Improving access to NERC data for organisations outside of academia.

Are you working for a business that is using NERC or other environmental data, or would like to be able to use such data? Are these data uses supporting business activities that are outside of academia? If your answer is “yes” to both questions, then we would like to hear from you. 

NERC would like to improve the accessibility of data held by NERC data centres and to develop new tools and services to drive innovation within a digital economy. The centre of current ambitions is the creation of new business opportunities. To this end we are currently undertaking a discovery project to establish non-academic requirements for an Environmental Information and Innovation Hub. 

Examples of business uses of NERC data include the use of: 

• modelling techniques by Pest Risk Information Service to predict crop loss  caused by pests (such as insects, mites and plant pathogens) in up to six countries in sub-Saharan Africa
• climate simulations by the oil and gas industry to estimate the profitability of damage to assets (e.g. via sea level rise, storm surge, heat/cold)
• weather data by power companies to predict demand
• weather data for the management of motorway traffic
• data from air quality measurements by Councils to monitor "clean air zones". 

There are plenty of other examples, and your need for environmental data may be entirely different.  The first stage of this project is a survey. If you are a non-academic user (in the private, public or third sector) of NERC or other environmental data or plan to become one, we would be grateful if you could spare 10 to 15 minutes of your time to complete this survey. Your input will help us greatly to shape our future services in a way that supports your business needs.  

The survey is open until mid-April 2018 and can be found at https://bodc.me/eds 

Argo Data Manager vacancy at the British Oceanographic Data Centre

The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) is part of a worldwide network of oceanographic data centres created to support global, regional and climate-related studies of the world’s oceans. We are at the forefront of managing and disseminating large, complex marine data sets. We are a component of the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) environmental data centre network and collaborate widely with other national data centres and international initiatives, to make marine data discoverable and easily available to scientists, policy makers, industry and the public. BODC is part of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).

About the role:

Based at our Liverpool site, you will lead our team of Argo data managers ensuring that data collected by Argo floats on a variety of research projects flows through our near-real time data management systems and that a high quality delayed mode data set is curated and made widely available for long term re-use.

You will receive training in the processes and systems so that you can provide expertise in the management of Argo data to a range of national/international BODC data projects. Argo floats collect a range of data from physical parameters through to biogeochemistry. You need to be open to learning areas of science that may be new to you – for example if you are a physicist, you may be required to gain knowledge in biogeochemistry (or vice versa).

You will be expected to develop solutions for the management of data within your area of responsibility. You will also be expected to work closely with project scientists and to develop a clear scientific insight into the data being handled.

You will be expected to become an expert in quality control of delayed mode data, optimising the scientific use of the data.

As project manager for the Argo portfolio of projects, you will be expected to comply with NERC and EU project reporting requirements. You will also be responsible for managing a portfolio of other data management projects, for which BODC is the designated Data Centre. The work is intellectually challenging and fulfilling. Some seagoing work may be arranged to familiarise the successful candidate with data collection techniques.

About you:

To be successful in this role you will need to understand the value of sharing quality marine science data. You will have a degree or post-graduate qualification in marine science, ideally with experience in Argo science, and experience of working with large scientific datasets. You will be comfortable presenting and reporting our work to UK and international audiences. Well-developed computer skills will be required, including some scientific programming experience. Good communication, planning and problem solving skills are highly desirable, as is experience in project management.

Salary:

The starting salary for this position will be £28,200 per annum (Band 6). Depending upon skills and experience, a salary uplift and/or additional allowances may be available for exceptional candidates.

Hours of Work:

The hours of working are full time.

About you:

To be successful in this role you will need to understand the value of sharing quality marine science data. You will have a degree or post-graduate qualification in marine science with experience of working with large scientific datasets. Well-developed computer skills will be required, ideally, including some scientific programming experience. Good communication, planning and problem solving skills are highly desirable, as is an understanding of project management.

What we can offer you:

The NOC is committed to making the NOC ‘a great place to be, where our people succeed and deliver great work’. The NOC is committed to being recognised as a flexible employer to support employees’ work and personal commitments where possible. Our flexi-time system and flexible working policy contribute to this important aim.

In return for your talents, we offer a competitive remuneration package, including a RCUK pension scheme, 30 days annual leave with a further 14 Public/local days off and low cost car-parking. Opportunities for further training and development are supported.

For more information visit working at NOC.

About us:

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC), part of the Natural Environment Research Council, is a national research organisation, delivering integrated marine science and technology from the coast to the deep ocean and is one of the top five institutions of its kind in the world.

With sites in Liverpool and Southampton, it is the UK’s leading centre for sea level science, coastal and deep ocean research and technology development. Working closely with its partners and associates, it provides capability to meet needs across the UK marine science community (http://noc.ac.uk/).

