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The Economic Value of Ocean Research

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By Constantine Alexander

The deep sea is teeming with life, most of which is yet undiscovered or about which little is known. And although the intrinsic value of the oceans to every living being can never be quantified, values can be ascribed to the goods and services provided by the marine environment – but only to the extent that scientists have conferred upon us the benefit of knowledge about our marine world and all that it continues to offer.

While marine scientific research and conservation may be regarded by some as disassociated from economic pragmatism and the application of sound investment principles, global data analysis has revealed some surprising conclusions to the contrary.

Marine research has allowed us to evaluate and prioritize the remarkable benefits we derive from oceanic “suppliers” of which we have long been unaware. A 2008 study supported by Conservation International and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported the total net benefit per year provided by the world’s coral reefs alone at $29.8 billion, including coral reef contribution to coastal protection valued at $9 billion and fisheries valued at $5.7 billion.

Marine research has also uncovered the value of sharks, once viewed as threats rather than resources. According to the Australian Institute for Marine Science, a single reef shark can contribute $1.9 million in its lifetime to the economy of the Republic of Palau through the country’s shark diving industry that generates $18 million annually. That represents 8% of Palau’s gross domestic product and contributes as much as 14% of the country’s business tax revenue.

Marine research has also revealed that sharks are particularly resistant to cancer, which has been attributed to the presence of squalamine, a molecule in the liver that is currently being researched to determine its application in the treatment of brain tumors. Marine research has therefore led us to the realization that the severe shark population depletion is highly detrimental to a multitude of interests, including even commercial shellfish fisheries as the population rise of traditional shark prey – skates and rays – is resulting in the loss of more commercially-raised oysters, scallops and clams.

As marine research leads to our valuation of ecosystem components, products and services, we can prioritize financial decision-making, develop sustainable resource extraction policies and determine where ecosystem services can be provided at a lower cost than man-made alternatives – including carbon storage, coastal erosion protection, food resources, water purification and flood control. These issues are becoming increasingly critical as our world population approaches 7 billion people.

The Global Oceans Solution

The procurement of such indispensable marine research data has long been hampered by the disproportionately high cost and frequent unavailability of highly fuel consumptive marine research vessels that are burdened with excess capacity and equipment. This problem has reduced the number, scope, productivity, geographical reach and frequency of marine research projects, rendering many to be cost prohibitive.

The Global Oceans concept of streamlining a research project’s needs to include only the necessary project equipment on a vessel specially selected for its spatial capacity and suitability will reduce mission costs and increase the availability of affordable vessels for project deployment around the world.

Global Ocean’s business framework of providing much needed support for science teams with cost efficient vessel and container management, the fulfillment of equipment needs and emergency support in international port locations will together greatly facilitate the funding and deployment of more marine research missions that can concentrate on international scientific explorations while leaving the logistics to experienced professionals with a network of international contacts to supply necessary assistance, especially in the event of contingencies which tend to arise as a rule rather than as an exception.

To the extent that such knowledge can be obtained in a reliable, efficient and cost-effective manner, including through the Global Oceans business framework, the greater our rewards will be as we recapture marine research investment costs through the development of new pharmaceuticals, medical treatments and the sustainable extraction of natural resources, along with the benefits we derive from our use of natural coastal protection, water filtration, nutrient recycling, and sustainable food sources from the oceans’ natural bounty.

Constantine Alexander is currently working for the establishment of a management plan for the Andros Island EU Special Protection Area (SPA) and a Northern Cycladic marine protected area. Mr. Alexander is a former Managing Director for H.J. Meyers investment banks in California, USA; a consultant to the Commission of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium; and project coordinator of the EU LIFE-Nature Project on Tilos, Greece. He has spoken about marine environmental issues at conferences organized by the European Commission, UN Environmental Program, Mugla University in Turkey, Washington State University and other international organizations. In 2007, he was appointed as an Ambassador of the EU Natura 2000 Networking Program for exemplary environmental management of an EU Special Protection Area (SPA). 

 


New Global Oceans Brochure

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Global Oceans Brochure
A short brochure developed for the World Oceans Summit in Singapore this week emphasizes the importance of in-depth biological assessments to better understand baseline biodiversity; ecosystem structure; food webs; marine microbial communities, and other critical areas of study – especially in remote open ocean and coastal areas and in Polar Regions – and that research in these areas requires an extensive and robust in-field presence. The difficulty of accessing and scheduling appropriate oceanographic research vessels on a global scale can be alleviated in part by the Global Oceans operating model which enables rapid and flexible vessel availability, together with state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment. Download a PDF of the brochure here.

Global Oceans attends The Economist’s World Oceans Summit in Singapore

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The World Oceans Summit in Singapore this week is being attended by Jeanne L. Pagnan representing Global Oceans. Ms. Pagnan is currently Global Oceans’ Advisor for Polar Regions Operations and is developing a long-range Arctic regions operating plan for Global Oceans. The Summit is hosting workshops on a number of important topics including threats to biodiversity, potential solutions to industrial-scale overfishing, the expanding resource potential of the Arctic, and options for greater global cooperation. More information about the Summit is at:

http://www.economistconferences.asia/event/world-oceans-summit

Global Oceans Participates in World Bank’s Global Partnership for Oceans

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On April 19, Global Oceans participated with sixty organizations in the first meeting of the Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO) hosted by the World Bank Group in Washington, DC. The intensive one-day meeting was designed to gather input from a broad range of government agencies, scientific organizations, NGOs and business representatives from the fisheries and seafood industries. The collective input will lead to a final memorandum to be announced at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janiero in June, 2012.

The working framework for the GPO points out that ocean ecosystem services are contributing far less to global economic growth than they could be, primarily as a result of human actions on natural systems. Overfishing, pollution and habitat loss are contributing to a change in the health and productivity of the living ocean at a rate and scale not seen since the rise of modern civilization. Climate change is also affecting the ocean in ways we are only beginning to understand – all of which have contributed to a massive loss to the global economy.

The World Bank has proposed raising a 10-year fund of $1.5 billion to support a valuation analysis of enhanced ocean ecosystem services to better inform governance decisions; to invest in governance reforms such as rights-based fisheries management; and to fund global knowledge and advocacy for the living oceans.

Among the recommendations made by Global Oceans to the GPO were that criteria for identifying priorities should include areas of immediate threat of degradation or destruction; to utilize scientific data in developing economic valuation models and proposed governance policies; to use the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) model for defining marine ecosystems; and for the GPO to promote the acceleration of establishing new MPAs and marine reserves globally.

Global Oceans looks forward to a continuing role in the GPO as a partner and to contributing to the scientific data needed through its science expeditions that will ultimately inform sustainable management policies worldwide.

For more information about the Global Partnership for Oceans visit: www.globalpartnershipforoceans.org/

Committed To The Arctic

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The Arctic marine environment is heating up as a result of climate change.  The data shows that between 1979 and 2009, the ice cover in the Arctic has been diminishing at a rate of about 11% every 10 years. The central ice cap is now forecast to be ice-free during summer months sometime within the next 30 years.

As a result, the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route are now partially or fully open for extensive periods and shipping activity is expected to increase dramatically. Oil, gas and mining exploration and development, cruise tourism and fisheries are expanding and will continue to do so. These activities bring economic benefits, but there is legitimate concern and uncertainty about how the Arctic marine ecosystem, and its biodiversity in particular, will respond to these changes in use patterns. Ultimately changes in the distribution and concentration of sea ice will impact the abundance of fish, marine mammal and sea bird populations.

Scientists and politicians alike admit that there are significant gaps in our knowledge of the Arctic marine ecosystem and that far more research is needed to understand the structure, dynamics and biological diversity of this region. It is important to do this research now to generate baseline ecosystem data that can benchmark future potential changes and inform management policy.

The ability to conduct research in the Arctic, however, is difficult and expensive. Regionally available infrastructure such as research ships and logistical support is limited and funding for Arctic marine research has come under no less pressure than other areas of ocean science.

