Brandon J Bethel, PhD, is an assistant professor of marine at Small Island Sustainability at University of The Bahamas. His field of expertise includes ocean numerical modeling, observations, and artificial intelligence methods in oceanography. CaribOx Project Officer Helena Neimann Erikstrup interviewed him about his plans for the duration of the fellowship.
What are you most looking forward to doing in Oxford?
As a region, the Caribbean is highly susceptible to extreme weather events. Oxford University has some of the latest scientific and technical expertise that would be extremely useful to address this and other concerns such as connectivity in marine ecosystems. As such, I am greatly/particularly looking forward to the opportunity to learn new techniques to advance my skill in ocean numerical modeling, observations, and artificial intelligence or deep learning-based forecasting. Subsequently, ensuring knowledge and technology transfer on issues of mutual concern for the good of coastal communities both in The Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean and increasing our adaption capacity to global warming and climate change.
What will you be working on during your fellowship? Why is it important?
During the fellowship, I aim to work alongside Professor David Marshall and his research group to deepen our understanding of wave-current interactions during tropical cyclones (TC). Powerful systems such as Hurricane Dorian (2019) hit Bahamian shores, causing catastrophic damage. Consequently, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that govern extreme waves and storm surges. This research can reduce the errors in numerical model and artificial intelligence-based forecast methods, which then enhances our ability to more precisely predict TC activity. Disaster risk management can consequently be improved. Additionally, and outside of extreme weather events, I also would like to improve our ability to numerically model marine connectivity throughout our islands. This will improve our ability to track the dispersal of coral larvae and potentially, aid in the designing of marine protected areas. To ensure the long-term viability of the CaribOx programme for The Bahamas, I also would like to start a conversation on the sharing of scientific and technical knowledge for the observation and numerical modeling of the atmosphere and ocean. Understanding the potential of funding for a centre for ocean numerical modeling and observations would be a key goal to be pursued. Due to their diminutive size, our islands are often insufficiently resolved on global scales models, which leads to either an absence of data, or non-trivial errors in our coastal zones. Pioneering a change where small island developing states such as The Bahamas can develop and deploy numerical models and ocean observing systems would ensure that the challenges from across the air-sea interface can be faced with confidence.
How has transnational collaboration influenced your academic trajectory so far?
Like many Bahamians, I originally started my career in higher education at the then College of The Bahamas, now University of The Bahamas. However, at 19, I received an opportunity to study Chinese at the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. Following a year of language instruction, I then transitioned to marine science where I completed my undergraduate, master’s and eventually doctoral degree. As a result of that eleven-year experience, I am no stranger to transnational collaboration, and I see it as the foundation for the scholar that I am today. It has made me more open to novel ideas from a broad array of peoples. It is for this reason, and many others, that I am looking forward to this once-in-a-lifetime experience to broaden my education for the good of the Bahamian people at a globally prestigious institution.
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