Fifty Years of Discovery

Hydro International -

The 50th anniversary of the launch of the UK-based Royal research ship Discovery will be marked on 2 July 2012.

This will be her last year of service, a half-century of science that has included surveying the ocean floor, measuring ocean currents, monitoring climate change, and discovering new species around the globe.

It is the people who worked on board Discovery who pushed the boundaries of ocean knowledge and it is these people who are meeting on the 2 July 2012 to recall their time at sea.

Researchers, officers and crew associated with her over the years will meet at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton to celebrate the scientific and technological achievements made aboard Discovery.

There will be a guided tour of the vessel; talks highlighting the scientific and marine experiences and legacy; and an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia, including a preview of the new Discovery.

During the celebrations the ship is mobilising for her next expedition.

Discovery will set out for the deep ocean southwest of Lands End to photograph and map the seafloor with the robot submarine Autosub.

Using this latest technology, Discovery will enable researchers to prepare the ocean version of a Google street map of the habitat and residents of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, two and a half miles (4,000m) deep.

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