NERC to invest £22million in Atlantic research

A new £22 million research programme will investigate the impacts of climate change and human activities on the Atlantic Ocean, from the surface to the deep seabed.

This ambitious multi-disciplinary programme aims to provide data, models and technology to help understand the impacts of climate change and human activities on the Atlantic Ocean environment, and inform action, such as the UK’s commitments to international observing programmes. The programme will involve developing and deploying cutting-edge marine robotics, combined with ocean modelling and satellite remote sensing.

Commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the new five-year marine research programme, Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science (CLASS), will be delivered in partnership by Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Scottish Association for Marine Science, Marine Biological Association, and Sea Mammal Research Unit.

Prof. Icarus Allen, Director of Science at PML and leader of the PML component of CLASS, commented: “Through the involvement of PML, the programme will support key long-term observations of the Atlantic Ocean, including the Atlantic Meridional Transect and the Western Channel Observatory, development of our ecosystem models, and our ability to understand the oceans by observing them from space.” Click here to read more

Cefas scientists complete 6-week, 1700km autonomous fisheries acoustics mission

A state of the art technique for mapping and counting schools of fish has been tested on an autonomous marine platform in the North Sea, offering a new method for collecting data on fish stocks to complement ship-based monitoring.  Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, UK) and Liquid Robotics, A Boeing Company, USA have successfully deployed, tested and recovered a remotely piloted Wave Glider, which was adapted to allow scientists to collect high quality broadband fisheries acoustics data.

As part of a multi-vehicle mission under the UK NERC/Defra funded AlterEco project, the Wave Glider called Lyra was deployed in the central North Sea about 270km north-east of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK by RV Cefas Endeavour. She spent 41 days at sea, repeatedly covering a 64 km long transect along which valuable data were collected under different conditions, before finally being recovered by RV Cefas Endeavour, 20km off Lowestoft. While deployed, the Wave Glider was remotely piloted 24/7 by the Liquid Robotics’ Operations Team from their California headquarters in Silicon Valley almost 9000 km away and covered over 1700km at sea.

Autonomous ocean-going ‘gliders’ gather evidence about the Arctic spring Underwater robots have uncovered new evidence about life in the Arctic and, for the first time, revealed the moment the region’s marine ecosystem springs into life after the dark winter season. The unique data was gathered by autonomous ocean-going ‘gliders’ and will help marine scientists understand more about the so-called ‘Arctic spring bloom’, which kick-starts the ecosystem and is crucial in providing food for animals in the region. Click here to read more