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Dr Craig Smeaton

Lecturer in Physical Geography

Phone

+44 (0)1334 46 4014

Email

cs244@st-andrews.ac.uk

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Research areas

My research is centred on the nexus between land and ocean systems and the interface between science and policy. I investigate the processes controlling carbon storage in coastal and marine sedimentary environments including saltmarshes, fjords, and continental‑shelf settings using field observations, geochemical analyses, and advanced spatial modelling.

Marine sediments and intertidal soils (saltmarsh, seagrass and mangroves) are capable of burying and storing globally significant quantities of carbon (sometimes referred to as Blue Carbon) away for thousands of years potentially providing a highly important climate mitigation service.

These sedimentary environments are recognised, as crucial components of the global carbon cycle, yet many unknowns remain hindering there inclusion in global climate models, national carbon accounting and greenhouse gas inventories.

To tackle this issue I bring together techniques from across the different geoscience disciplines (Geo- physics, chemistry, morphology, spatial analysis) to better understand:

• The quantity of carbon held with marine and intertidal sediments.
• The rate at which carbon is buried and locked away in these sedimentary environments.
• The source of the carbon (terrestrial vs marine).
• The natural and anthropogenic mechanisms that govern the preservation of carbon in these sedimentary systems.ÌýÌýÌýÌý

Geographically, my research is currently focused on the saltmarshes of the United Kingdom and continental shelf sediments in the North East Atlantic with particular focus on fjord sediments

PhD supervision

• LaurenÌýCarl
• AysegulÌýDogan
• AlyssaÌýKovalski
• LucyÌýRobinson
• LaurenÌýSouth

Selected publications

• Open access
  Smeaton, C., Hiles, W., Gulliver, P. & Austin, W. E. N., 11 May 2026, In: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 40, 5, 15 p., e2025GB008738.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Zhang, X., Koziorowska, K., Yang, H., He, S., Ho, K., Yan, M., Smeaton, C., Bianchi, T. S. & Cui, X., 1 Apr 2026, In: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 40, 4, 21 p., e2025GB008788.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Cheung, H. L. S., Levin, L. S., Smeaton, C., Politi, T., Thamdrup, B., Santos, I. R. & Bonaglia, S., 1 Apr 2026, In: Nature Communications. 17, 9 p., 3148.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Diesing, M., Bøe, R., Elvenes, S., Knies , J. & Smeaton, C., 5 May 2026, In: Biogeosciences. 23, 9, p. 3005-3022 18 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Parker, R., Graves, C., Aldridge, J., Heal, R., Hughes, D., Mason, C., Powell, C., Austin, W., Bell, T., Clarkson, S., Elias, J., Hicks, N., Hiddink , J., Homoky, W., Hunt, C., Hunter, B., Ivanovic, A., Kaiser, M., Kennedy, H. & Marsh, M. & 21 others, Pereira, R., Rickard, P., Rippeth, T., Robinson, K., Sciberras, M., Smeaton, C., Vane, C., Williamson, P., Woodward-Rowe, H., Woulds, C., Bradshaw, C., Chatting, M., Coughlan, M., Diesing, M., Lønborg, C., O'Neill, B., Paradis, S., Porz, L., Rastrick, S., Tiano, J. & Zhang, W., 25 Feb 2026, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). 86 p.

  Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report

• Open access
  Graversen, A. E. L., Lønborg, C., Addamo, A. M., Pedersen, S. G., Chemello, S., Alejo, I., Apostolaki, E. T., Asplund, M. E., Austin, W. E. N., Berov, D., Berto, D., Björk, M., Black, K., Bobchev, N., Bonaglia, S., Borgersen, G., Bouma, T., Costello, M. J., Dahl, M. & Diaz-Almela, E. & 72 others, Dimitriou, P. D., Duarte, C. M., Dueñas, C. L., Efthymiadis, P. T., Elosegui, I. M., Espinosa, M. R., Filipsson, H. L., Fontela, M., Fredriksen, S., Frigstad, H., Gagnon, K., Garcia-Escudero, C. A., Giani, M., Grouhel-Pellouin, A., Guerra, R., Gullström, M., Gundersen, H., Hancke, K., Majtényi-Hill, C., Hunt, C., Inostroza, K., Karakassis, I., Karamfilov, V., Klayn, S., Koziorowska, K., Kuliński, K., Lavery, P., Lenstra, W. K., Lillebø, A. I., Logemann, E., Magni, P., Marbà, N., Marco-Mendez, C., Martins, M., Mateo, M. A., Monnier, B., Mueller, P., Neto, J. M., Papageorgiou, N., de Rezende, C. E., Pardo, J. C. F., Peña, J. A. J. D. L., Pergent, G., Piñeiro-Juncal, N., Preston, J., Rampazzo, F., Reithmaier, G., Reusch, T. B. H., Reynolds, S., Ricart, A. M., Santos, R., de los Santos, C. B., Santos, I. R., Serrano, E., Serrano, O., Slomp, C. P., Smeaton, C., Soler, M., Sousa, A. I., Spiegel, T., Stevenson, A., Thormar, J., Trannum, H. C., van Helmond, N. A. G. M., Paradis, S., Vizzini, S., Ward, E. A., Yau, Y. Y. Y., Zakhama-Sraieb, R., Zribi, I., Zygadlowska, O. M. & Jensen, D. K., 1 Jun 2025, In: Data in Brief. 60, 14 p., 111595.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  O'Dell, A., Baxter, J. M., Moore, P., Smale, D., Smeaton, C., Davies , I. & Burrows, M., 27 Feb 2025, In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. 755, p. 63-77

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Watts, E. G., Zautcke, K., Santos, I., Smeaton, C., Ljungberg, W., Cheung, H. L. S., Bonaglia, S., Politi, T., Liu, Z. & Bianchi, T. S., Nov 2025, In: Estuaries and Coasts. 48, 6, p. 1-20 20 p., 167.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Diesing, M., Smeaton, C., Bjarnadóttir, L. R. & Thorsnes, T., 30 Oct 2025, In: Environmental Research Communications. 7, 10, 11 p., 105030.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Taylor , J., Selby, D., Lloyd, J., Smeaton, C., Bendle, J., Allison, M., Ling, Y., Podrecca, L., Sageman, B., Austin, W. & Szidat, S., 15 May 2025, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 356, 16 p., 109311.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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