The scale of human activity across our planet continues to impact the health of our ocean.  Environmental stressors stemming from climate change, overfishing, plastic and chemical pollution, and resource extraction are resulting in ocean acidification, eutrophication, and biodiversity loss. 

These impacts are complex and dynamic, and changes are occurring faster than we can measure and understand them.

To undertake meaningful action to change direction, and to inform the development of sustainable resource policies and conservation solutions, we need to accelerate our scientific understanding of the ocean at all scales and dimensions: from local to global impacts, from the atmosphere to the polar regions to the deep sea, and of rates of change over time.

But the ocean is vast, representing 71% of the Earth's surface and over 99% of its living biosphere by volume. To expand the human scientific presence in the ocean on a global scale, Global Oceans has developed the MARV model of Modular Adaptive Research Vessels:  mobilization of regionally time-chartered offshore service vessels (OSVs) configured with modular laboratories and workspace systems.

Global Oceans is launching several internationally collaborative project initiatives that are uniquely enabled by the utilization of MARVs, within four principal Program Areas: Deep Sea Research, Atmospheric Science, and Regional Ocean Science Consortia. These projects are described throughout our website.