As an operational model for optimizing existing commercial resources and partnerships to enable more marine research, Global Oceans is committed to building a specialized capability for supporting at-sea research in the Arctic. By leveraging regional and global relationships within the private sector, in collaboration with the academic community and the government programs that support them, Global Oceans intends to create new options for getting ocean scientists out to sea in the Arctic.

Without the physical ability to conduct research where it is needed, funding for targeted research is very difficult and likely to not happen at all, while existing funding will just go where it can be deployed.

However, by working closely with our commercial partners currently active in the Arctic and assembling and operating new science infrastructure options that are flexible, cost effective (never inexpensive in the Arctic) and geographically focused, Global Oceans intends to open the way for more research funding to fuel the work that is truly needed.

Global Oceans Presents to US National Academy of Sciences

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Global Oceans CEO Jim Costopulos gave a presentation at the 75th meeting of the Ocean Studies Board at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC on March 21, 2012 entitled Global Oceans: A Flexible Platform Model for Research at Sea. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Susan Roberts, Director of the OSB and was attended by OSB board members from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, MIT, Cornell University, MBARI, Oregon State University and other institutions.

The presentation focused on the role that Global Oceans can play in expanding resources for open ocean research worldwide through the use of time-chartered platform supply vessels, containerized laboratories and expedition logistics management. Chartering commercial vessels for scientific work is not a new idea, however by working closely with its commercial partners and standardizing this process, Global Oceans can provide a well-defined, cost-effective resource that can be integrated into planning for long-term projects and future research initiatives.

Advantages of the Global Oceans operating model presented to the Board included: extending access to remote and understudied regions where dedicated research vessels and operational support are not available; creating a fully functional “rapid response” capability for studying temporal phenomena such as undersea volcanic eruptions and oil spills; deployment and maintenance of remote sensor arrays and buoys within existing programs; and helping to maintain an infrastructure and operational capacity for ocean research into the future in the face of predicted decreases in the availability of dedicated  research ships within the US academic fleet – without the need for as much new capital spending and operational expense going forward.

The role of Global Oceans as a nonprofit organization in facilitating new corporate sponsorships and private funding of research expeditions and science assets such as ROVs and submersibles was also presented.

Global Oceans and IOC/UNESCO Co-Host Panel at UN Conference

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Global Oceans and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) at UNESCO in Paris, France will be co-hosting a workshop/panel entitled: Our Common Agenda: Public/Private Support for Ocean Science to be held at the UN Rio+20 Conference for Sustainable Development in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, June 18, 2012.

 

Jim Costopulos, CEO of Global Oceans and Dr. Wendy Watson-Wright, Assistant Director General and Executive Secretary, UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, will give the host presentations, with panel participants including from GE and the World Ocean Council. An excerpt from the introduction to the workshop states:

 

We are now in an age where growing human consumption of natural resources exceeds the natural ability of Earth systems to renew and replenish. This is especially true in our oceans.

The changing relationship with our oceans that we need must ultimately be reflected in the governmental policies that nations establish – the intergovernmental consensus agreed to and enforced by the world nations, civil society and private business.  However, in our own new age of austerity and reduced financial resources, the global government sector at all levels now struggles with supporting and extending scientific research, and no less so for ocean observations and science. And yet, this is a time when the very difficult task of moderating our impact on the ocean and its ecosystems is most critically dependent on a scientific understanding of its current state and how change is occurring.

This workshop will explore some ideas and examples of where global companies and supporting NGO’s are making a difference in ocean science today, and where we can do more to support research that can inform policy leading to sustainable ocean management and governance.

 

This event is part of a series being held at Rio+20 focusing on ocean sustainability, and draws from the strategies and objectives described in an inter-UN agency advisory paper prepared for Rio+20 entitled: A Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability.

 

A copy of the report is available in PDF on the UNESCO website at http://bit.ly/u1nqT3.

