[3] She has led major projects for industry, government, the Australian Research Council and the New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.
She is an expert in marine heatwaves, dynamics of coastal ocean circulation, nutrient enrichment processes and their biological impact.
[citation needed] She attended Loreto College, Normanhurst where she was Barry House Music captain.
She continues to lead the science driving the deployment of ocean gliders and radar along the length of the East Australian Current.
[14][15][16][17] Roughan led a 24 day voyage on the RV Investigator Australia's Marine National Facility in Austral Spring 2023 (IN2023_V06) [18] funded by a large Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant.
Roughan was aboard the Aurora Australis on its first winter voyage to the Antarctic, a seven-week expedition to explore, the Mertz Glacier Polynya, when a fire broke out in the engine room while the ship was deep within the ice.