British Antarctic Survey and the National Oceanography Centre To Merge ? – these two branches of the  Natural Environment Research Council seem set to merge next year.    The Natural Environment Research Council say they intend to continue to operate scientific bases in South Georgia and Antarctica and is considering a merger of the scientific and logistics management of marine and polar science delivered through the British Antarctic Survey and the National Oceanography Centre.    A unified marine and polar headquarters would “deliver a single management function whilst retaining the identity of the existing centres as component parts.”      All the existing sites, at Cambridge, Southampton, and Liverpool, would remain without the need for significant relocations of staff.     The potential merger will be further considered in December 2012 and in the meantime Natural Environment Research Council will be consulting its staff and wider stakeholders on how best to implement the proposed changes “in order to increase both the excellence and impact of NERC marine and polar science.”     The merged fleet of the combined organisations would in 2013 be:

                                                                Length (OA)  Built          Operator

            RRS JAMES CLARK ROSS           99.4m      1991           British Antarctic Survey

            RRS ERNEST SHACKLETON        80.0m      1995          British Antarctic Survey

            RRS JAMES COOK                      89.5m         2006         National Oceanography Centre

            RRS DISCOVERY                         88.8m         2013          National Oceanography Centre