Staff at Southampton's National Oceanography Centre (NOC) are mourning the death of Raymond Pollard.

Raymond was described as energetic and determined, extracting every drop of information out of data and days at sea. He was known for giving ‘straight off the ship’ presentations, bringing the immediacy, insight, and excitement of new results to audiences in an inspiring way.

The oceanographer led the formation of the James Rennell Centre for Ocean Circulation in 1989 to deliver the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), which integrated observations and ocean modelling. This ultimately led to the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences (IOS) moving to Southampton, relocating to the Chilworth Science Park before moving into the then newly built Southampton Oceanography Centre, which later became the National Oceanography Centre, in 1995.

Raymond completed an honours degree in mathematics at the University of Cape Town before studying for his doctorate at Cambridge.

He led numerous major seagoing expeditions, including the Crozet Islands and in the Southern Ocean and Southwest Indian Ocean. Raymond was also an innovator and played a critical role in bringing scientific computing onboard ships.

Professor Ed Hill, Chief Executive of the National Oceanography Centre, said “Raymond was a great scientist, a fine colleague, mentor and inspiration to many and his loss will be felt by his former colleagues and all those he worked with at sea including mariners, technicians and engineers.

“His way of working at sea is a legacy to those in the field, as Raymond taught those around him how to remain cheerful, kind, patient and understanding whilst maintaining an extreme attention to detail and maximising the time spent at sea.”