Special Interest Group (SIG) Events 2023

Ocean Modelling Meeting

The 2023 Ocean Modelling SIG meeting will be held on the 5th and 6th of September at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.
The format will be the same as previous years; 8 minute talks with a couple of minutes for questions. As with previous years, we intend it to be informal with a student-centric focus and take the broadest possible meaning of “ocean modelling". There is likely to be a small charge to cover the cost of tea/coffee breaks and lunches during the meeting. An additional £26 will cover the meeting dinner on the evening of the 5th at the Dancing Man Brewery.

If you’d like to attend the meeting, please use the link below to register and provide a talk title if you want to speak:

https://noc-events.co.uk/challenger-society-ocean-modelling-group-meeting

AMBIO Meeting

Registration for the upcoming AMBIO conference *Marine Biogeochemistry for the Future* (*September 6th – 8th 2023 *at the *Plymouth Marine
Laboratory*) is now open.

Registration is via the following link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/advances-in-marine-biogeochemistry-ambio-x-tickets-665287862907

Here you will also find links to the abstract submission and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity form for the Challenger Society

A reminder of the sessions as follows:

   - Biogeochemistry and Marine Autonomy
   - The Cutting Edge of Biogeochemical Observations and Modelling
   - The Future of GEOTRACES
   - Marine Biogeochemistry at the Sediment-Water Interface

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us (details below).
We hope to see many of you there!

With best wishes,
Kate, Sarah and Andy
kathen@bas.ac.uk 

Deep-Sea Ecosystems SIG Meeting

Dates: 13-14 September 2023
Location: Cefas, Pakefield Rd, Lowestoft. Some sessions will also be available online via MS Teams but registration is still required.

Meeting convenors: Prof. Kerry Howell (Plymouth University), chair of the DSE-SIG, and Dr James Bell (Cefas). Contacts: kerry.howell@plymouth.ac.uk and james.bell@cefas.gov.uk

Attendance is free and refreshments will be provided. Attendees are otherwise fully responsible for their travel and subsistence costs.
Please register for the meeting here.

Latest News

Potential Availability of NERC Ship Time During the 25/26 Programme Year

The NERC Marine Facilities Programme for 2025/2026 for the RRS Discovery and the RRS James Cook has been published on the Marine Facilities Planning website.

The RRS Discovery programme currently contains a 79 day alongside slot between the 2nd of November 2025 and the 19th of January 2026, which is available for science delivery if funded science projects can make use of this time. Due to the location of the vessel, the ship is most likely to be able to deliver fieldwork in the North and East Atlantic regions. Some support for science capability within the National Marine Equipment Pool is potentially available, although there is no capacity for use of autonomous vehicles or remotely operated vehicles. Any fieldwork within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) will need the appropriate diplomatic clearance submitted to coastal states at least 6 months in advance, and to NMF with sufficient lead time for processing via the FCDO.

If interested in making use of this ship time, please contact NERC Marine Planning (marineplanning@nerc.ukri.org) ASAP to start discussions.

Read More


THE MARINE FACILITIES ADVISORY BOARD – CAN YOU HELP?

The Marine Facilities Advisory Board advises the National Oceanography Centre on marine facilities and services, including the Natural Environment Research Council’s National Marine Equipment Pool (NMEP), the British Oceanographic Data Centre and the British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility.

Read More


NOC Association AGM 2025

NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025

The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. Although discussion topics are being finalised, we will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join. To participate, please complete your registration here. For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk

Read More