In a very special episode of the SAMS Ocean Explorer podcast, recorded at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026 in Glasgow, we discuss the current state of ocean research as it navigates reductions in funding while facing an urgent demand for new knowledge.

We explore the impact of U.S. federal government cuts to environmental science and ask: Can scientists be political? What actions are needed to address the challenges of climate change? What might the future hold for ocean science? And, is Scotland really the centre of the oceanographic universe..?!

Our guests are two leading figures in global marine science:

Janice Lachance is Chief Executive and Director of the American Geophysical Union, a U.S. based international community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in the Earth and space sciences. She has previously held senior roles in the U.S. Government.

Deborah Bronk is President and CEO of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and has served in a number of senior roles across marine science. In 2020, she was recognized as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, for her substantial research advances on the marine nitrogen cycle and for her leadership in the ocean science research community.

The Ocean Explorer podcast is produced by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), an ocean research charity and partner of UHI based in Oban.
In each episode, we take a deep dive into marine science topics with SAMS scientists and special guests.
Interested in working or studying with us, or helping with our work? Visit www.sams.ac.uk to find out more.

Like a giant carbon sponge, the ocean has been absorbing much of the excess carbon dioxide humans have produced - but for how long can that last?

While we see the effects of climate change more clearly on land, the impact on our ocean is less obvious.

In this episode, guests Dr Robyn Tuerena and Dr Clare Johnson of SAMS discuss how their latest research project, C-STREAMS, is measuring changes in the ocean carbon cycle and what this might mean for our climate.

The Ocean Explorer podcast is produced by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), an ocean research charity and partner of UHI based in Oban.
In each episode, we take a deep dive into marine science topics with SAMS scientists and special guests.
Interested in working or studying with us, or helping with our work? Visit www.sams.ac.uk to find out more.

The term 'robotics' is fairly wide reaching. From amateur enthusiasts to teams of developers working on the next ingenious idea, there are many applications too.

Environmental scientists are excited about a new-found capability in environmental monitoring. Surveying an area of land or sea that would previously have taken days - even many weeks - can now be done in minutes, thanks to autonomous vehicles and their hi-tech payloads of cameras and sensors.

In this episode, Dr Niall Burnside and Libby Smith from the Scientific Robotics Academy at SAMS, talk about how these systems can be used, why training the next generation of scientists in these systems is crucial, and what the future might hold.

The Ocean Explorer podcast is produced by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), an ocean research charity and partner of UHI based in Oban.
In each episode, we take a deep dive into marine science topics with SAMS scientists and special guests.
Interested in working or studying with us, or helping with our work? Visit www.sams.ac.uk to find out more.