From April 2018, the NOC, a component part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), will be part of UK Research and Innovation. UK Research and Innovation will bring together the seven Research Councils, Innovate UK and a new organisation, Research England. The vision for the new organisation is to be the best research and innovation organisation in the world. More information can be found online at http://www.ukri.org/. From April 2018, you will be employed by UK Research and Innovation.

Our Commitment as an Employer:

The NOC is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. People with disabilities and those from ethnic minorities are currently under-represented and their applications are particularly welcome. The NOC is an Investors in People organisation and is working towards achieving Bronze status for Athena SWAN – a scheme that recognizes excellence in women's employment in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) in UK higher education. There is a guaranteed Interview Scheme for suitable candidates with disabilities.

How to apply:

All internal and external applications are handled by the UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS). For further information about the role and to apply, please visit our website at http://topcareer.jobs/ quoting reference number IRC242793.

To apply, please submit an up-to-date CV (including covering letter explaining how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role). If you are unable to apply online, please contact us by telephone on 00 44 (0) 1793 867003.

Closing date:

8th October 2017

Interview dates:

24th, 25th and 26th October 2017

Job Description and Person Specification 

Software Development Manager vacancy at the British Oceanographic Data Centre

The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) is recruiting a Software Development Manager. This is your opportunity to build complex, high-performing systems in a data-rich research environment, helping the world to understand and adapt to climate change by making sense of the changing seas.

About the role

BODC is built around our in-house software systems that manage and disseminate complex marine science data sets. Hence, software development is core to our success. The purpose of this role is to lead the BODC systems team including: project delivery, team capability, software development tools, methodologies and technical strategies.

This is a full time, permanent position offered on Natural Environment Research Centre (NERC) terms and conditions and is open to internal and external candidates.

Salary

This is a Band 4 position and the starting salary will be between £45,271 to £49,119 per annum.

About you

Do you want to contribute to our understanding of the changing oceans? You may be an experienced software development manager looking for an exciting opportunity to apply your expertise in a data-rich research environment or perhaps a senior data manager with extensive software development experience looking for that next step into a senior management role. You will have an interest and an aptitude for building high performing teams and well-designed software systems. Experience with specific technologies (but we don’t use much Microsoft) is less important than an understanding of development methodologies, tools and teams. Reflecting the growing importance of our software development team, this is a new position, so would suit someone with initiative and who wants to contribute to the scope of the role.

Your work experience will be complemented with a good honours degree (or masters) in Computer Science. An interest in marine or environmental science and working with scientific data would nicely round out your suitability.

What we can offer you

In return for your contribution, we offer a competitive remuneration package, including a RCUK pension scheme, 30 days annual leave with a further 14 local and public days. Opportunities for further training and development are supported.

About BODC

The British Oceanographic Data Centre is part of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and works closely with other groups in NOC to provide a deck-to-desktop data delivery service to the international marine science community. BODC is part of a worldwide network of oceanographic data centres created to support global, regional and climate-related studies of the world’s oceans. We are at the forefront of managing and disseminating large, complex marine data sets. We are a component of NERC’s environmental data centre network and collaborate widely with other international data centres, on interoperability and semantic web initiatives, to make data discoverable and easily available to scientists, the marine community, industry and the public.

About NOC

The National Oceanography Centre, part of the Natural Environment Research Council, is a national research organisation, delivering integrated marine science and technology from the coast to the deep ocean and is one of the top five institutions of its kind in the world.

With sites in Liverpool and Southampton, it is the UK’s leading centre for sea level science, coastal and deep ocean research and technology development. Working closely with its partners and associates, it provides capability to meet needs across the UK marine science community (http://noc.ac.uk/).

For further information visit www.bodc.ac.uk & noc.ac.uk or contact Dr Graham Allen at: graham.allen@noc.ac.uk to arrange an informal chat about the role.

Our Commitment as an Employer

NOC is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. People with disabilities and those from ethnic minorities are currently under-represented and their applications are particularly welcome. The NOC is an Investors in People organisation and is working towards achieving Bronze status for Athena SWAN – a scheme that recognizes excellence in women's employment in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) in UK higher education. There is a guaranteed Interview Scheme for suitable candidates with disabilities.

NOC is committed to making the NOC ‘a great place to be, where our people succeed and deliver great work’. NOC is committed to being recognised as a flexible employer to support employees’ work and personal commitments where possible and the NOC’s Flexible Working Policy gives all employees the right to request flexible working.

How to apply

Applications are handled by the UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS); for further information about the role please visit their website at http://topcareer.jobs/ quoting reference number IRC241714. Applicants should provide a CV and covering letter explaining your suitability for the position. If you are unable to apply online please contact us by telephone on 00 44 (0) 1793 867003.

Closing date

The closing date is 13th August 2017. We plan to hold interviews on the 23rd and 24th of August 2017.

