National Oceanography Centre

The NOC we know today dates back to precursor institutions, each with long histories. As a national institution, it was formed in 1949 as the National Institute of Oceanography (NOI) based in Wormley in Surrey from the 1950s. The NOI grew from the work of scientists working at Antarctic whaling stations and the complimentary voyages of Captain Scott's Discovery and a small group of young scientists brought together during the war, to study how the movements of the waves affected amphibious landings.

Meanwhile, NOC’s operations based Liverpool stem from the Liverpool Observatory founded in 1843 (to measure the longitude of Liverpool and to measure tides). After a short period based in Liverpool it moved to Bidston on the Wirral Peninsula and in 1919 became the Liverpool Tidal Institute. It led development of the methods of tidal prediction used world-wide today. It broadened its research over the years into prediction of storm surges and then sea level science more generally, as well as coastal and continental shelf sea oceanography and marine data management.