NOC News Round Up - 8 December 2017

Beach radar system installed The BLUECoast project reached a milestone this week with the installation of a radar survey system, by our partners Marlan Maritime Technologies, at Minsmere on the Suffolk coast. The system is now ready to catch some winter storms to enable the project to assess the longer-term resilience of the site. The system monitors waves, currents and the waterline. Processing of the wet and dry signal over the deployment period will allow continuous monitoring of the beach topography within a few kilometres of the radar installation. These data will also be complemented by additional storm surveys to assess the response of these coastal systems to a winter season. Radar installation at Minsmere. Photo credit - @caibird123 Life on a polar research ship Ever wondered what it would be like to work on a research ship in the Poles? In this week's COMICS expedition blog NOC scientist Dr Dan Mayor talks about his experience of getting up at 3am, putting on a wet immersion suit and going out on deck in the polar winds and hail to collect samples of plankton. "We wouldn't have it any other way" said Dan, who is studying zooplankton ranging from water flea-like animals the size of the thickness of a human hair, to jellyfish as big as dustbin lids. By doing so Dan aims to understand how this diverse group of animals influence the fate of atmospheric carbon that has been absorbed by tiny marine plants, and eaten by these creatures. First ocean 'smoke rings' spotted The equivalent of smoke rings, but in the ocean, have been spotted for the first time. These could 'suck-up' small marine creatures and carry them at high speed and for long distances across the ocean. The 'smoke-rings' are a pair of linked eddies spinning in opposite directions that travel up to ten times the speed of 'normal' eddies. It was this relatively high speed that enabled Dr Chris Hughes to spot them in a movie created from satellite sea level data. Chris points out that the smoke rings require an area of calm water to 'puff' out through, which itself is quite unusual. Read this research, which was published this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research Letters. 6th EMB Forum puts SDGs in the spotlight The 6th European Marine Board (EMB) Forum, titled 'Implementing the UN 2030 Agenda: What role for marine science?' took place in Brussels this week. NOC's Head of International and Strategic Partnerships & Marine Science Policy Adviser, Alan Evans, was there to participate in the discussions, which this year covered: the ocean and the UN 2030 Agenda; ocean science needs for implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals; and strengthening the evidence base for international ocean governance, the key role of marine science. The EMB secretariat supporting the role of science in the implementation of the #SDGs #EMBForum - picture from @EMarineBoard NOC presents at 13th Appleton Space Conference The NOC's Dr Christine Gommenginger, was invited to speak at the 13th Appleton Space Conference at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot, Oxfordshire, this week (Thursday 7 December). She delivered a presentation entitled 'Emerging Needs and Opportunities for Ocean Remote Sensing'. The conference is a key event in the space community calendar, showcasing advances in space science, Earth observation, technology challenges and new developments.                Collaborating with the space science community This week (5-6 December) the South Coast Centre of Excellence for Satellite Applications hosted the 8th Regional Networking Event at Chilworth Manor. The NOC was at the event to talk about how we utilise satellite data in our marine autonomy programme and to highlight our work in satellite oceanography.  The event featured a range of speakers from across the space sector, including suppliers and end users of systems, as well as two workshop sessions aimed at tackling big societal challenges with the aid of satellites. The NOC is a partner at the Centre, and shares its aim to attract investment into the sector by expanding the community of businesses working on collaborative projects using satellite services and data analytics, ultimately leading to an expanding portfolio of innovative new products and services across a wide variety of applications.   This email was sent using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom