Research output per year
Research output per year
Overview
Profile summary
Research: Antarctic Continental Margin Processes and Evolution, Continental Margin Geomorphology, Process Sedimentology, Ice Sheet Change, Antarctic Climate History.
Specialities: Marine Geomorphology, Bathymetry, Marine Geophysics, Marine Geology, Glacial Processes, Marine Robotics
Professor Jenny Gales is Professor of Ocean Exploration and Programme Lead for the BSc Ocean Exploration and Surveying programme at the University of Plymouth.
Her research focuses on Antarctic continental margins, marine geomorphology, submarine geohazards, ice-sheet dynamics, and the interactions between climate, oceans and the seafloor. She combines marine geophysics, bathymetric mapping, sedimentology and marine autonomy and robotics to investigate how polar continental margins evolve and how these processes influence Earth's climate system.
Professor Gales leads the Antarctic Canyon Experiment (ACE), a £2.5 million European Research Council-funded project (2025–2030) investigating, for the first time, how Antarctic underwater avalanches (turbidity currents) transport organic carbon and influence global climate regulation. Working with an international consortium, the project combines direct observations, marine geophysics, sediment cores and palaeoclimate records to understand how changing ice sheets affect deep-ocean carbon storage.
She is also an active participant in major international Antarctic expeditions. Most recently, she led the GoSouth expedition to the sub-Antarctic South Sandwich Islands in 2025, funded by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, using advanced robotic technologies to investigate deep-sea volcanoes, submarine landslides, hydrothermal vents and their associated ecosystems in one of Earth's least explored ocean regions.
Professor Gales has participated in numerous Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, including the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 to the Ross Sea, where her research helped reveal how climate has controlled large submarine landslides on the Antarctic continental margin over millions of years. She previously led the ANTSSS expedition to the Ross Sea, collecting gephysical data to better understand processes operating on Antarctic continental margins.
Before joining the University of Plymouth, she held research positions at the National Oceanography Centre, the British Geological Survey and the British Antarctic Survey.
She continues to collaborate internationally on projects spanning polar science, marine geohazards, climate change and emerging technologies for seafloor exploration.
Professional memberships
The Hydrographic Society UK & Ireland
Roles on external bodies
Empowering Women in Hydrography Lead - The Hydrographic Society UK & Ireland
Teaching interests
Currently teaches:
- OS305 Coastal Survey
- OS316 Applied Ocean Exploration (Module Leader)
- MAR521 Acoustic and Oceanographic Survey
Current PhD students:
- Corbyn Johannes - Causes, character and consequences of Antarctic turbidity currents (2024-present)
Completed PhD students:
- Maxine King - Deciphering submarine slope processes on the Ross Sea continental margin (2018-2023)
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development 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. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 5 Gender Equality -
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy -
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure -
SDG 13 Climate Action -
SDG 15 Life on Land
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Spatially variable response of Antarctica's ice sheets to orbital forcing during the Pliocene
Patterson, M. P., Rosenberg , C., Yamamoto , M., Romero , O., Nelissen , M., Sangiorigi, F., Golledge , N., Grant , G., Arnuk, W., Keisling , B., Naish , T., Levy , R., Meyers , S., Sullivan , N., Ash , J., Kulhanek , D., Romans , B., Verela , N., Jones , H. & Beny , F. & 21 others, , 2 Oct 2025, (Accepted) (Nature Geoscience).Research output: Working paper / Preprint › Preprint
File6 Downloads (Pure) -
Miocene Climatic Optimum and Middle Miocene Climate Transition: a foraminiferal record from the central Ross Sea, Antarctica
Iodp Expedition 374 Scientists, 19 Sept 2024, In: Journal of Micropalaeontology. 43, 2, p. 383-421 39 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Pliocene-Pleistocene warm-water incursions and water mass changes on the Ross Sea continental shelf (Antarctica) based on foraminifera from IODP Expedition 374
Iodp Expedition 374 Scientists, 11 Jul 2024, In: Journal of Micropalaeontology. 43, 2, p. 211-238 28 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
Climate-controlled submarine landslides on the Antarctic continental margin
Gales, J., McKay, R., De, S. L., Rebesco, M., Laberg, J., Shevenell, A., Harwood, D., Leckie, M., Kulhanek, D., King, M., Patterson, M., Lucchi, R. G., Kim, S., Kim, S., Dodd, J., Seidenstein, J., Prunella, C., Ferrante, G. M. & Expedition, 3. S. I., 18 May 2023, In: Nature Communications. 14, 2714.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile23 Downloads (Pure) -
Data report: IODP Site U1523 composite section and stratigraphic splice based on X-ray fluorescence data
Kulhanek, D., Prunella, C., McLaughlin, J., Griffin, B., McKay, R., Patterson, M., Gales, J., Shevenell, A., van, P. T. & Scientists, I. E. 3., 2 Sept 2022, In: Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program. 0, 0Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile20 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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VCs Award EDI
Boulton, S. (Recipient), Fisher, J. (Recipient), FitzPatrick, M. (Recipient), Gales, J. (Recipient), Harris, M. (Recipient), Mather, A. (Recipient) & Mildon, Z. (Recipient), 2023
Prize: Prize / award