Walter Munk: 1917-2019
, and heat content.The most famous example of this work might have been a Munk-led experiment to see whether acoustics could be used as a way to estimate ocean temperatures on a global scale and thus, the effects of global warming. In 1991, at a remote location near Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean, Munk’s team transmitted low-frequency underwater acoustic signals. The location had been chosen because the sound waves could travel on direct paths to listening stations in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The premise was validated as stations from Bermuda to New Zealand to the United
Sonar Assists Deepest Solo Sub Dive
. The journey will cover 40,000 nautical miles, and by the end, the submersible will have descended through at least 72,000 meters of water.After the 8,648 meter dive to the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench, the mission will head to the South Sandwich Trench (Southern Ocean 8,428 meters), Java Trench (Indian Ocean 7,725 meters), Mariana Trench/Challenger Deep (Pacific Ocean 10,898 meters) and Malloy Deep (Arctic Ocean 5,669 meters).Hancock said Kongsberg will remain involved with the mission throughout. "Over the next 12 months, we will continue to work together and support the expedition remotely
Full-Depth Current Profiling Around the Global Ocean
to great depth. Deep flows without shear are not evident in currents calculated from hydrographic sections. As a result, the traditional method can underestimate water volumes transported by deep-reaching currents. Addressing this issue was a common early use of LADCP data.Farther north in the Indian Ocean, impressive oceanic changes follow the onset of the southwest monsoon. A well-known reversal of strong surface currents occurs in the Somali Current. Stacked jets of currents with opposing directions are found at depth. In addition, a large intense gyre spins up off Somalia over a month&rsquo
India Plans Deep Dive for Seabed Minerals
crawling machines and human-piloted submarines, according to the earth sciences ministry.If it works, the equipment will be able to reach depths of up to 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), where metals can be 15 times more concentrated than in land deposits.The ISA allows India to explore an area in the Indian Ocean of 75,000 square kilometers (about 29,000 square miles), equal to roughly 2 percent of the country's size.Moon, Mars... and the OceanOnce thought to be too costly and difficult, industrial-scale sea mining could begin as early as 2019.Canada's Nautilus Minerals is on track to become the
First Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project Meeting
The first Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project regional mapping meeting for the Atlantic and Indian Oceans took place this month at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. The meeting in Palisades, NY, was chaired by Dr Vicki Ferrini, who leads the Seabed 2030 Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regional Data Center. In order to better raise awareness of complementary mapping efforts in the region, the session was coordinated to coincide with a US Federal Agency Working Group on Coastal and Ocean Mapping, as well as a meeting of the leads of the Atlantic Ocean Research
Teledyne Bowtech: Lamps for the Five Deeps Expedition
submersible. It will be transported and deployed into the ocean depths by the Pressure Drop, a ship retrofitted exclusively for the expedition. The mission includes dives to the Puerto Rico Trench (Atlantic Ocean 8,408 meters), the South Sandwich Trench (Southern Ocean 8,183 meters), the Java Trench (Indian Ocean 7,290 meters), the Mariana Trench/ Challenger Deep (Pacific Ocean 10,925 meters), and the Molloy Deep (Artic Ocean 5,573 meters).Teledyne Bowtech have been supplying lights for Triton vehicles for many years and since became the standard fit. As a result, Teledyne Bowtech were commissioned to
Persistent Profiling of the Greater Agulhas Current
Two Decades of Moored ADCPs off Southern AfricaFor the last two decades, the energetic and deep currents off southern Africa have seen persistent scrutiny. Found on the western edge of the South Indian Ocean, the Agulhas Current system exhibits complex circulation patterns—retroflection, meandering, and rings. They show large variability from year-to-year. Plus these flows mediate exchanges between three of the world’s major oceans: Indian, Atlantic, and Southern.Even more important, the Greater Agulhas Current is now suspected to influence the global climate system. Its role is to precondit
Nekton Aids Exploring Ocean's Potential
organization’s first mission into the depths, utilizing cutting edge submersibles and support ships, targeted the North West Atlantic and uncovered a host of new species, as well as a new ‘zone’ – the Rariphotic, or Rare Light, Zone. The next mission has its sights set on the Indian Ocean, the world’s least explored, funded and protected ocean space. Exploration and support activities will run from this year through to 2021. Despite the excitement generated by physically diving into the great unknown, Steeds’ believes the maritime industry could help unlock a new age
MH370 Search Comes to a Close
