Dean of Creative Arts, Technologies and Science, Prof. James Crabbe received the Aviva/Earthwatch Award for Climate Change Research for a study he is carrying out with Earthwatch. The project, which has measured more than 2500 corals over the past 20 years, has shown that severe storms, the intensity of which is increased by climate change, play a major role in the loss of biodiversity and coral cover, as well as affecting growth and recruitment; the measure of how many fish enter an area over a certain period.

The money will be used to buy a ROV to allow analysis of corals at greater depths, said Professor Crabbe. He will be heading to Jamaica this winter and Belize next summer to collect more data, with plans to develop projects in Mauritius and southern China in the future.