Global Oceans is launching three core programs focused on: 1) understanding the structure and function of seamount ecosystems; 2) building and operating an innovative at-sea atmosphere-ocean observatory in the Arctic Ocean; and 3) a new collaborative, transdisciplinary initiative, to be announced soon, to image and analyze the biodiversity of the “invisible” deep sea realm from macro-plankton to microbes, within extreme marine environments to abyssal-pelagic depths of 6,000 meters.

The Global Seamounts Project (GSP) 

The GSP is a multidisciplinary, international project to conduct a series of research expeditions to seamounts in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. The project will comprehensively survey then to model these biodiverse marine ecosystems to generate a better understanding of ecological tipping points and optimal conservation strategies. Sustained ship operations will be enabled by Global Oceans’ MARV research ship model.

The project will be divided into two major components: a series of deep sea expeditions to 20 seamounts over 3 to 4 years, and a computational modeling effort to create a new model of complex ecosystem function for seamounts. Expedition data will be processed and hosted to populate a linked ensemble of several leading marine ecosystem and physical ocean models that will generate consensus-based outcomes for future ecosystem biodiversity, structure, productivity, resilience, and tipping points given multiple potential human impacts and climate change scenarios. This project has developed with input from field scientists and modelers and will be coordinated through one or more project nodes and/or a program secretariat. The project will utilize one of Global Oceans’ two 6,000-meter ROVs to be rebuilt as an advanced vehicle for scientific deep-sea sampling and observations.

The Atmospheric Ocean Observatory (AOO)

The AOO project has designed and will build and deploy within the Arctic Ocean an advanced suite of portable atmospheric instrument, workspace, and data systems modules, certified for deployments on ships and icebreakers chartered by Global Oceans. The AOO program will measure a range of atmospheric and ocean variables that align with the Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) – including aerosols, greenhouse gases, and ocean variables, as established by the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO)  Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programs, and by the European ACTRIS program. 

A specialized on-board data processing application and uplink facility for aggregating and transmitting multi-instrument data in real time to scientists on shore anywhere in the world has been developed with a major commercial partner for this project – to enable visibility to core instrument data and instrument status, guest instrument data, measured ocean variables, ship's position, and external remote sensing data - within an integrated, customizable data dashboard environment.

The AOO project will be deployed on a near continuous, schedule rotation basis in the Arctic over the next decade, generating data critical to understanding atmospheric, cloud, and ocean-atmosphere physics and their relationships for improved climate modeling, and for understanding rates of climate-driven change in the Arctic. Major philanthropic support is being sought for this important program.

The Innerspace Deep Sea Science Initiative

The Innerspace Initiative is a new transdisciplinary collaboration to design, build, and adapt new technologies for deep sea imaging, sampling, and genomic analysis of the “invisible” abyssal realm of planktonic and microbial marine life at the micro- and nano-scale, focusing on biological adaptations to extreme environments of high pressure, extreme temperatures, the biochemistry of cold seeps, and survival in hypoxic zones. The program 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 a dedicated science platform to host deep sea imaging systems and biosamplers. More about the Innerspace Initiative launch will be announced soon.