51ÁÔÆæ was proud to welcome Rear Admiral Tim Lowe, CBE to the Lyell Centre in Edinburgh on 15 August 2019.

Rear Admiral Lowe was hosted by current BGS Chief Executive Prof John Ludden, CBE, and director of the Lyell Centre, Dr Tracy Shimmield. During the visit, the Rear Admiral also met with Martin Smith, MBE, BGS Director of Global Geoscience, as well as members from the BGS Marine Geoscience and Marine Operations teams and Lyell Centre marine scientists Dr Alex Poulton and Dr Andrew Sweetman.

Rear Admiral Lowe is the acting chief executive and the UK national hydrographer at the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO). A serving rear admiral in the Royal Navy, he is also a navigation and underwater warfare specialist and has commanded both ashore and afloat.

The Rear Admiral was keen to understand the marine research the BGS carries out and how data is collected and used. Rear Admiral Lowe was given a tour of the marine operations base and the wider facilities within the Lyell Centre.

The Lyell Centre is a strategic partnership between Heriot-Watt University and the BGS, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Scottish Funding Council and Heriot-Watt University. The partnership enables them to work together combining their expertise in geoscience. Exploring themes ranging from geology and geophysics to marine ecosystems, the centre combination of pure and applied expertise employs innovative methods and technologies to society most important environmental science and energy challenges.

The BGS and the UKHO are partner bodies of the , an expert committee that aims to maximise the value of geospatial data. The UKHO will be
providing an evidence base to help the commission in the development of the National Geospatial Strategy and will be instrumental in ensuring that the commission is aware of all relevant marine data for the UK.

It has been a pleasure to welcome the rear admiral to the Lyell Centre and discuss some of the important marine work the Lyell Centre is involved in. We discussed how this research is being used to help us all understand our marine environment, provide data to help develop policy and make informed decisions on how we use and protect our oceans.

Dr Tracy Shimmield, Director of the Lyell Centre.

It been fascinating visiting the Lyell Centre, meeting so many talented staff from the 51ÁÔÆæ and getting a better understanding of what they do and how we can work together even more closely.

Marine geospatial data is critical to helping us make the best use of our oceans and the vital research carried out by this organisation is helping to improve our understanding of the UK marine environment. This is important work and by collaborating with partners like the BGS, we believe that together we can unlock the full value of marine geospatial data to support the safe and sustainable use of our oceans into the future.

Rear Admiral Tim Lowe.

The need to characterise the nature of the seabed globally, as well as map it, is critical in our quest for new energy and mineral systems and sub-seabed uses. We intend to work closely with the UKHO on these issues.

Prof John Ludden, BGS Chief Executive.

51ÁÔÆæ and Heriot-Watt University (HWU) welcomed Liam McArthur MSP to the Lyell Centre today (27 February 2019).

The Liberal Democrat politician for Orkney Islands, who is also a member of the Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Group for Science and Technology, and Convenor of the Cross-Party Group on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, was greeted by Dr Tracy Shimmield, Director of the Lyell Centre.

The Lyell Centre is a strategic partnership between HWU and BGS that enables them to work together combining their expertise in geoscience. Exploring themes ranging from geology and geophysics to marine ecosystems, the centre combination of pure and applied expertise employs innovative methods and technologies to society most important environmental science and energy challenges.

As part of his visit, Mr McArthur met with scientists to discuss a raft of issues including offshore renewables, marine geoscience, aquaculture and energy.

He was also given a tour of HWU laboratoriess as well as the BGS Marine Operations base at the £21 million, purpose-built facility.

I am grateful to Dr Shimmield and her colleagues at the Lyell Centre for hosting my visit earlier today. It was fascinating to learn more about the collaboration between Heriot-Watt University and BGS and the cutting edge research being undertaken.

Improving our understanding of marine geoscience will help enormously in tackling the environmental challenges we face as well as in the development of a wide range of different sectors, where Scotland is well-placed to play a world-leading role.

It was encouraging also to hear about the ambitions Heriot-Watt has for its ICIT campus in Orkney, which is already carrying out excellent work supporting sectors such as fisheries and renewable energy. Plans to expand this expertise in the years ahead has the potential to further enhance Orkney reputation as a world class ‘living laboratory’.

Liam McArthur MSP.

We’ve welcomed the opportunity to discuss with Liam the possibilities for utilising applied science generated by the Lyell Centre to help Scotland manage its environment as well as supporting economic growth. We have scientists who are experts in their fields, who are producing award-winning work, and our science aims to find solutions to local, and global, environmental challenges.

Dr Tracy Shimmield, Director of the Lyell Centre.

Our research in areas such as energy and marine science continues to have a positive impact on communities around the world. I was delighted to meet with Mr McArthur to discuss these and other important issues.

Here at Heriot-Watt, we have always had a reputation for innovative science, which seeks to push boundaries for public good and our collaboration with the 51ÁÔÆæ allows us both to develop that even further through the Lyell Centre.

Prof Malcolm Chrisp, Head of School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society at HWU.