NOC News Round Up - 31 March 2017

Zooplankton behaviour helps solve a carbon cycle mystery A key piece of the carbon cycle puzzle has been solved by scientists from the NOC, with the discovery of the mechanism underpinning more efficient carbon transfer in low oxygen zones. This research, published in Nature Communications this week, suggests that the observed increase in efficiency is due to changes to zooplankton activity in low oxygen zones. Lead researcher, Dr Emma Cavan, who conducted this research at the NOC, said "It's likely that fewer zooplankton go into low oxygen waters and those that do shut down some of their bodily functions because of the low oxygen concentrations, leading to the deeper sinking of carbon. In this study we show that in low oxygen waters carbon loss is predominantly by microbes, and not zooplankton." Read More. International NOC This week saw representatives from the NOC spread across the world running workshops and attending meetings with other research institutes, government organisations and marine businesses. The activity is aimed at securing global research partnerships, which will benefit some of the world's most vulnerable coastal communities, and greatly improve research programmes relevant to economic development, global innovation and globally important science in the countries worked with. The project is funded by the UK Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). You can read more about our Global Partnerships approach here. NOC in Zanzibar Drs. Jason Holt, Katya Popova, Matthew Palmer and Val Byfield hosted a workshop in Zanzibar with researchers from the key Western Indian NGOs and Universities from Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Madagascar. The aim of the workshop was to strengthen the partnership between the NOC and WIO developed during the past programs and recently reinvigorated by the collaborative application for the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).   The workshop focused on development of the case studies for future funding opportunities under the general topic of sustainable living marine resources. One of the key aspects of the discussion was the use of marine technologies including robotics, modelling and Earth Observations. Two days of productive discussions around several potential avenues of future collaboration, were followed by a field trip organised by Institute of Marine Science (IMS) to a number of fishing villages, fishing markets and IMS research facilities.  NOC in Chile NOC's Professor Richard Sanders, Dr Megan Williams, Dr Hector Moreno and Dr James Hunt have spent the last few days in Northern Chile talking to potential collaborators in Santiago, Conception and Valparaiso, meeting government agencies in Santiago and visiting the Chilean Navy and the Cabo de Horno, the main Chilean research vessel. There has been great enthusiasm to collaborate on a whole range of exciting ocean issues. The visit was superbly organised by the British Embassy with the highlights being a research seminar at the embassy which attracted a wide range of stakeholders and a tour of the sights in Valparaiso with the ambassador prior to being received on board the ship with full naval honours. A range of proposals to build on the opportunities identified will now be drawn up, spanning across the whole range of expertise that the NOC has to offer.  The team visited the Chilean research vessel Cabo de Hornos and visited the impressive tsunami monitoring centre at SHOA, the Chilean Hydrology and Ocean Service run by the Navy. NOC at INMEX, Vietnam All this week a team from the NOC have been at INMEX in Vietnam with a packed schedule of daily seminars, press conferences and receptions. INMEX Vietnam is the largest and most established platform in Vietnam showcasing all aspects of shipbuilding, marine services and engineering, marine equipment, offshore marine, port and supply chain management solutions. It has been an excellent opportunity to meet with South East Asia's marine businesses as well as an opportunity to meet with the Vietnam Institute of Geo-Sciences and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attend a British Consulate gathering.  L>R NOC's Dr Laurent Amoudry, Dr Claire Evans, Pham Ha Hoang Viet, Executive of Ministry Foreign Affairs, NOC's Kevin Forshaw, and BGS's Bob Gatliff. NOC Association The 7th meeting of the National Oceanography Centre Association, a network of NERC-funded universities and research institutions that support wider engagement with the marine science community, took place this week. Claire Durkin, Head of International Knowledge and Innovation (Global) at BEIS, who presented at the meeting said: "We would like to thank the NOC Association for inviting us to present the important work currently underway in the G7 Future of the Seas and Oceans Initiative, which the NOC and others are undertaking. We found it a very informative experience as we seek to strengthen our working relationship with the UK's marine science and research community." To find out more about the NOC Association visit our website. Ocean Business has moved in The stage is almost set for one the the marine industry's busiest shows. Ocean Business returns to the NOC in Southampton from Tuesday next week, and much of the temporary building work is now complete.   This email was sent using GovDelivery, on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom