Oceanology 2002: A New Home and Improved Program

Regular visitors to this year's Oceanology International (OI) will be surprised to learn that the Exhibition and Conference is moving to the ExCeL (Exhibition Center London) in London Docklands.

Since 1969 the Exhibition and Conference has been at the Brighton Metropole, emerging as the largest event in the marine science and ocean technology sector. This year OI, which will take place from March 5-8 , offers the 600 exhibitors from 50 countries and over 6,000 visitors unparalleled modern facilities in a waterfront environment in the heart of London, along with a collection of vessels that will be moored directly alongside the Exhibition.

Many exhibitors plan the launch of new products and services to coincide with this meeting of the global marine science community. "Oceanology International 2002 breaks with a long tradition by moving from Brighton to London's ExCeL — a move driven by the continued growth of the scientific and industrial sector that it serves," said show director Versha Carter.

The OI Conference is chaired by Dr.

Ralph Rayner, chairman of the U.K.

Marine Information Council and managing director of Fugro. The keynote will be given by Rt. Hon. Michael Meacher MP, Minister for the Environment, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Other speakers in the Plenary Session include Prof. Carl Wunsch, Cecil & Ida Green Professor of Physical Oceanography, Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Wunsch's topic is "The Role of the Oceans in Climate Change." Dr. D James Baker, former head of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will speak on "Operational Oceanography: Critical to Understanding Global Climate Change." Other sessions in the OI conference include "Survey," with papers ranging from conducting bathymetry by airborne and/or satellite methods to significant developments in underwater acoustic positioning and inertial metrology. Two sessions will take place in the area of Operational Oceanography; Ocean Observing Systems, and Ocean Forecasting and Operational Data Products. The Instrumentation, Sensors and Systems Session includes a keynote contribution on "An Oceanographic Surveying Decision Aid (SDA) for Optimum Ocean Sampling Strategies" by Lt. Cdr. R. J.

Rogers, RN Military Advisor, of QinetiQ (formerly DERA), U.K.

A session on AUV/ROV and Profiler Technology will pull together a series of papers relating to ongoing technological research into a number of different oceanographic sensor platforms and their subsystems, including profiling buoys, ROVs, multi-AUV systems and large under-ice AUVs. This is followed by a Session on Underwater Imagery that will cover the use of new technologies to provide the stunning film sequences for series such as the BBC's Blue Planet.

OI 2002 is the first in the series to have vessels moored directly alongside the exhibition. EGS International Ltd. is bringing the Wessex Explorer survey boat, which will tow a new seismic subbottom profiler and Gardline plans to showcase the 266-ft. (81-m) MV Ocean Seeker. GeoAcoustics Ltd. is bringing the Algier Rose, an inshore diving and survey vessel from which the firm's engineers will demonstrate GeoSwath, a PC-based shallow-water, wide-swath-bathymetry system offering state-of-the-art performance at low cost and capable of producing a 3-D map of the dock.

For more information about Oceanology International 2002 and the series of OI conferences in the U.S. and in Singapore: Spearhead Exhibitions Ltd., Coombe Hill House, Beverley Way, London SW20 OAR, U.K.; +44 (0)20 8949 9837 or go to http://www.oceanologyinternational.com Circle 6 1 on Reader Service C a rd w w w . m a r i t i m e r e p o r t e r i n f o . c om