Subsea 7 and NOC set up research alliance for better ocean understanding

Subsea 7 and the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have launched a research alliance focused on improving the scientific understanding of global oceans for a sustainable marine future.

The BORA Blue Ocean Research Alliance will accelerate the knowledge of global ocean processes through a number of projects which will use NOC’s scientific research and expertise in technology development and Subsea 7’s ability to reach areas of deep marine waters and established track record in innovative marine technology and project management.

The parties aim to help bridge the gap between industry and science to support sustainable research and development, providing researchers access to hard-to-reach areas and sharing open access scientific data and knowledge.

Initial projects will include measuring Essential Ocean Variables in usually inaccessible areas through the use of sensor boxes. The gathered open data can then be analyzed by scientists worldwide or used to support wider observing initiatives and datasets shaping major global ocean health assessments.

Other key projects include using ROV technology to search for and obtain footage of undiscovered sea creatures that inhabit remote locations and unexplored ocean depths. Subsea 7’s operational access to unchartered waters enables the close monitoring of different ocean characteristics which will then be analyzed by NOC scientists. 

“BORA Blue Ocean Research Alliance™ will bring together ground-breaking global projects under one umbrella to ultimately provide open access data to scientists across the world to address the complex challenges associated with our oceans,” said Huw Gullick, associate director strategic business development at NOC.

“With innovation at its heart, BORA Blue Ocean Research Alliance™ will help push the limits of scientific knowledge, setting the standard for collaboration between the industrial and scientific communities and delivering meaningful research on a global scale that will provide benefits for all communities.”