Leo Middleton studies the changing Antarctic climate system
Leo Middleton is a new postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Marine Sciences. He is part of Anna Wåhlin’s team, and his research focus is Antarctica, particularly on how the ocean and ice shelves are affected by changes in climate. He also plays lots of different instruments, but mostly mandolin.
What will you be working on here?
"I am working on the changing Antarctic climate system. I am trying to answer questions like: how does the ocean’s temperature and salinity respond to warming? how does the record low sea-ice cover, observed in recent years, influence the ocean and ice shelves in the Weddell Sea? We observed the Weddell Sea region with a targeted seal-tagging campaign in early 2025, so that provides a great dataset for answering these questions."
What did you do before?
"I worked on the exchange of heat and carbon between the surface ocean and the atmosphere, using data from observational campaigns in the Mediterranean, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Before that, I studied turbulence during my PhD at the British Antarctic Survey, with a focus on the drivers of melting under Antarctic Ice Shelves."
What do you do when you are not working?
"I love to play music, especially in groups like in folk music sessions, jazz jams or choirs. I’m looking forward to learning some Swedish folk music! I also enjoy the outdoors: hiking, canoeing and ice skating. My newest hobby is learning Swedish of course."
Anything else you would like to share?
I’m glad to have been so welcomed by the department since moving here: it makes tackling the challenges of immigrating to Sweden much easier, so I’m feeling very grateful for the community, tack så mycket!"