In the News
Citizen scientists are unearthing climate data from old ships' logs
In the 1870s, the U.S.S. Jeannette set sail on a voyage to the North Pole. When the vessel reached the Arctic, it got stuck in ice floes. For two years, the ship, with its crew, drifted in frigid waters. Kevin Wood is quoted.
The captainless research vessel
The regular patrons of the White Shark Café have had some company lately. In March, two autonomous robots, called Saildrones, departed from California en route to the “Café,” a mysterious stretch of water in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where the sharks are known to congregate. Jessica Cross is quoted.
Adaptable and driven by renewable energy, saildrones voyage into remote waters
In March 2009, engineer Richard Jenkins broke the world land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle by sailing a bright green sailboat on wheels across a dried lakebed in Nevada at 126 miles per hour. Now, after many engineering developments and an orange paint job, Jenkins’ design autonomously sails the sea gathering ecologic, oceanic, and atmospheric data in the employ of NOAA.
This Armada of Saildrones Could Conquer the Ocean
Engineer and adventurer Richard Jenkins has made oceangoing robots that could revolutionize fishing, drilling, and environmental science. His aim: a thousand of them. Chris Meinig is quoted.
Alien Waters: Neighboring Seas Are Flowing into a Warming Arctic Ocean
The “Atlantification” and “Pacification” of the Arctic has begun. As warmer waters stream into an increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean, new species — from phytoplankton to whales — have the potential to upend this sensitive polar environment. Phyllis Stabeno and Sue Moore (NOAA Fisheries OST) are quoted.