 

 

The Arctic’s Uncharted Territory

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By Jeanne Pagnan

January 9, 2013

The recent plight of Shell’s Arctic drilling rig, the Kulluk, should come as no surprise. It was caught in a massive storm while being towed by the Aiviq from the Chukchi Sea to Seattle. [i] It became loose from the Aiviq and on New Year’s Eve, ran aground at Sitkalidak Island, an environmentally sensitive site along Alaska’s coast. It now sits in Killuda Bay, thanks to the efforts of over 700 people and a dozen ships and Coast Guard facilities. As Heiman of the Pew Environment Group is quoted as saying, “the accident would have been even more serious off Alaska’s north coast, where conditions are more severe and Coast Guard facilities and equipment are further away”.[ii]

Scientists have been reporting that for decades now, the Arctic ice cover has been shrinking (now down to less than 3.5 million km2 in the summer of 2012), the remaining ice has been thinning, and the water itself has been warming. This has led to great swaths of open water for longer periods of time and to increased wave activity. To compound things, weather patterns have been shifting rapidly and cyclonic activity over the Arctic Ocean is intensifying.[iii] As NSIDC Director Mark Serreze puts it, thinning over the last several decades has made the ice more vulnerable to intense storms, compared to earlier decades when the Arctic Ocean was dominated by thick, multiyear ice. “We are now in uncharted territory. While we’ve long known that as the planet warms up, changes would be seen first and be most pronounced in the Arctic, few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur.”

The fate of the Kulluk is a stark example of how these rapid changes and intensified storm activity can affect Arctic offshore oil and gas infrastructure. What we are less certain of is how they are affecting the Arctic marine ecosystem as a whole. This raises a number of unanswered or only partially answered questions. For example, how are fish populations and migratory species responding? Are our bio-indicators and marine tracking systems sufficiently comprehensive, up-to-date and doing the job? Do we have sufficient research infrastructure and capability to mount needed research programs? Do we have adequate predictive models? We need the answers not only to satisfy scientific curiosity but to provide data and timely advice to governments and industry as they expand into Arctic waters.

As research and infrastructure needs continue to increase, Global Oceans plans to contribute by helping to align commercial maritime resources in the Arctic including ships, labs, ROVs, logistics, instrumentation and operational support for use by the ocean science community. This would complement and extend existing dedicated resources and better enable scientists to gather data and establish the baselines and models that are so critically needed.

[i] J.A. Dlouhy, Houston Chronicle, 07/01/2013.
[ii] M. Heiman quoted by E. Crooks in FT, 07/01/2013.
[iii] National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
 

Jeanne Pagnan is a principal in Twin Dolphins Consulting, Inc., Ottawa, Canada and an adviser to Global Oceans. She has provided consulting services for the oil and gas industry, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), UNEP, WWF, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Parks Canada and the Arctic Council. Jeanne has also served as an International Program Officer for Environment Canada and in that role negotiated bilateral agreements with Russia, France, Mexico, the US and others, and provided oversight and input into the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, NAFTA and designed IPY projects. She is a member of the IUCN High Seas Task Force and the World Commission on Protected Areas, and has authored a number of publications focusing on Polar Regions, including Arctic Marine Challenges and Opportunities for the Private Sector 2010. Jeanne’s undergraduate studies in Biology were at the University of Victoria, with post-graduate studies at the University of Ottawa.


Global Oceans Joins Autonomous Undersea Vehicle Applications Center (AUVAC)

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Global Oceans and AUVAC will develop collaborative approaches to bringing AUV technology suppliers and the ocean science community together for expanded, cost-effective AUV deployment for scientific applications throughout the world’s oceans.

Global Oceans (Chicago, IL) and the Autonomous Undersea Vehicle Applications Center (Lee, NH) have agreed to work together to integrate the AUVAC’s broad-based industry database and consulting expertise with Global Oceans’ model of aligning and operating oceanographic research platforms from commercial maritime resources that can host AUV operations at sea, with the objective of cost-effectively expanding opportunities for using AUVs in ocean science.

AUV technology is becoming increasingly important for ocean measurements, mapping and research and the diversity of their capabilities and applications from leading suppliers is rapidly progressing. The ability of the Global Oceans model to support AUV operations, coupled with hosted international and multidisciplinary science teams on a shared, “open access” basis, can make these resources more accessible, cost-effective and more frequently utilized for scientific research.

