Deep-Sea Biology Symposium 2015: Portugual
Paris Stefanoudis
NOCS

The 14th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium (DSBS) in Aveiro, Portugal was a great meeting point for deep-sea biologists and ecologist from all around the world. With about 400 participants from more than 30 countries (around 50% were students), 200 talks and 200 posters and several side and working group meetings (e.g. DOSI and INDEEP), I was constantly bumping into someone whose papers inspired me throughout my studies in marine biology. During my stay there I got constructive comments on my PhD project, parts of which I presented in one oral and two poster communications, from several experts in the field. There also was a student mixer from the Dee-Sea Biology Society which enabled PhD’s from all around the world to meet and discuss about their research in a friendly and informal atmosphere. Last but not least, I have to give credit to the organizing committee of the University of Aveiro for making sure everything ran smoothly (even the weather was great!). Special thanks to the Challenger Society for providing me with a travel award and thus giving me the opportunity to attend this great scientific meeting. Now I am back in Southampton to continue my work, but I am already anticipating the next DSBS conference in 2018 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Monterey, USA.
Profile of myself
Name: Paris Stefanoudis
Email: p.v.stefanoudis@soton.ac.uk
Contact Address: Waterfront Campus, European Way, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK
Status: 3rd-year PhD student at the University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Research area: Deep-Sea Biology/Ecology
PhD title: Effect of seafloor topography on deep-sea benthic foraminiferal assemblages: a paradigm from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, NE Atlantic
Short-twitter style post
14 DSBS, Aveiro, Portugal: great people, excellent talks, and “deep” discussions over tasty Portuguese dishes.
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.
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.
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