Deep-Sea Biology Symposium 2015: Portugual
Magdalena N. Georgieva
University of Leeds & Natural History Museum
Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to the Challenger Society for their support in enabling me to attend the 14th Deep Sea Biology Symposium (DSBS). This was truly one of the best and most valuable meetings that I have attended during my PhD, and I am very please that I had the opportunity to present my work there.
The symposium took place in a beautifully renovated ceramics factory that is now a conference centre, situated on the edge of one of Aveiro’s canals (these have earned Aveiro its nickname, the Venice of Portugal). The meeting kicked off with, among others, a very warm welcoming from the deputy mayor of Aveiro who informed us that her city is also famous for its salt production, which we received a sample of in our conference bags. After this, a very busy program of talks ensued, numbering over 200 in total and spread over two parallel sessions, in addition to over 230 posters on display in four different rooms. With ~350 delegates this was the largest DSBS to date, and included presentations on a very diverse range of topics from deep-sea mining from a lawyer’s perspective, to the latest findings on biodiversity in the deepest parts of our oceans, the hadal trenches.
My talk took place towards the end of the week, and while I had been very nervous beforehand, I instantly felt more relieved whilst I was giving it. I also had a poster to showcase quite a different aspect of my PhD research, which I was very honoured to win a prize for! Another highlight of the week was the conference dinner, for which we went to Porto where we explored the cellars of Taylor’s, one of the oldest and largest port producers in the world.
Attending this conference was such a unique and amazing opportunity to catch up on all the latest deep-sea research findings, interact with a friendly and inspirational community of scientists, and to help me to expand my ideas as well as place my research within a wider context. Thank you again Challenger Society for enabling me to go!
Photo caption:
1. Cultural and Congress Centre of Aveiro, where the 14th DSBS was held. 2. Presenting my talk. 3. Conference dinner tour of Taylor’s port cellars. 4. Salt mound along one of Aveiro’s canals.
Profile:
I am a third year PhD student at both the University of Leeds and Natural History Museum, investigating the morphology, ultrastructure and palaeontology of polychaete worm tubes from chemosynthetic environments. I am interested in the evolutionary history and taphonomy of polychaetes within these environments, their palaeoecology, as well as the distribution and morphological plasticity of modern tube-building polychaete worms.
Twitter post:
Back to work after a truly amazing and valuable week at #14DSBS, thank you @challengersoc for helping me to go!
Latest News
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. The agenda 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
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.