Jim Costopulos, CEO of Global Oceans stated: “The AUVAC’s role as an informational hub for the AUV development community is a great aggregated resource for AUV technologies and vehicles that are currently available. Global Oceans will be working with AUVAC to usefully integrate this industry database with our online expedition and research planning tools to provide scientists with a greater range of AUV options on a user-defined basis, and which Global Oceans can support operationally in the field.”

Dick Blidberg, AUVAC’s Director stated: “We believe the AUV development community and AUVAC’s growing database of technical AUV information can be productively leveraged by aligning our resources with the user-driven planning and flexible deployment model that Global Oceans has developed. By exploring new ways to collaborate, we believe our joint efforts will enable greater in-field utilization of AUVs by ocean scientists and we look forward to helping to build these strategic links and informational connections through the tools and resources Global Oceans is able to offer.”

Global Oceans will also be participating in and submitting a white paper to the AUVAC’s 18th Annual Symposium on Unmanned Untethered Submersible Technology in August, 2013 (http://uust.org/). The presentation will focus on the value of expanding the ocean research infrastructure footprint globally, together with collaborative and shared use among international science teams of historically expensive “big science” assets such as AUVs – and how Global Oceans is changing the traditional paradigm.

About Global Oceans
Global Oceans is a US-based nonprofit organization that has established an optimized chartered ship model for oceanographic research applications which incorporates the short-term utilization of globally dispersed platform supply ships, modular laboratories, scientific equipment, supporting infrastructure and 24/7 logistics support in 265 worldwide ports. Partnerships with commercial fleet owners and equipment and service providers serving the offshore oil industry provide a reliable network of existing resources which is highly adaptable to each scientific mission and is scalable globally.

For more information about Global Oceans, please visit: www.global-oceans.org. Contact: Jim Costopulos, CEO; 847-334-5028.

About AUVAC
The AUVAC is a US-based nonprofit industry organization designed to advance the development, utilization and integration of AUV systems and technologies across multiple disciplines and applications worldwide. The AUVAC achieves this objective by sharing its global AUV industry database of over 350 vehicle manufacturers, technology suppliers and academic institutions; by hosting industry symposia; by providing an online resource for AUV-related publications, industry news and policy issues; and by hosting educational, training and career support activities.

For more information about AUVAC, please visit: www.auvac.org. Contact: Dick Blidberg, Director; 603-674-8097.

Global Oceans and Liquid Robotics Form Strategic Alliance

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CHICAGO, IL – June 7, 2013

Global Oceans and Liquid Robotics today announced they have established a strategic agreement to jointly develop and promote new opportunities for ocean scientists to utilize Wave Glider® robotic technologies for scientific research on expeditions hosted by Global Oceans. One of the key goals of the Alliance is to accelerate researchers’ access to ocean data. Today, scheduling time on most research vessels to collect critical data has a queue of a year or more and transits to remote study areas are time consuming and expensive. The Global Oceans model of chartering globally distributed commercial vessels for oceanographic research was designed to address these limitations. The strategic alliance with Liquid Robotics will leverage and add value to this approach by coupling these new tools and services with greater access to the world’s oceans.

Liquid Robotics will make available a fleet of Wave Gliders for rapid deployment and available for use on a day-rate or longer-term lease basis through Global Oceans. As a result of the Alliance, Global Oceans can more readily mobilize these research and ocean observation tools for scientists to utilize on its expeditions.

Ship-based research and observation applications envisioned for the Wave Gliders include gathering environmental data over large areas during the course of an expedition; for generating three-dimensional mapping of acoustic signals in the field; for long term deployment within study areas for later retrieval; and in communication gateway applications in support of submersible operations and other sub-surface instrumentation and vehicles.

“While the rapidly evolving suite of Wave Glider platforms and enabling technologies are inherently designed to facilitate autonomous operations at sea, Global Oceans is interested in fostering and supporting the many applications where ship-based deployments are beneficial and where project-specific use of these assets can support traditional research on future Global Oceans’ expeditions,” said Jim Costopulos, CEO of Global Oceans. “The availability of Wave Gliders as part of this agreement will provide a valuable set of assets for scientists to modify and deploy on a project basis.”

