One integrated system
for discovery that matters
By radically enhancing the UK’s marine autonomous capability, the FMRI programme will unlock critical areas of the ocean ecosystem that have until now remained beyond our understanding. The knowledge gained will strengthen our ability to predict, mitigate and adapt to rapid ocean change, and its impacts on people, livelihoods and future prosperity.
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A new research capability for ocean science
Ocean data and information are critical to safeguarding the UK’s scientific leadership and wider interests in a rapidly changing world. Yet significant gaps remain in our understanding of the ocean, particularly in remote, dynamic and hard-to-access environments. With limited data, scientists face the challenge of how to detect, understand and predict the accelerating impacts of climate change, habitat loss and pollution, reducing our capacity to respond effectively to emerging environmental and societal challenges. Addressing these gaps is essential to improving forecasts, informing policy and strengthening the UK’s capacity to respond to a rapidly changing ocean.
Marine autonomy could play a transformational role in addressing this challenge. Autonomous platforms equipped with advanced sensors can gather data across vast and previously inaccessible regions, from the deep ocean to beneath polar ice.
Operating marine autonomy at scale would enable continuous observations at temporal and spatial resolutions not currently achievable. This would allow scientists to investigate a broad range of research challenges, such as ecosystem change, biodiversity shifts, carbon cycling, ocean circulation, and extreme events with unprecedented coverage and persistence.
With the help of the ocean science community, FMRI is designing an integrated observing capability that enables scientists to ask bigger questions, collect richer datasets, and generate discoveries that would otherwise remain out of reach. Combined with advanced analytics, AI-enabled workflows, and secure digital infrastructure, this capability will transform observations into actionable scientific insight and unlock new opportunities for discovery, collaboration, and innovation.
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FMRI is being shaped with the scientific community, not for it. We want to hear from researchers and technicians about the capabilities and challenges that matter most. Share your ideas and priorities to help ensure marine autonomy continues to be designed around real research needs and scientific practice.
Professor Willie Wilson
“We are entering a decisive decade for the ocean. Investing now in autonomous biodiversity observation would position the UK as a global leader in BBNJ implementation, climate adaptation and marine research infrastructure. It would enable better policy, unlock innovation in high value technologies and secure long term economic and environmental resilience.”
Professor Heather Bouman • University of Oxford
“We are entering a new era, where autonomous instruments and advanced sensors allow us to explore the ocean in ways that were unimaginable when I began my career. These technologies are not only showing us how the ocean is changing, but helping us understand why. And that makes this an incredibly exciting time to begin a career in oceanography.”
Dr Kelly Hogan • British Antarctic Survey
“We’re in a moment where our tools have finally caught up with our questions. With autonomous vehicles, advanced sensors, and powerful modelling – boosted by AI – we can explore glacier-ocean interactions in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago.”
Professor Kate Hendry • British Antarctic Surbey
“There’s growing enthusiasm for emerging autonomous technologies, not just for sustainability, but because they also open up opportunities for scientific research. Tools like autonomous gliders can not only operate with a smaller carbon footprint, but also enhance the resolution of measurements in space and time compared to conventional methods, allowing us to answer different questions about the oceans.”
Clara Manno • British Antarctic Survey
“Pollution is part of the global ‘triple planetary crisis’ alongside climate change and biodiversity loss. Addressing it will require the UK to maintain its world-leading position in marine science – developing advanced monitoring systems, integrated data, and evidence-based solutions to support policy.”
Dr Rosalind Coggon • University of Southampton
“The global ocean drives, records, and responds to changes across the planet. The UK’s marine research infrastructure provides a vital platform for studying not only the ocean, but also the broader Earth system - offering insights essential to understanding how our planet functions, adapts, and evolves. This knowledge is critical to addressing the major environmental challenges of our time.”
Professor Alex Rogers • National Oceanography Centre
“The next 20 years will be critical for the future of our planet. As environmental pressures intensify - from climate change and biodiversity loss to the degradation of ocean systems - the need for ambitious, high-impact marine science has never been greater. FMRI’s Science Requirements Framework calls on us to lead a new era of marine research that not only continues to deepen our understanding of the ocean, but drives action for the thriving, sustainable future we urgently need.”
Prof. Sir Ian Boyd • former Chief Scientific Advisor
“Scientific questions are getting bigger and more important. Research infrastructure can help us answer these really quite challenging questions that are very important to society.”