US Aims to Improve Ocean Observations with $2.7 Million for New Robotic Floats
floats that can measure biogeochemical conditions in two key regions that are ecologically and economically important to the U.S. — the Gulf of Mexico and the California Current Ecosystem. The funding will also support efforts to increase our knowledge of the Arctic and the Tropical Pacific Ocean, where data collection has been sparse.“OneArgo exemplifies the type of services that NOAA provides to help improve climate science and resilience,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “The pursuit of autonomous technology to fill critical observing gaps and provide
US DOE’s TEAMER Awards $1.3M to Marine Energy Researchers
Clean Energy, researching alternate material design methods for wave energy devices by Columbia Power Technologies, and University of Hawaii-led study that will explore the integration of wave energy production with shore protection in harbor barriers.Supported by the U.S. DOE and directed by the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, TEAMER Program seeks to accelerate the viability of marine renewables by providing access to the best facilities and expertise in the U.S. to solve critical challenges, build knowledge, foster innovation, and drive commercialization
DISCOVERY: High-Res Mapping Tech Helps Find New Hydrothermal Vent Field
actively venting chimney clusters. The vent field, named “Tortugas” by the science team and Ecuadorian observers, stretches more than 600 meters along the western edge of the caldera floor of the Los Huellos East submarine volcano.Scientists detected the vent field in the Pacific Ocean, off the Western Galápagos Islands, utilizing state-of-the-art mapping technologies not often used in scientific exploration. The discovery marks the second hydrothermal vent field in the Ocean around the Galapagos Islands found by scientific teams on board the Schmidt Ocean Institute
Most Data Lives in the Cloud. What if it Lived Under the Sea?
doing this?Microsoft’s Project Natick has been pursuing the idea of data centers beneath the waves since 2014. The initial premise was that since many humans live near the coast, so should data centers.An initial experiment in 2015 saw a small-scale data center deployed for three months in the Pacific Ocean.A two-year follow-up experiment began in 2018. A total of 864 servers, in a 12 by 3 meter tubular structure, were sunk 35 meters deep off the Orkney Islands in Scotland.Microsoft is not the only company experimenting with moving data underwater. Subsea Cloud is another American company doing
VIDEO: Taiwan Reveals First Domestically Made Submarine in Defense Milestone
to a question at a regular monthly press briefing about the submarine and how it could prevent China surrounding the island, said Taiwan was "over-rating itself and attempting something impossible"."As for talk about preventing the People's Liberation Army from entering the Pacific Ocean, this is idiotic nonsense," spokesman Wu Qian told reporters in Beijing.DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHThe indigenous submarine program has drawn on expertise and technology from several countries - a breakthrough for diplomatically isolated Taiwan.Cheng Wen-lon, head of Taiwan's CSBC Corp 2208
Equinor Taps Ocean Infinity for Floating Wind Farm Site Survey off California
were offered by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in the first-ever offshore wind lease sale on the US west coast and the first-ever US sale to support commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development opportunities. With a bid of USD 130 million for 80.062 acres in the Pacific Ocean, Equinor secured a ~2-gigawatt (GW) lease in the Morro Bay area that has the potential to generate enough energy to power ~750 000 US homes.Oliver Plunkett, CEO at Ocean Infinity explained how the Morro Bay project marks an important milestone for this forward-focused young company: "When
New Hydrothermal Vent Found Near Galápagos
Scientists on a Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition have discovered a new hydrothermal vent field larger than a professional soccer field. The vent field found in the Pacific Ocean off the Western Galápagos Islands consists of five geyser-like chimneys and three hot springs. The hottest water temperature recorded was 288 degrees Celsius (550 degrees Fhrenheit).The American and Ecuadorian research team on R/V Falkor (too), led by Dr. Roxanne Beinart of the University of Rhode Island and Dr. Jill McDermott from Lehigh University, detected chemical signatures of the 9,178 square meter (98
Canada's TMC to Seek Seabed Mining License in 2024
Canada's The Metals Company (TMC) aims to apply next year for a license to start mining in the Pacific Ocean, with production expected to start as early as the fourth quarter of 2025, it said in a statement.TMC has been at the forefront of efforts to collect polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor, a nascent industry that could boost supplies of metals needed for the global energy transition, including nickel and cobalt.Environmental campaigners say seabed mining could have a catastrophic impact on marine ecosystems and should be delayed at least until the ocean environment is better understood
Deep-sea Mining: A New Gold Rush or Environmental Disaster?
In the depths of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii, trillions of potato-shaped rocks are scattered across the seabed - containing minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese vital for new green technologies in the global energy transition.In this ocean region - the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) - an abundance of the rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, is increasingly fuelling debate about the mining of metals needed to produce technology such as batteries for electric vehicles.Environmentalists say deep-sea mining could cause major damage to ecosystems that scientists know little about
February 2024
