Life Sciences and Medicine

National Oceanography Centre (NOC)

Contact Information

Mission Statement

The mission of the National Oceanography Centre is:

• to understand the functioning of the earth and its oceans as a physical, biological, geological and chemical system on a global scale,
• to elucidate the role of the earth/ocean system in maintaining the Earth's environment,
• to carry out research at all relevant space and time scales, with emphasis on the coupled and interdisciplinary nature of the system,
• to develop and exploit new technology for the study of the earth and the oceans,
• to provide teaching and learning of the highest quality in earth, ocean and environmental sciences, within an active research environment, for both undergraduate and postgraduate students,
• to acquire, maintain, manage and exploit relevant data and materials,
• to provide a national service for large-scale oceanographic facilities, including the NERC fleet of Research Vessels, and the National Oceanographic Library.

Short Statement Historical Statement

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a purpose built development creating a centre for some 450 research scientists, lecturing and support staff as well as 600 undergraduate and post graduate students. The Centre officially opened on April 17^th, 1996, and is a joint venture between the University of Southampton and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is one of a few world-class centres of excellence in ocean and earth sciences and ocean technology. The NERC fleet of three purpose built Royal Research Ships is also based in Empress Dock as are collections of national and international importance including the National Oceanographic Library and the Discovery Collections.

The Centre comprises:

University of Southampton

• School of Ocean and Earth Sciences

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

• Challenger Division for Seafloor Processes
• George Deacon Division for Ocean Processes
• James Rennell Division for Ocean Circulation and Climate

• Ocean Technology Division

• Research Vessel Services

Director

• Dr Howard Roe

Major Programmes

The Centre is involved in many programmes and these include:

• EU Framework 5 Projects

• EU Large Scale Research Facility

Natural Environment Research Council programmes include:

• Seasonal to Decadal Ocean Variability

• Ocean Interior Processes

• Seafloor processes

• Sensors and Platforms (Technology Development Project)

• Large-scale, Long-term Ocean Circulation

The following Project Offices are based at the Centre:

• World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE)

• Climate Variability (CLIVAR)

• European Global Ocean Observing System (EUROGOOS)

Research Leaders and Cross Disciplinary Research Themes

Research Themes of Particular Interest to Life Sciences

Research themes of particular interest to Life Sciences include:

• Bioluminescence

• Deep water coral

• Phytoplankton

• Benthic ecosystems

• Hydrothermal vent ecosystems

• Global carbon cycle - Modelling

• Environmental impact assessment

• Artificial reef ecosystems

• Biodiversity

• Bioacoustics

Overseas Links

There are many overseas links across the Centre. Those overseas organisations with whom there are official Memorandum of Understanding are:

• IFREMER, France

• KORDI, Japan

• WHOI, USA

• SCRIPPS, USA

• IFM, University of Kiel, Germany

• JAMSTEC, Japan

• CMS, University of Cape Town, South Africa

• Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Japan

• Florida Atlantic University, USA

• CNPq, Ministry of Science and Technology, Brazil

Industrial Links

The industrial links are extensive.

 Licensing agreements exist with :

• Valeport

• Chelsea Instruments

• WS Oceans

Ocean Scientific International Ltd are responsible for promoting and selling some of the services offered by the Centre.

Special Facilities at the Centre

These include:

• National Oceanographic Library (NOL)
• British Ocean Sedimentary Core Repository (BOSCOR)
• European Large Scale Research Facility, Towed Ocean Bottom Instrument (TOBI)
• European Large Scale Research Facility, Suite of mass spectrometers (SOCFAC)
• Discovery Collections – biological collections of international importance
• Electron Microscope
• Pressure testing facilities to full ocean depth
• Research Aquarium
• Geosciences Advisory Unit

Research Vessels Associated with the Centre

• RRS Discovery

• RRS Darwin

• RRS Challenger

• RV Bill Conway