At forefront of sea quest for answers
Sep 30 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal
EXACTLY a century ago yesterday Alan Ian Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland, opened a marine laboratory to investigate declining fish stocks.
And yesterday the present Duke of Northumberland followed in his great-grandfather’s footsteps by unveiling a plaque to mark the 100th birthday of the Dove Marine Laboratory at Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside.
“The Dove has been enormously important over the last century,” said the Duke, whose uncle, Richard Percy, was a lecturer in marine biology at the laboratory in the 1960s.
While fish stocks are still a major concern, the Duke said the work of Newcastle University’s internationally-important marine base was vital in the face of new challenges. He said this included research into ocean acidfication, considered one of the greatest threats to the marine environment.
The rise in the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide concentration has been mirrored by increasing absorption of the gas by the oceans, making seawater more acidic.
Recent work by the university has been directed towards understanding potential impacts on marine life such as corals, crabs and lobsters.
It is feared that as seawater becomes more acid these creatures will be unable to form their hard shells from calcium, leading to their extinction.
A gathering including Viscount Ridley of Blagdon, Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell and industry and academic chiefs heard the Dove was crucially placed as the world embarked on a new phase after the Industrial and Computer Revolutions.
The Blue Biotechnology Revolution was poised to provide solutions to the health and food supply problems of mankind as new technologies opened up the deep seas for exploration and the discovery of new chemicals and other resources.
Dove director Professor Grant Burgess said marine life was so diverse that of the 30 main groups of organisms on the planet, 29 were in the seas.
“The sea is the new frontier for discovery. Looking to the sea for knowledge, ideas and resources to solve the problems of mankind is already very big business and it is great that the North East, through the Dove, is involved,” he said. The North East coast was already one of the best-studied in the world.
University vice-chancellor Prof Chris Brink said that as well as looking to the future and new technologies, it was also important to look back to see what had made the region great. This included coal and traditional links with the sea.
There were hopes for new, clean ways of exploiting the region’s coal reserves, while also taking in the North East’s strengths in shipping, subsea sector and marine sciences. “There is a rejuvenation waiting for us if we can put all that together.”
