NOC News Round Up - 06 October 2017

Could wetlands protect the world's most vulnerable city from coastal flooding? A new, international, collaborative project will investigate the potential of wetlands as a natural defence against rising sea-levels. The project will specifically look at the potential of this technique in the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the Pearl River Delta, which are ranked as first and ninth cities in the world in terms of annual losses due to flooding. This project will be an international collaboration, bringing together expertise from research organisations in China and the Netherlands, as well as a UK component led by the NOC, which includes the University of Liverpool. Click here to read more on our website. How much energy do grasshoppers need? A new study by NOC scientists challenges the idea that invertebrates, such as water fleas and grasshoppers, use more energy as they warm up. This finding, published this week in The American Naturalist, suggests that global warming may increase the nutritional imbalance between grazers and their food leading to an excess of carbon, with implications for the global carbon cycle. Click here to read the paper A visit to a rotating gravel barrier Earlier in the week scientists working on the BLUECoast project, co-ordinated by the NOC, met to visit the rotating gravel barrier system along the Start Bay coastline. The visit was to ensure researchers were familiar with the site and understood any management issues. The BLUECoast project will help reduce uncertainty associated with the sediment budget of the bay by improving understanding of sediment transport process. What happens to infrastucture in events like the Fukashima nuclear disaster? On Tuesday the NOC's Mike Clare ran a joint industry-research workshop in London to discuss natural hazards and their impact for infrastructure. This workshop had a particular focus events where different hazards interact and create an amplified impact. High profile multi-hazard events include the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and the collapse of the Dawlish train line in 2014. In these cases, not just one, but several interacting natural hazards led to failure. The aim of the workshop was to try and understand the alignment between the goals of academic and infrastructure organisations. Building international partnerships The NOC and the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources (VIGMR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which will develop joint training and technical programmes for knowledge transfer and research collaboration around areas of marine science affecting local and global communities. On his return from the ceremony and workshop earlier this week, the NOC's Kevin Forshaw said, "At the NOC we understand that oceanography and earth sciences are truly international pursuits. The signing illustrates our ongoing commitment to advancing the knowledge and understanding about our global oceans. Work with VIGMR will bring about greater science impact and the promotion of excellence through training."   This email was sent using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom