Schmidt Ocean Institute

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Schmidt Ocean Institute
Founded2009
Founder
Location
Website Schmidt Ocean Institute home page

Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit operating foundation established in March 2009 by Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt. [1] [2] The Institute's goal is to advance innovative oceanographic research and discovery through technological advancement, collaborative research, outreach and education, and open sharing of information. [3] SOI supports oceanographic research by providing collaborators with free ship time aboard their research vessel Falkor (too) and expert technical shipboard support. Collaborating researchers and institutions utilizing Falkor commit to openly share and communicate the outcomes of their research, including raw observations and data. Research proposals are reviewed through a peer-reviewed process and assessed based on their potential for technological innovation, oceanographic research, and overall impact. Since its inception in 2009, SOI has supported over 60 expeditions all around the globe.

Contents

Its footages are available under a CC-NC license. [4]

Research vessels

The Schmidt Ocean Institute has operated two research vessels, R/V Lone Ranger and R/V Falkor. [5] [6] The Lone Ranger, a 255-foot former ocean tug, was donated to the Institute by Peter B. Lewis in 2009 and was operated by the Institute to support research in Bermuda and the Bahamas. [5]

In 2012 the Schmidt Ocean Institute completed the retrofit of a former German Fisheries protection vessel into a state-of-the-art oceanographic research vessel. [7] [8] The newly retrofitted vessel was renamed R/V Falkor after the luckdragon from The Neverending Story . R/V Falkor became fully operational for scientific use in 2013 following a year of sea trials. [9] Since then, Falkor has hosted numerous international science teams and institutes, successfully supporting oceanographic research. [10] In 2015, R/V Falkor became the first oceanographic research vessel with a high-performance computing system expanding data storage and processing capabilities. [11]

Expeditions and notable discoveries

Schmidt Ocean Institute research is focused on oceanographic exploration, seafloor mapping, and marine technology innovation. [12] Researchers aboard R/V Falkor have discovered many new species, [13] [14] [15] as well as new seafloor features and environments utilizing the ships onboard mapping technologies and ROV SuBastian. [16]

Notable accomplishments include the discovery of the world’s deepest known living fish, among several new species in the Mariana Trench. [17] In March 2020, ROV SuBastian recorded footage of a Siphonophore off the coast of Australia that is likely the longest animal on Earth. [18]

R/V Falkor’s advanced multibeam mapping capabilities enabled the discovery of 14 new underwater features and mapped over one million square kilometers of the seafloor. [19]

Important discoveries have been made in hydrothermal vent and cold seep environments. During the Microbial Mysteries expedition, researchers discovered large venting mineral towers that reach up to 23 meters in height featuring volcanic flanges that create the illusion of looking at a mirror when observing the superheated hydrothermal fluids beneath them. [15] Expeditions on R/V Falkor have more than doubled the number of known hydrothermal vent sites in the Mariana Back-arc region and discovered a recently-erupted underwater lava field. [20] In 2016, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with scientific instruments completed the first-ever successful mission launched from a ship without the help of a launching system. [21]

Schmidt Ocean Institute testified before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Environment Subcommittee in 2019 to discuss ocean exploration including how it benefits society and is important to assess changes in ocean conditions. [22]

In the year 2020 the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s seafloor mapping technology (SV Falkor ) discovered the largest peaked coral reef at the Great Barrier Reef reaching a height of more than 1,640 feet tall, the first of its kind discovered in more than 120 years. [23]

RV Falkor Schmidt Ocean Institute's Research Vessel Falkor Studies Indonesian Seabed Floor (19082174836).jpg
RV Falkor

Outreach

Schmidt Ocean Institute engages in a number of outreach and education activities in order to promote the research conducted aboard the ship. Some of Schmidt Ocean Institute's outreach activities include public ship tours, ship-to-shore connections, art exhibits, weekly blog posts, and social media updates. In addition, all ROV dives are live-streamed for public viewing. [24]

Artist-at-Sea and Student Opportunities

SOI provides opportunities for artists and student oceanographers to take part in research expeditions through Student Opportunities and Artist-at-Sea programs. [25] [26] Artist-at-Sea participants collaborate with the science team to create pieces inspired by oceanographic research. Pieces from the Artist-at-Sea program have been displayed around the world in a traveling exhibit. [27] The Student Opportunities program provides undergraduate and graduate students a chance to take part in seagoing scientific research.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Challenger Deep</span> Deepest-known point of Earths seabed

The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, in the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia. According to the GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names the depression's depth is 10,920 ± 10 m (35,827 ± 33 ft) at 11°22.4′N142°35.5′E, although its exact geodetic location remains inconclusive and its depth has been measured at 10,902–10,929 m (35,768–35,856 ft) by deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles, benthic landers, and sonar bathymetry. The differences in depth estimates and their geodetic positions are scientifically explainable by the difficulty of researching such deep locations.

DSV <i>Alvin</i> Crewed deep-ocean research submersible

Alvin (DSV-2) is a crewed deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The original vehicle was built by General Mills' Electronics Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Named to honor the prime mover and creative inspiration for the vehicle, Allyn Vine, Alvin was commissioned on June 5, 1964. The submersible is launched from the deep submergence support vessel RV Atlantis (AGOR-25), which is also owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by WHOI. The submersible has made more than 5,200 dives, carrying two scientists and a pilot, observing the lifeforms that must cope with super-pressures and move about in total darkness, as well as exploring the wreck of Titanic. Research conducted by Alvin has been featured in nearly 2,000 scientific papers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Ballard</span> Retired US Navy officer and professor of oceanography

Robert Duane Ballard is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of shipwrecks. He is best known for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989, and the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in 1998. He discovered the wreck of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 in 2002 and visited Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, who saved its crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gakkel Ridge</span> Mid-oceanic ridge under the Arctic Ocean between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate

The Gakkel Ridge is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is located in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean, between Greenland and Siberia. Geologically, it connects the northern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with the Laptev Sea Rift.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrothermal vent</span> Fissure in a planets surface from which heated water emits

Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspots. Hydrothermal deposits are rocks and mineral ore deposits formed by the action of hydrothermal vents.

The bathypelagic zone or bathyal zone is the part of the open ocean that extends from a depth of 1,000 to 4,000 m below the ocean surface. It lies between the mesopelagic above and the abyssopelagic below. The bathypelagic is also known as the midnight zone because of the lack of sunlight; this feature does not allow for photosynthesis-driven primary production, preventing growth of phytoplankton or aquatic plants. Although larger by volume than the photic zone, human knowledge of the bathypelagic zone remains limited by ability to explore the deep ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabed</span> The bottom of the ocean

The seabed is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost City Hydrothermal Field</span> Hydrothermal field in the mid-Atlantic Ocean

The Lost City Hydrothermal Field, often referred to simply as Lost City, is an area of marine alkaline hydrothermal vents located on the Atlantis Massif at the intersection between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Atlantis Transform Fault, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a long-lived site of active and inactive ultramafic-hosted serpentinization, abiotically producing many simple molecules such as methane and hydrogen which are fundamental to microbial life. As such it has generated scientific interest as a prime location for investigating the origin of life on Earth and other planets similar to it.

The Acoustically Navigated Geological Underwater Survey (ANGUS) was a deep-towed still-camera sled operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) in the early 1970s. It was the first unmanned research vehicle made by WHOI. ANGUS was encased in a large 12-foot (3.7 m) steel frame designed to explore rugged volcanic terrain and able to withstand high impact collisions. It was fitted with three 35 mm color cameras with 400 feet (120 m) of film. Together, its three cameras were able to photograph a strip of the sea floor with a width up to 200 feet (61 m). Each camera was equipped with strobe lights allowing them to photograph the ocean floor from 35 to 50 feet above. On the bottom of the body was a downward-facing sonar system to monitor the sled's height above the ocean floor. It was capable of working in depths up to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and could therefore reach roughly 98% of the sea floor. ANGUS could remain in the deep ocean for work sessions of 12 to 14 hours at a time, taking up to 16,000 photographs in one session. ANGUS was often used to scout locations of interest to later be explored and sampled by other vehicles such as Argo or Alvin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute</span> American oceanographic research institute

