From left: Jonathan Sharples, Jack Thomson, Claire Mahaffey, Philip Robson and David Annett on board the Marisa
Scientists on board the University of Liverpool’s research vessel, Marisa, reached out to the thousands of visitors who attended the International Mersey River Festival this weekend.
The Mersey River Festival is one of the key highlights in the city’s calendar and every year thousands of visitors flock to the waterfront to visit ships and enjoy a programme of events and performances.
This year the University ‘s research vessel, Marissa, and scientists from the School of Environmental Sciences invited visitors aboard to study the science of the sea and get up close to some of the animals that live in the docks.
Jack Thomson demonstrates some of the marine life found in the water at the docks
Jonathan Sharples, Professor of Ocean Sciences and head of the School’s outreach activities, said: “Nearly 1000 people visited Marissa over the Festival weekend and found out more about what was living in the seawater in the Canning dock, from jellyfish to microscopic marine creatures, and leant about the various instruments used by ocean scientists to collect data at sea.
“Visitors – who came from all over the world and were of all ages – were most interested in the jellyfish and sponges which are found in the docks and also enjoyed looking at the zooplankton using the microscope.
Claire Mahaffey shows visitors around the Marisa
“It was a great opportunity and tremendous fun for ocean researchers to share with visitors the enjoyment and excitement of studying the science of the sea.”
Marisa attracted crowds throughout the day
To find out more about studying ocean and marine sciences at the University, please visit our Study pages