Changes to the NERC Vocabulary Server

The NVS2.0 service has been in place since 2012 and while the British Ocenographic Data Centre (BODC) has maintained the original NVS (NVS1.0) service to allow users to switch at their convenience, removal of the NVS1.0 service is necessary to allow future enhancements and functionality to NVS2.0. From December 2016 the NVS1.0 service, which is accessed from http://vocab.ndg.nerc.ac.uk will no longer be available.

An example of XML output from the NVS ©

Vocabulary service users should ensure they are using the services as documented from http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk.

For users that have embedded NVS1.0 URLs within their data files the NVS1.0 URLs will be redirected to the equivalent NVS2.0 URLs, so updating of local data holdings should not be necessary prior to the removal of NVS1.0.

If you have problems switching to NVS2.0 or concerns over the removal of the NVS1.0 please contact enquiries@bodc.ac.uk before 01 November 2016.

We would value your feedback

To meet the needs of the UK's underwater noise community, the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) is working to develop an archival and delivery system for high volume acoustic data.

A minke whale in Skjálfandi Bay, Iceland ©

BODC are committed to providing

• A data upload area
• A secure archive
• A bespoke delivery service (with discovery metadata records and a download platform)

Due to the high volume nature of acoustic data, BODC propose using the JASMIN super-computing facility to securely archive your data. A fully automated submission procedure will allow easy data and metadata submission. As experts in marine data management, BODC will ensure that submitted data are of an appropriate standard and quality for long-term archival and reuse. Data will then be available for download.

In addition, JASMIN provides an environment for data analysis by allowing users to upload tools for interrogating archived data. Given sufficient support and feedback from the scientific community, it is proposed that BODC will support such a data analysis environment for users.

To support this development project please participate in a short online survey, which should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Feedback will be collated anonymously but you are invited to provide contact details if there are any aspects you would be happy for us to follow up with you.

The closing date for the survey is Friday 22nd July 2016.

British Oceanographic Data Centre at the Forum for Future Ocean Floor Mapping

Dr Graham Allen, Head of BODC & GEBCO Guiding Committee member and Pauline Weatherall, GEBCO Digital Atlas Manager are welcomed to the GEBCO Forum for Future Ocean Floor Mapping by Shin Tani, Chair of GEBCO Committee.
 

Graham Allen and Pauline Weatherall with Shin Tani at the GEBCO Forum ©

Measuring and mapping the shape of the ocean floor is a crucial component of oceanographic research worldwide. Bathymetry helps provide a better understanding of coastal erosion, storm surges and the threat of tsunamis, along with ocean currents and tidal flows worldwide. It is essential for assessing the impact of sea-level rises, exploring for oil, gas and mineral resources and lies at the heart of safe navigation.

The GEBCO Forum for Future Ocean Floor Mapping, opened by Prince Albert II of Monaco, brings together world experts in ocean mapping. Its aim is to develop the GEBCO Roadmap for Future Ocean Floor Mapping, which will enable us to realise our vision of mapping 100% of the ocean floor.

About GEBCO

The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) provides the most authoritative, publicly-available bathymetry datasets for the world’s oceans. GEBCO operates under the joint auspices of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

Titanic wreck discoverer speaks at Ocean Floor Forum

Among keynote speakers at a major conference on the comprehensive mapping of the ocean floor in Monaco, June 2016, is Dr Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985. Dr Ballard is Director of the Center for Ocean Exploration at the Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island and President of the Ocean Exploration Trust that operates one of America’s dedicated ships of exploration.

Forum for Future Ocean Floor mapping

The conference, the Forum for Future Ocean Floor Mapping, is being held jointly by the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), and The Nippon Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation with its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

The Forum will bring together over 150 senior representatives, scientists and scholars from major ocean-related and international organisations, to discuss the importance of understanding the shape of the ocean floor. The Forum will culminate in the development of a Roadmap for Future Ocean Floor Mapping.

About GEBCO

GEBCO consists of an international group of experts who work on the development of a range of bathymetric data sets and data products with the aim of providing the most authoritative publically-available bathymetry for the world’s oceans and operates under the joint auspices of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.

The GEBCO chart series was initiated in 1903 by Prince Albert I of Monaco. Five paper editions of the GEBCO chart series were produced, with the Fifth Edition published in the 1980’s. Since then, GEBCO has largely concentrated on developing and making available digital bathymetric data sets and products.

BODC and GEBCO

Through funding provided by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) has been involved in GEBCO’s activities since the early 1990’s – hosting the role of the GEBCO Digital Atlas Manager. On behalf of GEBCO this has involved the development of the GEBCO Digital Atlas (GDA); the maintenance and delivery of GEBCO’s gridded bathymetric data sets, and hosting and maintaining GEBCO’s web site.

Pauline Weatherall (GEBCO Digital Atlas Manager) and Graham Allen (Head of BODC and GEBCO Guiding Committee Member) look forward to meeting you at this exciting Forum for Future Ocean Floor Mapping.