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard, and is primarily funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Christopher Scholin serves as the institute's president and chief executive officer, managing a work force of approximately 220 scientists, engineers, and operations and administrative staff.

NOAAS <i>Okeanos Explorer</i> Exploratory vessel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAAS Okeanos Explorer is a converted United States Navy ship, now an exploratory vessel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), officially launched in 2010. Starting in 2010, NOAA entered into a five-year partnership with the San Francisco Exploratorium. The focus is on gathering scientific information about oceans for the public as well as for scientific uses. As much as 95% of the ocean remains unexplored, NOAA officials said. The ship is equipped with cameras and will provide real-time viewing of the ocean floor for scientists and for the public.

EV <i>Nautilus</i> Research vessel

EVNautilus is a 68-meter (223 ft) research vessel owned by the Ocean Exploration Trust under the direction of Robert Ballard, the researcher known for finding the wreck of the Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck. The vessel's home port is at the AltaSea facility in San Pedro in the Port of Los Angeles, California. Nautilus is equipped with a team of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), Hercules, Argus, Little Hercules, and Atalanta, a multibeam mapping system, and mapping tools Diana and Echo, allowing it to conduct deep sea exploration of the ocean to a depth of 4,000 meters (13,000 ft).

RV <i>Falkor</i>

RV Falkor is an oceanographic research vessel operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Ship time aboard the vessel is made freely available to researchers once they have undergone an application, peer review process, and their proposal has been accepted. One condition for using the Falkor is that research findings and data from all expeditions are made publicly available. Researchers aboard Falkor receive expert shipboard support, use of scientific equipment, as well as robotic and computational resources. RV Falkor is adaptable and can facilitate new technologies and external resources as required for each science expedition. Falkor’s current status and a virtual ship tour are publicly available on the Schmidt Ocean Institute website. The Schmidt Ocean Institute announced the change of ownership of the vessel on 14. March 2022. It was renamed to Gaia Blu and is used by the italian National Research Council. It concluded its first science expedition at the 20. October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beebe Hydrothermal Vent Field</span>

The Beebe Hydrothermal Vent Field is located just south of Grand Cayman in the Caribbean, on the north side of the Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre in the Cayman Trough. Approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Beebe is the Von Damm Vent Field.

Kathleen (Kathy) Crane is an American marine geologist, best known for her contributions to the discovery of hydrothermal vents on the Galápagos Rift along the East Pacific Rise in the mid-1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diva Amon</span> Marine biologist

Diva Joan Amon is a marine biologist from Trinidad. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the Benioff Ocean Initiative at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a 2022 Pew Marine Fellow. Previously, she was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Research Fellow at the Natural History Museum, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RISE project</span> 1979 international marine research project

The RISE Project (Rivera Submersible Experiments) was a 1979 international marine research project which mapped and investigated seafloor spreading in the Pacific Ocean, at the crest of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 21° north latitude. Using a deep sea submersible (ALVIN) to search for hydrothermal activity at depths around 2600 meters, the project discovered a series of vents emitting dark mineral particles at extremely high temperatures which gave rise to the popular name, "black smokers". Biologic communities found at 21° N vents, based on chemosynthesis and similar to those found at the Galapagos spreading center, established that these communities are not unique. Discovery of a deep-sea ecosystem not based on sunlight spurred theories of the origin of life on Earth.

Deborah Sue Kelley is a marine geologist who studies hydrothermal vents, active submarine volcanoes, and life in these regions of the deep ocean.

The Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) SuBastian is owned and operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute and is used for scientific exploration of the deep sea. ROV SuBastian is operated from the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel RV Falkor and can reach depths up to 4,500m. The tethered robot has an array of scientific capability which includes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daikoku Seamount</span> Submarine volcano in the Mariana Islands

Daikoku Seamount is a submarine volcano located in the Northern Mariana Islands, in the western Pacific Ocean. It is part of a chain of volcanoes and seamounts that includes the more known Ahyi Seamount and NW Rota-1 seamounts and is situated about 690 km (429 mi) north of the island of Saipan. Daikoku Seamount rises over 2,500 m (8,202 ft) meters from the seafloor, with its summit about 323 m (1,060 ft) below sea level. Since its discovery, the seamount has been studied by several expeditions, including expeditions made by NOAA, using various scientific tools, such as sonar mapping and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Daikoku Seamount is known for its active hydrothermal vent system, which hosts diverse communities of deep-sea organisms, including tube worms, crabs, and snails. The seamount is also one of the only volcanoes along with Nikkō Seamount to have had a partially molten sulfur lake, which is usually a feature seen on Io than on Earth.

References

  1. ↑ "The Schmidt Family Foundation and Subsidiaries Consolidated Financial Statements Years Ended December 31, 2010 and 2009" (PDF). Schmidt Family Foundation website. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  2. ↑ TheoDP (15 Feb 2011). "LIFE AFTER GOOGLE: Eric Schmidt's $60 Million Ocean Adventure". Businessinsider.com. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Strategic Focus Areas". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  4. ↑ "Footage Requests and Consent". Schmidt Ocean Institute.
  5. 1 2 "Previous Ship, Lone Ranger". Schmidt Ocean Institute website. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Alexandra Witze (27 March 2013). "Private research ship makes waves". Nature. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "R/V Falkor Refit". Schmidt Ocean Institute website. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Germany: Peters Schiffbau Shipyard Completes RV FALKOR's Refit Project". Shipbuildingtribune.com. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Push the boat out". Nature. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Expeditions". Schmidt Ocean Institute website.
  11. ↑ "Technology Development". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  12. ↑ "Strategic Focus Areas". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  13. ↑ "Australian Scientists Discover New Corals on Most Comprehensive Deep-Sea Study of Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks". Schmidt Ocean Institute. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  14. ↑ "New Species Discovered During Exploration of Abyssal Deep-Sea Canyons off Ningaloo - Schmidt Ocean Institute". Schmidt Ocean Institute. 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  15. 1 2 "Otherworldly Mirror Pools, New Lifeforms, and Mesmerizing Landscapes Discovered on Ocean Floor". Schmidt Ocean Institute. 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  16. ↑ "New Undersea Maps Lead to Hydrothermal Vent and Species Discoveries". Schmidt Ocean Institute. 2018-12-13. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  17. ↑ "There's a deeper fish in the sea". UW News. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  18. ↑ "World's longest animal discovered in Australian waters". BBC Science Focus Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  19. ↑ "Schmidt Ocean Institute Maps One Million Square Kilometers of Seafloor and Joins Monumental Mapping Initiative". Schmidt Ocean Institute. 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  20. ↑ "Deepest volcanic eruption lies in a field of glass at the lip of the Mariana Trench". ZME Science. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  21. ↑ Cagle, Kate (2018-07-23). "Flying overhead, Drone helps scientists assess health under the sea". Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  22. ↑ "PUBLIC TESTIMONY - UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT SUBCOMMITTEE, DISCUSSING OCEAN EXPLORATION". Schmidt Ocean Institute. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  23. ↑ "10 awesome science discoveries you may have missed in 2020". Science. 2020-12-03. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  24. ↑ "Education". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  25. ↑ "Student Opportunities". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  26. ↑ "Artist-at-Sea Program". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  27. ↑ "Traveling Artist-at-Sea Exhibit". Schmidt Ocean Institute. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
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