Harnessing Plankton Research Is Crucial to Inform Climate Models
community to treat modeling as a core tool in plankton ecology and in teaching activities – just as molecular biology revolutionized the science from the 1980s onward, so too must simulation modeling become embedded in plankton research. This work was supported by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council as part of the “Simulating Plankton” project, contributing to the UN Decade of Ocean Science and the Digital Twins of the Ocean (DITTO) initiative
John Siddorn, CEO, National Oceanography Center
broadened its research over the years into prediction of storm surges and then sea level science more generally, as well as coastal and continental shelf sea oceanography and marine data management.In 1965 both the NIO and the Liverpool Tidal Institute became part of the then newly-formed Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Both were brought together to form NERC’s Institute of Oceanographic Sciences (IOS) in the 1970s. Both former parts of IOS came back together in 2010 as part of NERC’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC).Today, NOC is based in Southampton and Liverpool and has quickly
Ocean Robots Explore the Role of ‘Marine Snow’ in Carbon Storage
of water masses. The drifting float follows ocean currents, providing a dynamic perspective on sinking particles, while the gliders add another layer of insight, especially into small scale turbulence effects on the biological carbon pump."ReBELS is a four-year program funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and builds on decades of research into ocean carbon storage. By deploying state-of-the-art robotic technology, the project is expected to provide new insights into one of the ocean’s most important climate-regulating mechanisms, improving our ability to predict and respond
£4M Investment to Enhance Marine Robotics Research Capabilities
The UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has been awarded £4 million to bring next-generation sensing capabilities to its marine autonomous systems fleet to advance sustainable ocean science.The funding from the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC’s) Future Marine Research Infrastructure (FMRI) program will support three projects by leading scientists and engineers at NOC to develop advanced sensors targeting 10 different biogeochemical essential ocean variables, from physics to nutrients and carbon. These will be integrated into autonomous underwater vehicles
UK NOC's Study Challenges Role of Plankton in Ocean Carbon Storage Process
University of Southampton.The research was conducted as part of two major NOC-led initiatives, Controls over Ocean Mesopelagic Interior Carbon Storage (COMICS) and Carbon Uptake and Seasonal Traits in Antarctic Remineralisation Depth (CUSTARD). These projects were funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and theEuropean Research Council grant Advancing Novel imaging Technologies and data analyses in order to understand Interior ocean Carbon Storage (ANTICS).Over two expeditions, each lasting more than five weeks at sea, NOC scientists and international colleagues studied the
NOC Moves Forward with Funding for Subsea Sensor Tech
“Marine autonomy is a way to monitor more locations for longer than has previously been possible. As the platform technology advances so must the sensors available to them to make best use of new capabilities to deliver more data.”The funding, totalling £390,000, from the Natural Environment Research Council’s Future Marine Research Infrastructure (FMRI) programme, will cover sensor development, platform integration and testing.The sensors – conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pressure, pH and Eh – will all be solid-state, low-power and not require reagents,
Navigating a Safe Future for Us and Our Marine Environment
of our vessels and vessel systems.At the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), we’ve a goal to have net zero emission operations by 2040, 10 years ahead of wider UK net zero goals. It’s a tough challenge but one that we’re keen to tackle.In collaboration with the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), we’ve been conducting trials of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as an alternative fuel for our two research vessels, the RRS James Cook (delivered 2006) and the RRS Discovery (delivered 2013).The fuel we use is a major part of our carbon footprint. But there are challenges
New Record Set in Unmanned Vessel Data Collection
suited to very long endurance missions in the open ocean. Importantly, this will probably become much cheaper than sending manned, diesel-fueled ships.”The mission was part of the Future Marine Research Infrastructure (FMRI) program, funded by UK Research and Innovation’s Natural Environment Research Council (UKRI-NERC).Through the FMRI program, NERC is considering what mix of technologies (sustainably fueled ‘green’ research ships, autonomous robots fitted with novel marine sensors and the digital infrastructure required to optimize its use) will be required in the next decade
Project Trio Looks at the Sea Life, Carbon Storage Connection
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) BIO-Carbon programme announced funding a trio of projects that aims to investigate how marine organisms contribute to storing large amounts of carbon dioxide in the ocean. While marine organisms play a critical role in storing carbon in the ocean, recent evidence suggests that climate models are not fully accounting for their impact, which could hinder predictions of the ocean’s role in future carbon storage.Project 1:The PARTITRICS Project, using shipboard observations and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) this project will seek to answer how
February 2025
