Ocean Sciences 2016: New Orleans
Anna Belcher
NOCS
Ocean Sciences, 2016 in New Orleans was a nonstop week full of great presentations and discussions. As the largest international conference that I have attended (rumours range from 3,000-6,000 attendees!), it was really an amazing experience to be exposed to so much great science! I gave a presentation in the Ocean Carbon Pump session and felt privileged to have had the chance to present amongst such world renowned scientists and I had some really interesting discussions with people after the talk.
Over the week there were a huge number of parallel sessions across a broad range of topics, which after taking a bit of time to figure out exactly which sessions I wanted to attend, really gave me the chance to get up to date with all the exciting new work going on. The spread of talks has really helped me put my work into context within the wider oceanographic setting. There were some really engaging workshops during the week on outreach and public engagement and I have left with some new ideas to pursue and some new contacts to help me develop my own outreach activities.
As a final year PhD student, it was great to be able to get my face out there and make some new contacts from all across the globe. Hopefully this will put me in a much better place for finding a job once I get my thesis finished. I would really like to thank the Challenger Society for providing me with a Travel Award to support my attendance.
Profile:
I am a third (and final) year PhD student at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and my work revolves around the biological carbon pump. I look at the processes controlling the rapid loss of particulate carbon in the upper mesopelagic of the ocean, in particular looking at the roles of bacterial respiration and zooplankton.
Twitter:
A fantastic week packed full of stimulating talks, posters and discussions #lovescience #OSM2016
Latest News
Townhall on UK Arctic Ocean contribution to International Polar Year 32/33
The Arctic is one of the most rapidly-changing regions on our planet, with impacts on global sea-level rise, changes to our climate and weather patterns, and threats to our shared biodiversity and ecosystem services. With the international community rapidly mobilising towards the International Polar Year 32/33, and with new international programmes and initiatives now being shaped, it is timely for the UK Ocean Science community to come together and articulate what its unique offerings could be to Arctic research and technology.
This hybrid 2-day meeting, to be held at NOC Southampton, is intended to start this process. Recognising the Arctic Oceans role in global Earth and Human systems, anticipated outcomes include a high-level shaping of what the UK Arctic Ocean community would like to achieve over the course of the IPY, stimulation of new collaborations and proposals for grand Arctic challenges and a baseline from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities, both in the UK and overseas, can be built. Discussions will continue in diverse forums, including the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September and at Challenger 2026.
This action is supported by the UK Arctic Office and UK Arctic and Antarctic Partnership
Further details and meeting registration link will be circulated in April together with a questionnaire to help shape the agenda and discussion
In the meantime…SAVE THE DATE
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.
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.