World Oceans Day | National Oceanography Centre

**UPDATED** Our World Oceans Day platform is closed. A selection of the videos have been made on-demand via our NOCNEWS YouTube channel.

To celebrate World Oceans Day experts from the National Oceanography Centre are hosting free educational talks, hot-topic discussions and virtual tours, which will replace our usual on-site Open Day.

The digital platform will host live classroom talks and panel discussions on Friday 10 June 2022.

Whatever your interest, education or time zone we have something for you. Our team of speakers are excited to share their latest science and technology through live and on-demand talks, downloadable fact sheets and colouring in, and an interactive education and career zone.

Live talks for ocean enthusiasts of all ages, perfect for classrooms

10:00–10:30
Our ocean and the climate – Dr Ben Moat and Dr Alejandra Sanchez-Franks
The ocean has a big role in climate change and learning about the effects is important in helping to combat consequences like sea level rise and flooding. We’ll give an overview of these issues, how we observe the ocean to obtain this information and what we can do to help mitigate climate change.

11:00–11:30
Life in our oceans – Dr Adrian Martin
50 to 80% of life lives in the ocean, with the number of species remaining a mystery to this very day! This talk will dive into the twilight zone and discover some of the weird and wonderful creatures within. Find out their source of food and also peek into marine habitats and the discovery collection.

12:00–12:30
Health of our ocean – Professor Richard Lampitt and Dr Alice Horton
As the climate changes, the ocean follows suit. Some factors in the changes include ocean acidification and migration of species. Learn about how plastics enter the ocean and what part it contaminates, the impacts on the food chain and how seagrass amongst other things can help preserve the ocean.

13:00–13:30
The future of ocean exploration – Dr Maaten Furlong
Looking ahead to the future, ocean exploration will need to change to achieve net zero targets and adapt to modern requirements. In order to reach these goals, ocean observing tools like autonomous vehicles like Boaty McBoatface will become more and more important. If you are interested in cutting-edge technology this is the talk for you!

Live hot-topic panel discussions

14:00–14:45 – Future of climate change
Professor Meric Srokosz is joined by four experts to discuss the future of climate change and the effect it will have on oceanography and the process of observing the ocean.

15:00–15:45 – Solutions to fight climate change
Huw Gullick, along with a panel of world-leading experts, will outline some of the solutions available to fight the increasing consequences of climate change. An overview of blue carbon and carbon capture technology, and how this can aid the NOC's work, will also be presented.

16:00–16:45 – How to become an oceanographer
Led by Sarah Taylor, the aim of this talk is to lay out the pathway to become an oceanographer. This will include advice on navigating some of the challenges you may encounter, the steps you’ll need to take and why the NOC is such a brilliant place to develop your skillset.

17:00–17:45 – Advancing ocean science through data
Join Dr John Siddorn to learn about how data can help advance ocean science. Some of the key topics being discussed will be the process of ocean observing, horizon scanning, artificial intelligence and the ground-breaking digital twin programme, which aims to generate a digital copy of the ocean.

Between the scheduled talks, you can take a tour of our two royal research ships, the RRS James Cook and the RRS Discovery. You can also visit the Inspiring Futures exhibit to see what career paths our speakers have been on, from international degrees to apprenticeships. We will also have scientists, engineers and support staff who do a whole host of exciting jobs, on hand to answer questions about their education, qualifications, life at sea and career experiences.