NOC News Round Up - 24 March 2017

Innovation Center wins UK Space Agency Funding The NOC's Marine Robotics Innovation Centre is one of three business incubation centres across the UK to have been awarded £50,000 from the UK Space Agency. The investment is in a joint scheme between the Innovation Centre and the University of Portsmouth's Innovation Space, and the money will be used to provide an innovation hub in Southampton with world-leading expertise in developing next generation Marine Autonomous Systems and a business incubation centre in Portsmouth. The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is working to deliver world-class science innovation support, in line with the government's Industrial Strategy, which emphasises the importance of science, innovation and skills. Read more. Life in the RAPID lane This week the RAPID expedition, on board the RRS James Cook, has retrieved all it's deepest moorings and is heading towards the Bahamas. Read the expedition blog, here, to find out how the on board scientists were feeling when the above photo was taken, as well as for updates on the expedition's progress. Ocean currents key to understanding the impact of oil-well blow-out The impact of a subsea oil well blow-out in the Faroe-Shetland Channel on the diverse deep-sea life there partly depends on the depth and when it happens, according to new research by NOC scientists. Lead author, Dr Charlotte Main, who conducted this research at the NOC, said "previously, when assessing the potential impact of an oil blow-out, the focus was on what was happening at the surface. However, this research shows the importance of what the oil is doing at depth, particularly for deep-sea life. This is significant because oil extraction is increasingly happening at depth and oil dispirsants, as well as other factors, mean that some oil never reaches the surface." Read more here. Greenwich Forum meet at NOC Southampton NOC's Executive Director, Ed Hill welcomed members of the Greenwich Forum to NOC in Southampton this morning. The Greenwich Forum aims to promote public awareness of Britain's dependence on the sea, by encouragement of debate, discussion and education. Boaty update Boaty left the port of Punta Arenas, Chile, last Friday and is making its way to the first deployment site on board the RRS James Clark Ross. A Chilean journalist boarded the ship to talk to the team involved just before they left, and you can watch a short video of the NOC's Head of AUV Development, Steve McPhail talking about the Autosub Long Range on Boaty's webpage here.    This email was sent using GovDelivery, on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom