Citizen scientists are a boon to oceanography. In a field where measurements are needed across 70% of the Earth’s surface and to depths of hundreds or thousands of meters, citizen scientists, collecting reliable high-quality data – often using RBR instruments – are adding pins to the data map. As their value is becoming more widely recognized, citizen scientists are being … Read More about Citizen scientists deploy RBR CTDs and collect valuable ocean data
Uncovering the Ocean Dynamics Off the Coast of Madeira Island, Portugal
In the lee of Madeira Island, a famous-to-oceanographers formation occurs. To better understand ‘Madeira-Mode Water’, a team of researchers from the Oceanic Observatory of Madeira (OOM) set out in July, 2018, with an RBRconcerto³ CTD mounted to a Del Mar Oceanographic (DMO) Wirewalker and observed the daily thermocline cycle at a new level of detail. From the Portuguese naval ship … Read More about Uncovering the Ocean Dynamics Off the Coast of Madeira Island, Portugal
From Antarctica to Jupiter’s Moons
Since 2014, a group of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) have been working in Antarctica to develop the underwater vehicle called the Icefin. Funded by NASA through the RISE UP (Ross Ice Shelf and Europa Underwater Probe) grant, the Icefin has been developed to study the under ice conditions on Jupiter’s moon Europa. The GIT team are … Read More about From Antarctica to Jupiter’s Moons
CROW and Collecting Wintertime Data in the Arctic Ocean
“This year we were working at minus 35 and we realized, that’s where just about everything starts to work badly. We had snowmobile issues. We had ice auger issues. We had plastics breaking. I noticed for one of the few times that the local Inuit Rangers we were working with were cold. These are the guys who take their gloves … Read More about CROW and Collecting Wintertime Data in the Arctic Ocean
The Whale Watchers
Close to the small New Zealand town of Kaikoura, the Kaikoura Canyon creates a unique opportunity for researchers to study sperm whale populations due to its proximity to the New Zealand coast. Just over a kilometre away from a mountain range with peaks over 2200 metres, the Kaikoura Canyon plunges to 1000m depth, and it connects with the Hikurangi Trough which … Read More about The Whale Watchers
It Walks the Line: a Wirewalker™ record deployment
In September of 2016, a surface wave-powered Wirewalker™ descended to the bottom of its 100-m wire, reversed direction, and smoothly ascended to the surface. Onboard, a payload of instruments took detailed measurements of physical and biological properties in Southern California’s La Jolla submarine canyon. It was the first cycle the Wirewalker would complete at the La Jolla canyon mooring – … Read More about It Walks the Line: a Wirewalker™ record deployment