Launching SAERI in the Falklands

Prior to the departure of the RRS Discovery for the first expedition of the COMICS project, we attended a reception at Government House, Stanley given by the governor of the Falkland Islands to celebrate the launch of SAERI - the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute.

In addition we hosted a reception on the RRS Discovery for representatives of the Falkland Islands scientific, business and governmental communities to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Discovery committee. Captain Antonio Gatti welcomed the visitors to the ship and I presented Dr Paul Brickle of SAERI with a framed print to celebrate its launch.

Both events were very successful and will allow us to build a strong partnership with environmental science colleagues in the remote south Atlantic, where some of the most important problems in oceanography remain relatively understudied.