The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) has been awarded $500,000 towards the creation of an international Centre of Excellence for oceanography.

The award will assist BIOS in training scientists from developing countries in the Southern Hemisphere, and marks the first of a five-year programme to establish the Nippon Foundation (NF) and Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) Centre of Excellence (CofE).

A BIOS spokeswoman said: "These funds will be used to train young scientists from developing countries in Observational Oceanography, with the intention of educating a core group of researchers who will continue to study the marine ecosystems in their home countries well into the future.

"These scientists educated here at BIOS will then train the next generation of scientists in their regions."

Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of The Nippon Foundation, said: "I sincerely hope that the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, selected as 'Centre of Excellence', POGO and the Nippon Foundation can work together to foster young researchers who will be qualified to become leaders in the field of Oceanography, and that the Institute will become a focal point for human capacity building in international oceanography."

With the NF and POGO CofE, BIOS aims to expand a worldwide capacity to observe the oceans, to cultivate human resources in developing countries, and to expand international networking in ocean sciences.

Students on the Centre of Excellence course will spend time at sea on board BIOS' 168 foot R/V Bank of Bermuda Atlantic Explorer.

CofE students will also benefit from BIOS' eight long-term ocean, atmospheric, and near-shore observational programmes. Their subjects will include satellite oceanography, ocean physics, geochemistry, biology, ocean-atmosphere interactions, microbial communities, and deep-sea moorings.

The course is seen as the beginning of a long-term effort at capacity building in Observational Oceanography in the Southern Hemisphere, and students will also be encouraged to bring relevant data from their home region to analyse, and to publish their work.

"We are delighted and honoured to have been selected for this opportunity among such recognised institutions," said Dr. Anthony Knap, BIOS president and director.

"I sincerely commend the Nippon Foundation's vision in investing in the enhancement of the scientific capabilities in oceanography of developing countries of the Southern Hemisphere."