Project-related technical support, training and instrument modification (e.g. sensor installations) will be made available to researchers for these and any additional units. Technical product data will also be supported on the GO-CEPT expedition-planning platform to be launched by Global Oceans in the near future.

“The alliance with Global Oceans opens new opportunities for customers to deploy Liquid Robotics’ unmanned ocean robots to greatly expand ship-based research capabilities,” said Gary Gysin, executive vice president, Liquid Robotics. “We look forward to working with Global Oceans to help scientists get their critical data faster and with greater geographic reach.”

About Global Oceans:

Global Oceans is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has developed an optimized chartered ship model for oceanographic research applications which incorporates the short-term utilization of globally dispersed offshore service vessels, modular laboratories, analytical equipment and global logistics support. More information is at www.global-oceans.org.

About Liquid Robotics:

Liquid Robotics is an ocean data services provider and developer of the Wave Glider®, the world’s first wave powered, autonomous marine robot designed to help address the biggest challenges the world faces, including global climate change, national security, hurricane and tsunami warning, and offshore energy and resource management. For more information, visit www.liquidr.com.           

Liquid Robotics and Wave Glider are registered trademarks of Liquid Robotics, Inc., in the United States and other countries. 

Faiza Yousif Al-Yamani, Ph.D., Joins the Global Oceans Science Advisory Council

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December 15, 2014 – Global Oceans is pleased to announce that Faiza Yousif Al-Yamani, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Environment & Life Sciences Research Center at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research in Safat, Kuwait has joined the Global Oceans Science Advisory Council.

Dr. Al-Yamani’s research includes a focus on trophic relationships in marine plankton ecology; plankton biodiversity; pelagic food chain dynamics; biogeochemical processes, ecosystem restoration science and policy; oceanographic database and marine biodiversity information management; and marine protected areas. She has co-authored several taxonomic identification guides for marine planktonic organisms including copepods and protozoans, as well as marine macroalgae and macrofauna of Kuwait.

Dr. Al-Yamani will advise Global Oceans on future proposals for mobilizing research platforms and instrumentation for studies in the Persian/Arabian Gulf regions, as well as the Sea of Oman and Northwest Arabian Sea.

Her collaboration with the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment, or ROPME (www.ropme.org), a consortium of eight member states in the Persian/Arabian Gulf region, will help facilitate this collaboration. Research capacity enabled by the Global Oceans model will contribute to supporting efforts toward protecting water quality, understanding oceanographic processes, abating pollution and protecting marine ecosystems and their rich biodiversity in the region.

Dr. Al-Yamani stated:

“ROPME conducts regional cruises in the ROPME Sea Area, involving international science teams on regional and international scientific research vessels. Several new research cruises sponsored by ROPME and other regional institutions are planned that will target important multidisciplinary studies where highly equipped ocean-going research vessels will be needed, but which are not sufficiently available.

“Utilizing its innovative model, Global Oceans is in a position to fill this infrastructure gap by regionally mobilizing and operating chartered offshore service vessels adapted with modular labs, scientific equipment and expertise that can help achieve these critical research objectives. The Global Oceans team could provide needed support for a better understanding of our marine environment.”

Dr. Al-Yamani is the science representative for Kuwait to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission at UNESCO, and as an advising scientist to the planning team for the IOC’s 2nd International Indian Ocean (IIOE-2) initiative she will also assist Global Oceans with regional collaboration efforts in filling research capacity gaps to more effectively meet the goals of the IIOE-2 science plan.

Global Oceans Presents at IOGOOS/SIBER Meetings in Phuket, Thailand

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January 1, 2015 – Global Oceans recently participated in the October 2014 meeting of the Global Ocean Observing System in the Indian Ocean (IOGOOS) held in Phuket, Thailand in conjunction with the meetings of the Sustained Indian Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research Program (SIBER) and the Indian Ocean Resources Forum (IRF).

Planning for the 2nd International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2) initiative was a primary focus of the meetings, and in that context Jim Costopulos, CEO of Global Oceans delivered a presentation entitled “Mobilizing Research Platforms & Instrumentation in the Indian Ocean: An Adaptive, Collaborative Approach”.

