NOC releases National Marine Facilities Technology Roadmap

The National Oceanography Centre has published the National Marine Facilities (NMF) Technology Roadmap 2020-21, which outlines current capabilities and looks to the future of oceanographic science.

The NMF Technology Road Map acts as a focus for the interactions between science and technology in developing the National Marine Equipment Pool (NMEP) and associated supporting infrastructure.

The 2020/21 refresh of the Road Map incorporates new components around deployment planning, data curation and the development of research ship capabilities. These elements were added to provide a full picture of the support provided to the UK marine science community by NMF and the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC).

The NMF team works with the UK marine science community, primarily through the Marine Facilities Advisory Board (MFAB), chaired by Professor Carol Robinson.

NMF was commissioned by the NERC in 2018 to operate the RRS James Cook and the RRS Discovery, the NMEP, and the associated planning, logistical, maintenance and repair functions. NMF receives additional capital funding from NERC to replace, refurbish, upgrade and further develop the ship-fitted scientific equipment and the NMEP.

Leigh Storey, the NOC’s associate director for National Marine Facilities, said: “We are delighted to be able to present the NMF Technology Road Map 2020-21 to the marine science community, and to anyone with an interest in the world-class technology and strategy that underpins UK and global ocean scientific endeavour. The study of the ocean has never been more important, as the world begins to understand how central it is in supporting the livelihoods of millions of people around the world, in helping to regulate the climate, and in tackling the fundamental environmental challenges facing the planet.

“I would like to thank all of the partners who have contributed to this document, in particular Dr Maaten Furlong, head of NMF’s Marine Autonomous and Robotics Systems group, and I hope it provides useful insight into the present and future of marine scientific research.”