoted scientific investigations of the effect of increased acidity on marine life and the environment. Subsequently, she used a science-based approach to advise policy makers and the general public of the environmental consequences of ocean acidification. The most recent example of her efforts was seen at COP16 in Cancun, whereby global leaders took note of this key topic. This distinction honours many years of dedicated work to understanding, interpreting, educating, and advising the marine community, in its broadest sense, of ocean acidification as a global problem.”