In addition to the adaptive operational and infrastructure deployment capacity embodied in the Global Oceans model, the presentation proposed three organizational frameworks for IIOE-2 expedition development. The frameworks are designed to support iterative planning and optimized logistical efficiencies; and to strategically align research activities and collaboration to maximize scientific objectives.

Proposed expedition-originating frameworks included “time-scheduled regional expeditions” based on spatial-temporal clustering of proposed research; formation of “small institutional consortia” with operational alliances aligned with collaboration potential, regional and scientific focus and capacity building needs; and a “bottom-up process model” based on a disciplinary cross-cutting analysis of science plan activities, integrating common operational configurations and fully exploring collaborative potential.

The presentation noted that one or more of these regional framework models could persist as an organizing mechanism in the Indian Ocean basin to support a continuing expedition infrastructure capacity beyond the IIOE-2 timeframe. A continuing capacity, supported by Global Oceans’ regional- deployment vessel model, could also support a long-range research agenda extending to the Southern Ocean and Indo-Pacific regions.

Such an approach would counter a long-standing lack of manned-platform research capacity in the Indian Ocean basin and would support the research needed for a greater understanding of this increasingly critical region.

Prof. Agus Budiyono Joins the Global Oceans Science Advisory Council

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April 15, 2015 – Global Oceans is pleased to announce that Agus Budiyono, Ph.D., Foreign Professor, Department of Aerospace Information Engineering, Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea has joined the Global Oceans Science Advisory Council. Professor Budiyono earned degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and is co-author of two books on unmanned systems. His research focuses on the application of frontier technologies for unmanned vehicles, such as underwater robotics designs that integrate sensor fusion technology and biologically-inspired robotic mechanisms.

Professor Budiyono is also the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems (IJIUS), published by Emerald Group in Britain, and is an Executive Editor for UNSYSdigital International Journals, which publishes a range of journals that advance the science of robotics and unmanned systems – including the Journal of Unmanned System Technology (JUST) and International Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics (IJRM). He is also co-founder and Chief Science Officer with the Indonesian-based Bhimasena Corp., a research and development company focused on building autonomous systems for deployment on land, sea and air.

In connection with his involvement with Global Oceans, Professor Budiyono stated: “There is interest in exploring ways the Global Oceans model of rapidly and adaptively configuring and deploying at-sea operational platforms can support the development of emerging autonomous vehicle and control technologies, both aerial and underwater – by enabling robust test bed environments at sea, and subsequently in experimental and routine deployments for use in ocean science. I look forward to working with Global Oceans to help establish mutually beneficial linkages with centers of new technology development globally.”

Jim Costopulos, CEO of Global Oceans stated:  “We are honored to have Professor Agus Budiyono join the Global Oceans Science Advisory Board to advise on how best to integrate and support new robotics and other technologies on future Global Oceans expeditions. An important objective of this effort is to facilitate “fast-track” integration of new technologies in research that Global Oceans is involved in supporting operationally. By being connected with the technology development cycle early on, coupled with its model of responsive operational capacity, Global Oceans hopes to catalyze use of emerging technologies in new research in ocean science.”

Global Oceans and JCOMMOPS Form Strategic Agreement to Coordinate IIOE-2 Expedition

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JCOMMOPS_Logo

May 15, 2015 - Global Oceans and the JCOMM in-situ Observations Programme Support Centre (JCOMMOPS) in Brest, France, have established a collaborative agreement to jointly support the operational coordination of research and observation activities planned for the 2nd International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2), to be launched from 2015 to 2020.

The “Strategic Framework for the Implementation of IIOE-2” report prepared by the IIOE-2’s Interim Planning Committee/Group of Experts (IPC), to be submitted to the 28th Session of the Assembly of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) next month, calls for Global Oceans and JCOMMOPS to jointly assist the IPC and IIOE-2 secretariat in the development of an IIOE-2 Operational Coordination Strategy and Implementation Plan, and to establish an IIOE-2 Operational Coordination Working Group, in order to “…compile, keep track of and coordinate ongoing and planned research activities during the expedition focusing, in particular, on ship-based field work.”

