![National Oceanography Centre [logo]](/sites/all/themes/NOC7X-main/img/logo-noc.svg){kind=logo}
At any one time scientists and technicians from the UK marine community can be at sea on numerous vessels. This page provides information on the current research expeditions being undertaken by our two Royal Research Ships Discovery and James Cook. Here you can discover where our ships are and what they are aiming to achieve.
Updates from the ships’ Plans of Intended Movement (PIM)
| RRS Discovery | RRS James Cook |
|---|---|
|
Vessel: Discovery DTG: 010421 0745 Zone: Z Exped: DY130 Subj: PIM
Pos: 48 57N 016 26W Co: Stopped
Status: At PAP work area. Shallow depth CTD deployment. Yesterday: Deploy PAP3 sediment trap mooring, CTD and Megacore overnight.
Intentions: Recover PAP1 mooring. HYBIS operations overnight. |
Vessel: James Cook
DTG: 120421 0700 Zone: BST Exped: JC212 Subj: PIM
Position: 48° 57.5'N 006° 04.6'W Course: 056° Speed: 10.3kts WX: Wind: Lt Airs, Clear Sky Sea state 2 with Low N’ly swell Status: On passage for Southampton ETA Pilot Station 1100 13.04.2021
|
Ships Positions
This map shows the positions of the NOC operated vessels RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook. While every effort is made to keep this map up to date sometimes position updates are not possible.
Latest Expeditions
RRS James Cook
| Cruise | Principal scientist & institution | Location | Duration in days (begins) | Aim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JC211 |
Einar Povl Abrahamsen |
Falkland Islands |
34 days (January to March) |
Joint BAS CoreBox/DP/A23 - 2021 The joint CoreBox, Drakes Passage, A23 cruise is programmed to carry out the CTD transects and turnaround of equipment still deployed due to the suspension of the 2020/21 MFP, to ensure continued future operation of science activities, whilst first and foremost, managing the risk to personnel based on the current and forecast C19 threat. It is proposed to carry out a combination of activities of SMEs 17/146 Abrahansen, 17/149 Firing, and 19/1032 Fielding; due to the limited time availabe the cruise will be a subset of the 3 SMEs activities with the Pis of the 3 SMEs agreeing to the prioritisation of activities. The text below is taken from the 3 original SMEs but is not the work planned for this cruise, it is simply for information, this cruise is planned to deliver a reduced sub set of essential activity only. |
RRS Discovery
| Cruise | Principal scientist & institution | Location | Duration in days (begins) | Aim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DY129 |
Eleanor Frajka-Williams |
North Atlantic |
50 days (December to January 2021) |
RAPID2020 Part 2 The purpose of RRS Discovery cruise DY129 was to refurbish the RAPID 26°N array of moorings that span the Atlantic from the Bahamas to the Canary Islands. The expedition starts in Southampton on Tuesday 8th December 2020 and ends in 26th January 2021 at Southampton, UK. The moorings are part of a purposeful Atlantic wide array that observes the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the associated heat and freshwater transports. The RAPID-MOCHA-WBTS array is a joint UK- US programme. Moorings were equipped with instruments to measure temperature, conductivity and pressure, and a number of moorings were also equipped with current meters and/or oxygen sensors. The ABC Fluxes project extends the measurements on the RAPID 26°N array to include biological and chemical measurements. Further information (https://www.rapid.ac.uk/rapidmoc/)
|