FOCUS is a multi-disciplinary research programme exploring the impacts of climate change and direct human activities on the global coastal ocean at the regional to local scale of human interaction.

It provides a significant UK contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) aiming at “The science we need for the ocean we want”.

It will advance understanding of solutions towards resilience, adaptation, and mitigation of global change in the coastal ocean environment.

Objectives

To develop global understanding of the impacts of climate change and direct human activities on the coastal ocean at the regional to local scale of human interaction.

  • Understand the risks and impacts of climate change on the coastal ocean

  • Understand the interactions of multiple human pressures on coastal habitats and ecosystems services, and the consequences for coastal communities.

  • Explore how nature-based and engineering-based marine solutions can contribute towards a net-zero carbon society.

  • Develop the concept of the Global Coastal Ocean by synthesizing regional scale understanding to global scale assessments of change.

FOCUS and the UN Decade of Ocean Science

  • CoastPredict: Observing and Predicting the Global Coastal Ocean
  • Ocean Acidification Research for Sustainability (OARS)
  • Global Ocean Oxygen Decade (GOOD).
More about UN Decade of Ocean Science