The report states, “In order to aggregate, organize and coordinate the operational and logistical requirements of proposed IIOE-2 studies in a way that facilitates expeditions that are efficient, inclusive and collaborative…Global Oceans and JCOMMOPS have offered to integrate Global Oceans’ interactive, GIS-enabled expedition management system called GOCEPT (in development)…with the GIS-enabled system currently used by JCOMMOPS to manage its core ocean observations programs. User-defined forums and project modules within GOCEPT will host and archive map-enabled discussion forums on planned research activities, methodologies and resource needs, as an additional mechanism for enabling coordination and collaboration.”

To support these efforts, JCOMMOPS will share GIS map files and other geospatial metadata related to activities managed by JCOMMOPS, including future planned deployments and cruises, for integration with the GOCEPT GIS platform. A planned IIOE-2 web portal will link users to aggregated IIOE-2 expedition data on GOCEPT, which will also host archived expeditions and annotated cruise track maps; and a curated database of resources and research platforms such as ROVs and AUVs available within the science community and for charter from the private-sector.

Mathieu Belbeoch, JCOMMOPS Lead, stated:

“JCOMMOPS looks forward to collaborating with Global Oceans to help coordinate the operational needs of IIOE-2 research and observation activities in the Indian Ocean over the next six years. When JCOMMOPS initiates a cruise for ocean observation operations (generally deployment of autonomous instruments), there is often space for additional activities in transit legs, which JCOMMOPS is willing to make available to non-program scientists. In addition, our collaboration with Global Oceans will integrate ship time requests that fall outside of our operational mandate, for potential integration with Global Oceans’ expeditions. Conversely non-JCOMMOPS expeditions mobilized by Global Oceans may have capacity for helping with programme maintenance, deployments and retrievals.

JCOMMOPS supports the Global Oceans MARV (Modular Adaptive Research Vessel) model of adapting regionally chartered platforms to support multidisciplinary IIOE-2 science, complementary to participating institutional research vessels. This adaptive, needs-driven approach is one we hope will be proven as a cost-effective, collaborative strategy that could persist as a viable regional model for continuing study of the Indian Ocean into the future – and worldwide.”  

Jim Costopulos, Global Oceans CEO, stated:

“The collaboration between Global Oceans and JCOMMOPS to help develop and support an operational coordination framework for IIOE-2’s Science Plan will emphasize the establishment of online planning and collaboration tools; resource sharing to maximize use of available assets; and support for multi- and intra-disciplinary research. Global Oceans will link its GOCEPT GIS planning system with the JCOMMOPS system and to a planned IIOE-2 web portal. The integrated web portal will host aggregated, interactive, content-managed information about ongoing IIOE-2 research and emerging resource needs.

To help develop these resources, and to coordinate Global Oceans’ expeditions for IIOE-2, we plan to support a full-time Program Director focused on the Indian and Indo-Pacific Oceans, to be located in the region, working closely with the IIOE-2 International Program Office. Beyond IIOE-2, Global Oceans looks forward to working with JCOMMOPS to extend this collaboration to projects in other programs, and around the world.”

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About Global Oceans:

Global Oceans is a US-based 501c3 nonprofit organization that has developed the MARV (Modular Adaptive Research Vessel) model, designed to optimize and facilitate the use of private-sector vessels, instrumentation and operational support for ocean science research. MARVs are regionally-deployed time-chartered offshore service vessels, chartered for the duration of an expedition from a globally distributed pool of several thousand vessels; adapted with modular on-deck laboratories and mission-specific equipment; and coordinated with local port logistics support and online collaboration tools. A MARV is functionally equivalent to a dedicated research vessel. More information is at www.global-oceans.org.

About JCOMMOPS:

JCOMMOPS is the JCOMM in-situ Observations Programme Support Centre, established by the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) in 2001. JCOMMOPS manages observational and technology requirements, operational status, and deployment logistics (by ship and air); for five core international programs within the Global Ocean Operating System (GOOS), including the OceanSITES, Argo Floats, Data Buoy Network, Ship Observation Team (SOT), and international repeat hydrography (GO-SHIP) programs. More information is at www.jcommops.org.

 

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