NOC News Round Up - 27 January 2017

Investigating the impacts of climate change on Arctic ecosystems This week a new project has been announced that will investigate how climate-driven changes affect two top Arctic predators, the Harp and Ringed seals, as well as the base of the Arctic food web. As part of this project scientists from the NOC will work alongside five other UK centres and 21 international partners to help improve understanding of the Arctic, which has been traditionally under sampled. Read more on our website by clicking here NOC builds tide gauge for developing economies This week NOC scientists are in Jamaica presenting on the development and installation of a tide gauge in St Lucia that was specifically designed to provide tsunami early warning capability to developing economies. NOC engineers designed the gauge to run on solar power and to transmit data in real-time via a cost-free satellite communications system, making it cost-effective to run. For resilience, the tide gauge uses two different types of sea level measurement technology and was custom-designed to be easily-removed from the water for ease of maintenance. The gauge was designed, tested and installed in a record time of five months and was transmitting real-time data within five days of installation. Can soil in rivers impact on Malaysian ecosystems? A new project aims to improve understanding of how changes in land use within river catchments may impact on the health of aquatic ecosystems in Malaysia. The NOC scientist leading this project, Dr Claire Evans, said "This international collaboration is a great example of how the NOC's world class expertise in the movement of carbon from land-to-sea can be used to inform real-world issues. For example, if we discover that the increased soil washed into the rivers as a result of switching to commercial crops degrades downstream food sources and livelihoods, then policy-makers will be able to better understand the trade-offs associated with land use change." Steatite join Marine Robotics Innovation Centre Steatite has formally become a partner with the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre this month. With over 30 years' experience in the development of lithium batteries, Steatite's move into the centre is a sign of the company's potential to secure their position as global leader for innovative power solutions for deep-sea Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS). Read more. NOC at POGO Annual Meeting The NOC's Executive Director Ed Hill and Head of the International and Strategic Partnerships Office & Vice-Chair IOC-UNESCO, Steve Hall participated in POGO-18 in Plymouth this week. POGO, the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans, POGO, is a forum created in 1999 by directors and leaders of major oceanographic institutions around the world to promote global oceanography.  Read more about POGO Canadian Coast Guard visits the RRS James Cook On Wednesday we hosted a visit to the RRS James Cook in Southampton by Commissioner Jody Thomas and Deputy Commissioner Jeffery Hutchinson of the Canadian Coast Guard. Discussion topics included marine autonomous systems development and marine policy. The visit was supported by NOC's Leigh Storey, Roland Rogers, Maaten Furlong, Adam Schink, Phil Harwood and  ship's crew. After providing a comprehensive tour of the ship, Captain John Leask (pictured) presented the ship's crest to Commissioner Thomas.    Long service award for Mariner Andy Today saw a long service award made to Chief Petty Officer (Deck), Andy Maclean, on board RRS James Cook in Southampton. Andy's first voyage was on the Discovery before she was lengthened in 1985. Andy, then rejoined in 1986 serving on the RRS Challenger, which he worked on for over 8 years. Thereafter Andy served on the RRS Charles Darwin and the RRS Discovery until joining RRS James Cook in 2006. Andy continues to serve on RRS James Cook and will shortly move over to RRS Discovery. Well done Andy, from all at the NOC.   This email was sent using GovDelivery, on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom