Rapid Climate Change (RAPID) http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/rapid/rapid.php
A £20 million, six-year (2001-2007) programme of the Natural Environment Research Council. The programme aims to improve our ability to quantify the probability and magnitude of future rapid change in climate, with a main (but not exclusive) focus on the role of the Atlantic Ocean's Thermohaline Circulation.
Regional STOrm, WAve and SUrge Scenarios for the 2100 century (STOWASUS-2100) http://web.dmi.dk/pub/STOWASUS-2100/
Aims to study severe storms, surges and waves in the present climate and in a scenario with increased CO2-concentration. More specifically the project is a joint atmospheric/oceanographic numerical modelling effort aiming at constructing and analysing storm, wave and surge climatologies for the North Atlantic/European region in a climate forced by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases and to compare with present day conditions.
Sapropels And Palaeoceanography (SAP). http://www.geo.unimib.it/Conisma/SAP.htm
The overall aim of this EC MAST III funded project is to better understand the (paleo) functioning of the eastern Mediterranean and to determine its role in the global environment by studying characteristic biogeochemical processes.
Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) http://www.jhu.edu/~scor/
Activities focus on promoting international cooperation in planning and conducting oceanographic research, and solving methodological and conceptual problems that hinder research. Scientists from thirty-six SCOR member nations participate in SCOR working groups and steering committees.
Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html
Provides quantitative data on global ocean bio-optical properties to the Earth science community. Subtle changes in ocean color signify various types and quantities of marine phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants), the knowledge of which has both scientific and practical applications.
Seasearch http://www.seasearch.org.uk/
UK project for volunteer sports divers who have an interest in what they're seeing under water, want to learn more and want to help protect the marine environment. The main aim is to map out the various types of sea bed found in the near-shore zone, up to about 5 miles off the coast or 30m depth around the whole of the British Isles.
Sediment Transport and Boundary Layer Equipment (STABLE) http://www.pol.ac.uk/home/research/p2t2-425.html
STABLE is a large instrument to measure sea bed currents. Rapidly changing 3-D turbulent currents are measured by three pairs of electromagnetic current meters, while slower, tidal currents are measured by four, red Savonius rotors and a current-direction vane. Water depth and wave-induced pressure changes are measured by two pressure transducers, while suspended sediment concentration profiles are measured by three acoustic backscatter sensors. Housekeeping functions are measured by a compass, pitch and roll sensors and two temperature sensors.
