Dr Sophia Moreton
Sophia works as an Ocean Scientist in the Global Ocean Forecasting team within ‘Ocean Forecasting Research & Development’.
Areas of expertise
- Air-sea coupling between the ocean and atmosphere
- High resolution coupled climate modelling
- Mesoscale ocean eddies
Current activities
The Ocean Forecasting group develops operational analysis and short-range forecast systems used to monitor and predict physical ocean dynamics, waves, and ecosystems. Our systems combine numerical models with in-situ and remote sensed observations of the ocean, through data assimilation, creating a digital representation of the global ocean.
The Global Ocean Forecasting team are responsible for research into operations pull-through, development and monitoring of global ocean circulation models used for marine forecasts and as the ocean component of the Met Office’s global-coupled numerical weather prediction system.
Sophia is passionate about retaining women in scientific careers, particularly after maternity leave, and is currently co-leading the ‘Women in Climate’ network. Recently the Met Office has made it to ‘2023 UK’s Best Workplace for Women’ list.
Career background
Sophia completed her PhD in Physical Oceanography from the University of Reading and the Met Office Hadley Centre in 2021. She explored the impact of oceanic mesoscale eddies on air-sea coupling in high resolution climate models, and continue to work in the OCDC Ocean Modelling team in Climate Science.
From 2022-2023, Sophia joined the Informatics Lab as a Scientific Software Engineer. She created a data-driven global weather prediction model using graph neural networks, and worked on a joint programme between the Met Office and NERC to pioneer the development of Digital Twin capabilities in the Met Office.
Publications