Global Oceans

THE GLOBAL SEAMOUNTS PROJECT (GSP) IS A MULIDISCIPLINARY, INTERNATONAL PROJECT TO CONDUCT DEEP-SEA RESEARCH EXPEDITIONS ON SEAMOUNTS IN THE ATLANTIC, PACIFIC, AND INDIANS OCEANS, TO COMPREHENSIVELY SURVEY THESE HIGHLY BIODIVERSE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS. SUSTAINED SHIP OPERATIONS WILL BE ENABLED BY GLOBAL OCEANS' MARV RESEARCH SHIP MODEL. EXPEDITION DATA WILL UNIQUELY POPULATE AN ENSEMBLE OF LEADING ECOSYSTEM MODELS TO GENERATE FUTURE PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABLITY OUTCOMES DRIVEN BY ALTERNATIVE CLIMATE AND HUMAN IMPACT SCENARIOS. THE NEW MODEL WILL ALSO INTEGRATE WITH EMERGING "DIGITAL TWINS" OF EARTH SYSTEMS, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ECOLOGICAL TIPPING POINTS AND OPTIMUM MARINE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES. THE PROJECT WILL UTILIZE GLOBAL OCEANS' 6,000-METER ROV, THE EXPLORER 6000 OEV, TO BE REBUILT AS AN ADVANCED SYSTEM FOR DEEP-SEA SAMPLING AND OBSERVATIONS. THIS PROJECT INCORPORATES EXPEDITION AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED WITHIN THE INDO-PACIFIC COLLABORATIVE PROGRAM.

THE INNERSPACE DEEP SEA SCIENCE INITIATIVE IS A NEW COLLABORATION BETWEEN GLOBAL OCEANS AND THE CENTER FOR LIFE IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS (CLEE) AT PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY TO DESIGN AND BUILD NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEEP SEA OBSERVATIONS AND SAMPLING AT THE MICRO- AND NANO-SCALE. THE PROGRAM WILL HOST NEW RESEARCH, STUDENT TRAINING, AND PUBLIC OUTREACH FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING ADAPTATIONS TO EXTREME MARINE ENVIRONMENTS IN THE ABYSSAL-PELAGIC REALM, ON HYDROTHERMAL VENTS, AND OTHER UNIQUE HABITATS. NEW TECHNOLOGIES WILL ALSO SUPPORT RESEARCH WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND NOVEL DRUG DISCOVERY. THE PROJECT WILL UTILIZE GLOBAL OCEANS' SECOND 6,000-METER ROV TO BE REBUILT AS THE INNERSPACE 6000 OEV, AN ADVANCED MODULAR ROBOTIC PLATFORM; TOGETHER WITH OUR INNERSPACE 6000 TIA, AN ADVANCED TOWED INSTRUMENT ARRAY.

THE ATMOSPHERIC OCEAN OBSERVATORY (AOO) WILL BUILD AND DEPLOY AN ADVANCED MOBILE, MULTI-MODULE, OCEAN-GOING ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM, SPECIALLY CERTIFIED FOR DEPLOYMENT ON SHIPS CHARTERED BY GLOBAL OCEANS, INCLUDING ON POLAR ICEBREAKERS. THE AOO WILL BE A GLOBAL, NONPROFIT SCIENTIFIC FACILITY TO EXPAND CAPACITY FOR MEASURING ESSENTIAL CLIMATE VARIABLES (ECVS) INCLUDING AEROSOLS, GREENHOUSE GASES, AND OCEAN DATA. THE PROJECT IS INTERNATIONALLY COLLABORATIVE AND WILL FILL IMPORTANT DATA GAPS FOR UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOR MODELING POORLY UNDERSTOOD ASIAN MONSOON SYSTEMS. MAJOR PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT IS BEING SOUGHT FOR BUILDING AND OPERATING THE FACILITY.

THREE ROBOTIC DEEP SEA VEHICLES OWNED BY GLOBAL OCEANS, RATED FOR OPERATION TO 6,000 METERS, HAVE BEEN REDESIGNED AND WILL BE REBUILT TO SUPPORT OUR TWO CORE OCEAN MISSIONS: THE GLOBAL SEAMOUNTS PROJECT, AND THE INNERSPACE DEEP SEA SCIENCE INITIATIVE. PRIVATE PHILANTHROPIC FUNDING IS BEING SOUGHT TO REBUILD THESE SYSTEMS AND NEW OPERATIONAL SUPPORT MODULES WITH ADVANCED COMPUTATION AND DATA STORAGE, EDGE COMPUTING, AND AI/MACHINE LEARNING TOOLS FOR ON-SITE DATA ANALYSIS.