NZOC (Net Zero Oceanographic Capability) is a £250k scoping project funded by NERC to inform planning for the future low carbon oceanographic research capability in line with UKRI’s objectives of becoming a net zero organisation by 2040. NOC’s National Marine Facilities (NMF) division has been selected to lead a team of national experts investigating the drivers and enablers of future oceanographic research.

The project includes six work packages investigating future:

  1. science need,
  2. policy & regulation,
  3. ship technologies,
  4. Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS),
  5. sensor systems & networks, and
  6. data ecosystems.

The project welcomes interest from UK and international academic and industry players who wish to contribute to the recommendations that will inform NERC’s strategic planning.

Read the 2022 NZOC Summary Report

Aim

The project aims to:

  • Understand the science and policy drivers that will shape data needs by 2035 and beyond.
  • Understand how research might be impacted by the transition to a low carbon research infrastructure.
  • Consider how to extract information from the data.
  • Identify the technology trends that may contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the oceanographic research infrastructure.
  • Understand the commercial technology landscape and how this may influence the research infrastructure (supply chains, COTS solutions etc.).
  • Identify the opportunities for national and international collaboration that may benefit the future capability.
WPTopicWP LeadOrganisationWP DeputyOrganisation
4Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS)Dr Maaten FurlongNOC (NMF)Prof. Sara BernardiniNOC (formerly at Royal Holloway)
5SensorsProf. Matt MowlemNOC (DST)Dr James FishwickPML
6Data EcosystemsDr John SiddornNOC (formerly at Met Office)Alvaro LorenzoNOC (NMF)
3Ship TechnologiesColin DayNOC (NMF)Andy TateDSTL
PILeigh Storey(formerly at NOC, NMF)
PMKristian ThallerNOC (CBS)
Industry AdvisorDr Peter CollinsonIndependent Technology Transformation Strategist
1Science NeedDr Kate HendryUniversity of BristolDr Eleanor Frajka-WilliamsUniversity of Hamburg (formerly at NOC, DST)
2Policy & RegulationProf. Steve FletcherUniversity of Portsmouth
NZOC