Robinson was awarded the 2010 Geological Society of London President's Award for her contributions to geosciences. In 2011 Robinson moved back to the United Kingdom, where she was appointed to the faculty of the University of Bristol. She was awarded a European Research Council Starting Grant studying changes in chemistry and circulation of the Atlantic Ocean. She makes use of an Agassiz Trawl to collect samples from the floor of the ocean, with a particular focus on deep-sea corals. Robinson was involved with a British Antarctic Survey mission to the South Orkney Islands. The mission took place on the RRS James Clark Ross and investigated the biodiversity in and outside of the South Orkney Islands. For this work she was awarded the Antarctic Service Medal.
In 2016 she delivered a Ted Talk on the secrets she discovers on the ocean floor.