Philip Hosegood

Academic profile

Dr Philip Hosegood

Associate Professor in Physical Oceanography
School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

The Global Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Philip's work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

Goal 04: SDG 4 - Quality EducationGoal 06: SDG 6 - Clean Water and SanitationGoal 07: SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean EnergyGoal 08: SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic GrowthGoal 11: SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and CommunitiesGoal 13: SDG 13 - Climate ActionGoal 14: SDG 14 - Life Below WaterGoal 15: SDG 15 - Life on LandGoal 17: SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

About Philip

Phil Hosegood is an observational physical oceanographer with more than 20 years experience in collecting and interpreting measurements from a diverse range of dynamic regimes in the marine environment. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and more than 40 conference abstracts. Phil obtained his PhD cum laudefrom Utrecht University after studying the processes that drive enhanced turbulent mixing over continental slopes. 
He then spent two years working at the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington, Seattle, studying the influence of submesoscale processes on the oceanic surface mixed layer. Since his appointment at Plymouth University Phil has received numerous research grants, several as Principal Investigator, to investigate the near coastal shelf sea environment, exchange processes at the continental shelf, upper ocean submesoscale dynamics, and the implications of oceanographic processes on the regional ecosystem in the Chagos archipelago, Indian Ocean. 
He has participated in several ocean-going cruises and led JR311 aboard the RRS James Clark Ross during which his team made the first purposeful measurements of submesoscales in the Southern Ocean. Most recently, he has led three multidisciplinary cruises to the central Indian Ocean to study the oceanographic drivers of ecosystem change in a large, tropical marine protected area.
At present, Phil's research focusses on the role played by physical oceanographic processes in shaping the marine ecosystem throughout the tropical Indian Ocean with particular attention directed towards the role of internal waves in modulating deep coral bleaching, manta movement and fish schooling behaviour over seamounts. Phil is currently a member of, and previously led, the Marine Physics Research Group that brings together scientists within the university that have a common interest in understanding the physics that influence the dynamics and physical properties of the marine environment.
  • Programme Director of the BSc Oceanography & Coastal Processes: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/bsc-oceanography-and-coastal-processes
  • Member of the Marine Physics Research Group: www.marinephysics.org
  • Member of the Marine Institute (www.plymouth.ac.uk/marine)
 

Supervised Research Degrees

PhD/MPhil supervision (ongoing):
  • Harvey Cairns: 'Understanding the role of dynamical oceanographic mechanisms driving habitat use at tropical atolls: a numerical modelling approach', Bertarelli Foundation, 2022 - present
  • Ted Robinson: 'Oceanographic drivers of ecosystem variability throughout British Indian Ocean Territory', Garfield Weston Foundation, 2019 - present
  • Clara Diaz: 'Investigating the distribution and diversity of mesophotic reefs in British Indian Ocean Territory', Garfield Weston Foundation, 2019 - present 
  • Joanna Harris: 'Oceanographic drivers of manta movements and ecology in British Indian Ocean Territory', Garfield Weston Foundation, 2019 - present
  • Danielle Eager: 'Identifying and quantifying pelagic biomass over seamounts in the Chagos Archipelago in relation to local oceanographic processes', Garfield Weston Foundation, 2019 - present
PhD supervision (completed):
  • Jaimie Cross: 'The Dynamics of Suspended Particles in a Seasonally Stratified Shelf Sea'. NERC-funded, 2009 - 2012
  • Ed Steele: '3D Turbulence Structure in the Sea', SMSE funded, 2011 - 2015
  • Sam Cox: ''Physical drivers of predator foraging in the marine environment', NERC-funded, 2011 - 2016
  • Megan Sheridan: 'Dynamics of small-scale coastal plumes', SMSE-funded, 2012 - 2018
  • Marcus Zannachi: 'Physical controls on primary production in marginally stratified shelf seas', NERC-funded, October 2013 - 2019.
  • Llucia Mascorda Cabre: 'Oceanographic impacts of offshore mussel farms', 2019 - present
  • Maxine King: 'Deciphering submarine slope processes in the Ross Sea, Antarctica', SoBAMS, 2018 - present

Teaching

*** Nominated 'Most Inspirational Teacher' SSTAR awards, 2011, 2016***
I teach on a number of modules across the BSc Marine Science programme and lead two modules: 
  • OS201 Global Ocean Processes: This module teaches students about the major oceanographic processes that influence the ocean circulation and have implications for biogeochemical processes throughout the marine environment.
  • OS206 Researching the Marine Environment: This module teaches students advanced practical skills appropriate to their specific degree. We train students to be able to independently conduct fieldwork with minimal supervision, including instrument programming, preparation, deployment and recovery, in addition to project planning and management.

Contact Philip

Room 110, Reynolds, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
+44 1752 584729