been able to crack one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014. It’s believed someone may have deliberately switched off the plane’s transponder before diverting it over the Indian Ocean.Following an unsuccessful $160 million search effort conducted by Australia, China and Malaysia that was called off in January 2017, Malaysia this year agreed to pay Ocean Infinity, a technology company specializing in collecting high resolution seabed data, up to $70 million if it found the plane
Ocean Infinity Donates Data to Seabed Mapping Project
. So far, only a fraction of the ocean floor has been mapped with direct measurement.Ocean Infinity’s data was collected by a fleet of eight autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), enabling the surveying company to gather data much more quickly than traditional mapping missions during its recent Indian Ocean search for the missing Malaysian airliner MH370.“Our deep water search for MH370 demonstrated the most rapid collection of high-resolution sonar data in history, and we are thrilled on World Hydrography Day to announce our donation to such a pioneering initiative,” said Oliver Plunkett
MH370 Report to Be Released after Latest Search Ends
found the plane during an offshore search effort that is underway and expected to end in June. The decision to engage the firm came after Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless A$200-million ($159.38 million) search across a 120,000 square-kilometre (46,332 square miles) area in the Indian Ocean last year, despite investigators calling for the target area to be extended 25,000 square kilometres (9653 square miles) north. The release of a full report into MH370's disappearance has been suspended pending the outcome of the new search, as any new evidence uncovered is "likely
The Evolution of Ocean Models
codes.” The Search for MH370 Nevertheless, scientists who specialize in ocean model development have made massive strides in their quest for perfection. When a flaperon (part of a plane wing) from missing Malaysian airlines flight MH370 turned up on La Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean in July 2015, Dr. Durgadoo and his colleagues had a brilliant idea. By using their state-of-the-art ocean model, they reasoned that it should be possible to help find out where the plane had crashed. “The mere fact that debris belonging to MH370 had been found on beaches of the
IMO: Nitrogen in the Oceans Needs Further Study
increases in reactive nitrogen deposition to the ocean are proportionately higher. The report suggests that current human nitrogen emissions may remain relatively stable on a global basis through 2050, but more research is needed, particularly in the Northwest Pacific and Northern Indian Ocean. These are areas of the oceans that currently receive high inputs of atmospheric nitrogen and where there are also likely to be substantial changes in the future, with potential impacts at regional and global scales. Areas of the Mediterranean and North Atlantic are also candidates for further
TGS Awards Seismic Survey Contract to Shearwater GeoServices
the TGS Atlantic Margin project. The 2018 season will bring the total area shot by Shearwater for the Atlantic Margin project to 22,835 km2. Shearwater has over the winter season been awarded several significant contracts. Three of Shearwater's vessels are currently engaged in surveys in the Indian Ocean for the winter season. The company is well under way building a solid backlog for the 2018 summer and autumn seasons. "The seismic market remains challenging, but we see an increasing interest for Shearwater's offering and the number of prospects is increasing. Whilst we do
Italian Navy Divers Practice with Explosives
is currently deployed on counter-piracy operations as part of EU NAVFOR’s Op Atalanta. EU NAVFOR warships have been committed, since December 2008, to ensure the safety of World Food Program humanitarian aid vessels delivering aid to the Somali people and the free movement of trade within the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden
Search Resumes for Malaysian Flight MH370
one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries. Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 with 239 people, mostly Chinese, on board. Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off MH370's transponder before diverting it over the Indian Ocean. Debris has been collected from Indian Ocean islands and Africa's east coast and at least three pieces have been confirmed as coming from the missing plane. Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless A$200-million ($159.38 million) search of a 120,000 sq km area in January last year
Seas to Continue Rising Even if Climate Goals Are Met
thaw of ice from Greenland to Antarctica that will re-draw global coastlines, a German-led team wrote in the journal Nature Communications. Sea level rise is a threat to cities from Shanghai to London, to low-lying swathes of Florida or Bangladesh, and to entire nations such as the Maldives in the Indian Ocean or Kiribati in the Pacific. By 2300, the report projected that sea levels would gain by 0.7-1.2 metres, even if almost 200 nations fully meet goals under the 2015 Paris Agreement, which include cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in the second half of this century. Ocean levels
