The polar oceans and global climate

As The Open University celebrates its 50^th anniversary, Mark Brandon, Professor in Polar Oceanography, delivered his inaugural lecture on the polar oceans and global climate and looked ahead to what could happen during the next 50 years.

In this lecture, Professor Brandon showed how over the last 50 years both the physical environment and our perception of the polar regions has changed which has led us to realise that the ice-covered polar oceans are critical for the climate of our planet.

He described the polar seas, how they work, and their global importance. He showed how research has fed into polar broadcast and how using the series co-produced by the BBC and The Open University, we can teach science to millions. Components of our television broadcast with real time polar data, can even be utilised by distance learning students to learn basic science and get the best possible understanding of what is happening there right now.

Watch the video of Professor Brandon’s inaugural lecture:

The polar oceans and global climate

About Professor Mark Brandon

A Professor in Polar Oceanography at The Open University, Mark Brandon has over 25 years’ experience of leading successful large projects in research and teaching. He is one of two STEM Open Media Fellows, responsible for co‐ordinating and leading free learning and broadcast across The Open University’s Faculty of Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Professor Brandon won the 2012 Times Higher Education award for Most Innovative Teacher of the Year and his main research interest is polar oceans and the physical processes that happen in them. His research has informed several BBC programmes such as Blue Planet, Blue Planet II, Frozen Planet, Earth from Space and Coast.