http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/OTHERS/woceipo/ipo.htm l). The Hermes (Hotspot Ecosystems Research on the Margins of European Seas), hosted at the centre (www.euhermes.net), is one of the largest marine science research projects in Europe today. Funded by the EU to a tune of 15.5 million Euros, the multidisciplinary project involves scientists from 50 research organizations, universities and small businesses, located in 18 countries. The project aims to gain new insights into the biodiversity, function and dynamics of ecosystems along Europe's deep ocean margin, with study sites from the Arctic to the Mediterranean and from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. Recently hailed a great success by the EU, Hermes scientists make sure that "people at the top know what it going on at the bottom of the sea."
Facilities
National Marine Facilities (www.noc.soton.ac.uk/nmf ) is an integral part of NOCS and incorporates a wide range of services and capabilities to support marine science research within the UK. Costing $60 million, the RRS James Cook joined the
UK's research fleet in 2007. Equipped to explore some of the planet's most inhospitable regions, she is capable of operating worldwide from the tropics to the edge of the ice sheets; undertaking both continental margin and deep ocean multidisciplinary research. The state-of the-art, 5,300-ton vessel was commissioned by NERC to replace the RRS Charles Darwin. She was built in Norway and delivered at the end of August 2006. Operated by 23 officers and crew, she houses eight science laboratories and can carry 31 scientists. Her exceptional maneuverability is provided by dynamic positioning thrusters, allowing her to maintain position with pinpoint accuracy. The Government has also announced funding for a replacement for the aging RRS Discovery, which has had a distinguished career completing well over 300 science cruises. This is scheduled to join the fleet in 2012. The center manages and maintains the National Marine Equipment Pool. This includes the research fleet and over 1,000 instruments throughout the world's oceans, with long-term major systems such as the Rapid mooring array in the Atlantic. A team of technical support staff from the
(Image courtesy of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.) 42 MTR March 2009
You don't have Macromedia Flash Player installed.
This content requires the Macromedia Flash Player.
Get Flash
www.marinelink.com