Today at Ocean Business, a project has been launched that aims to develop a guide for using ocean-robots to assess the impact of decommissioned oil structures on marine life. This National Oceanography Centre (NOC)-led, joint science-industry project was launched by Dr Daniel Jones at a workshop in Ocean Business. Decommissioned oil structures can have positive impacts, such as providing a habitat for marine life in a similar way to a reef, or negative consequences - such as marine pollution. In the North Sea, for example, structures are rapidly colonised and typically develop highly productive ecosystems that often include priority species, such as the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa. On the other hand, large piles of oil-enriched sediments lie underneath many oil and gas installations. The environmental impacts of these piles are not well known, nor are the relative impacts of re-disturbing partially recovered systems while removing structures. Marine robots have great potential to investigate these impacts.

Diversified Communications UK are delighted to announce that the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) will be delivering an exciting programme of workshops at Ocean Business 2017, taking place on 4-6 April in Southampton, UK.

Steatite, a leader in the development of power solutions for extreme environments, has formally become a partner with the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre. With over 30 years’ experience in the development of lithium batteries, Steatite’s move into the Innovation Centre is a sign of the company’s potential to secure their position as global leader for innovative power solutions for deep-sea Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS). The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and Steatite already form part of a UK consortium, using the latest lithium-sulfur chemistry to research and develop safe, pressure tolerant, rechargeable batteries with increased endurance and reduced payloads, optimizing their potential for integration with MAS.

AutoNaut Ltd, a global leader in autonomous wave propelled vessels, has formally become a partner with the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre. UK-based AutoNaut and the NOC has enjoyed a long-term relationship since 2013 and this move is a sign of the company’s increasing ambitions. Recent investment from the Seiche Group has enabled AutoNaut to expand manufacturing facilities and engineering expertise as well as recruit several new members of staff. A desk in the innovation centre will be utilised by AutoNaut Ltd technical and business development personnel to work alongside the NOC’s marine autonomy and robotics team.

Thales, a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Transport, Defence and Security markets, announced today that it will be taking space in the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton to facilitate its ongoing partnership with the NOC on marine autonomy projects. Thales and the NOC are currently working together on the regulatory, environmental risk, policies and laws associated with Marine Autonomous Systems.

Liquid Roboticsâ, the leader in long duration, unmanned surface ocean robots has become the newest Associate Member of the National Oceanography Centre’s (NOC) Marine Robotics Innovation Centre. Kevin Forshaw, Associate Director, Innovation and Enterprise at the NOC said, “As the Liquid Roboticsâ Wave Gliderâ was invented to provide ocean researchers with reliable and persistent monitoring, we’re thrilled to welcome them to the Innovation Centre and to be working closely with them on the advancement of marine autonomy.”

Seabed Geosolutions, in cooperation with CGG, secured a new extension to its ongoing shallow water operations in the U.A.E. The variation order from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) covers Phase-II of the Ghasha Field project. This new survey is due to start in October and is expected to take approximately 9 months. It has a value of around USD 60 million. With this new award, Seabed Geosolutions will enter its 4th year of continuous operations for ADNOC in the U.A.E., having recently successfully completed the Hail, Shuweihat and Ghasha Phase-I surveys.

City-sized maps of terrain and life on the sea-floor have revealed that drifts of ‘marine snow’ on submarine hillsides act as a source of food to fuel a higher biomass of marine life on the hills than on the flatter plains surrounding hills. This finding comes from research published today in Nature Scientific Reports by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), which may help improve understanding of how features, like hillside slopes and plateaus, add complexity to seafloor habitats and help drive the distribution of marine life.

European scientists are joining forces to better understand oceanic change, by coordinating ocean data acquisition, analysis and response on scales ranging from the provincial to the global. Marking a major milestone, the first Assembly of Members meeting of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water-column Observatory (EMSO) will be held September 28-29th in Rome, Italy

An ambitious two-week mission involving ten marine robots has commenced off northwest Scotland. The third in a series of demonstrator missions, this latest phase sees the largest fleet of marine robotic vehicles simultaneously deployed in UK waters. The mission comprises seven submarine gliders and three surface Wave Gliders that are working together in fleets to collect a range of environmental data. The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) started the ‘Exploring Ocean Fronts’ programme in 2014, working with partners across science, government and industry to field-test novel marine autonomous systems for long-endurance ocean monitoring

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has today launched a new collaborative way of working with the oil and gas industry. NOC will provide innovative science and technology to enable industry to work safely and efficiently, with minimum impact on the marine environment The launch comes off the back of many years of working with the industry on both an individual and collaborative basis, to develop science and technology to enhance competitive advantage, maximise investment and reduce operational costs during exploration, production and decommissioning.

The UK’s National Oceanography Centre is to host a brand new marine autonomy and technology showcase in November this year. The week long programme of workshops, talks, demonstrations and networking builds on the success of our 2015 Marine Autonomy Showcase, and the launch of the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre, and is in response to the growing desire of UK marine technology businesses to engage with the Research base for the further development of Marine Autonomous Systems.

A research expedition leaving Southampton today, led by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), will address the massive technical challenges in exploring for sea-floor mineral deposits. This expedition will take place on board the RRS James Cook, marking a decade of service that has seen this ship travel 218972 miles in pursuit of science – the equivalent of circumnavigating the globe ten times.

A unique study recently published by scientists from the National Oceanography Centre and University College Cork shows that deep, cold-water corals are very slow to recover from damage. Therefore deep-water Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protect vulnerable marine ecosystems most effectively when they are put in place before that damage occurs.

Embargoed for 00:01 Monday 27 June 2016. Australian headquartered company Blue Ocean Monitoring, experienced global provider of ocean monitoring services, is expanding its offices and taking space in the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton.

Subsea technology company, Sonardyne International Ltd, has become the newest Associate Member of the National Oceanography Centre’s (NOC) Marine Robotics Innovation Centre. Sonardyne and NOC have a long history of working together, with Sonardyne acoustic positioning equipment currently installed on the NOC’s deep-diving Remotely Operated Vehicle and fleet of Autosub autonomous underwater vehicles, and an Innovate UK funded project currently underway. This new collaboration is expected to see further ground-breaking ocean science projects take place.

The world’s first ‘real world’ deep-water controlled experiment simulating emission from a submerged carbon dioxide storage reservoir is to take place in the North Sea, with the aim of further verifying the safety of offshore carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS). Small quantities of CO₂ will be injected into mud on the sea floor in the North Sea, 100km North East of Aberdeen. This site is in the vicinity of a depleted gas field and is a typical location that could be used for carbon dioxide storage.

Commercial summer shipping across the North Pole may be possible by the end of the century, with the first potential crossings feasible for ice-strengthened ships around 2040. According to this study, by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Arctic shipping could potentially account for as much as 10% of all cargo transported between Europe and the Pacific. It will help supply communities and industries along the coasts of Siberia and Canada.