Weekly Intelligence Brief

New £4.4 million marine lab opened

11 February 2010

A £4.4 million new facility for marine research, Oceanlab 2, has recently been officially opened by the Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead.

The new lab is situated next to the existing original Oceanlab.

One of the key features of Oceanlab 2 is its Ocean Futures lab which has special climate chambers for simulating rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels. This will allow scientists to explore the impact of global warming on marine creatures and study how the balance of advantage shifts between different species and how communities change over time.

The launch comes ahead of the University taking on the directorship of the recently launched MASTS - Marine Alliance for Science and Technology. MASTS - a collaboration involving 700 marine research staff from 10 of Scotland’s leading research institutions - aims to place Scotland at the forefront of international marine research as well as providing information for policymakers and other stakeholders.

The University of Aberdeen’s Oceanlab is already leading studies into the world’s oceans as well as providing information on marine life in waters around Scotland.

The combined Oceanlab facilities will give scientists the capabilities to explore every part of the sea from its shores to its furthest depths. It will also allow researchers to investigate the impacts of global warming on marine environments.