science and technology

Scientists at NOC and the Met Office are using sophisticated computer models to increase our understanding of ocean circulation and its influence on global climate.

The National Oceanography Centre has heralded James Cameron’s successful solo dive to the deepest part of the ocean.

The Hollywood director surfaced earlier this morning after completing a mission that took him to a depth of almost seven miles (11km) in the Mariana Trench.

Plans to drill and survey a lake under Antarctica’s ice sheet with a probe designed and built by engineers at the National Oceanography Centre have just reached another milestone.

The rebuild of Isis is gathering pace as the remotely operated vehicle is repaired following a shipboard incident at the start of the year.

It was in January near the Antarctic Peninsula, during the James Cook cruise JC055, that Isis was struck by the ship’s port propeller during deployment and was severely damaged.

A British engineering team has headed off to Antarctica for the first stage of an ambitious scientific mission to collect water and sediment samples from a lake buried beneath three kilometres of solid ice.

A formal project is now in place to create NOC’s new, national autonomous underwater vehicle facility. Gwyn Griffiths, Head of Ocean Technology and Engineering, is managing the project to deliver the facility, which has been christened MARS (Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems).

The percentage of successful bids for Natural Environment Research Council research funding by the National Oceanography Centre has received special mention in the most recent edition of the Research Fortnight newsletter.

Engineers at the University of Southampton have designed and flown the world’s first ‘printed’ aircraft, which could revolutionise the economics of aircraft design.

At the 17th Session of the UN International Seabed Authority (ISA; 12–22 July 2011) in Kingston, Jamaica, Dr David Billett of the National Oceanography Centre was elected as Chairman of the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC).

A decision that ensures the future provision of remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capability for the UK marine science community has been taken by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), working with its partners.

This ends a period of uncertainty following a shipboard incident in late January that resulted in severe damage to the Isis ROV.