Developing Submergence Science for the Next Decade (DESCEND–2016)
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Developing Submergence Science for the Next Decade (DESCEND–2016) Workshop Proceedings January 14-15, 2016 ii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................ iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 1 BENTHIC ECOSYSTEMS ........................................................................................................... 11 COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS .......................................................................................................... 24 PELAGIC ECOSYSTEMS ........................................................................................................... 28 POLAR SYSTEMS .................................................................................................................... 31 BIOGEOCHEMISTRY ............................................................................................................... 41 ECOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY ................................................................................... 48 GEOLOGY .............................................................................................................................. 53 PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 59 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................... 65 Appendix I: Remotely Operated Vehicles ............................................................................... 66 Appendix II: Human Occupied Vehicles (HOVs) ...................................................................... 74 Appendix III: Autonomous Underwater Vehicles ................................................................... 82 Appendix IV: Gliders and Other LoW-Power Vehicles ............................................................. 85 Appendix V: Ocean Observatories ......................................................................................... 89 APPENDIX VI: Summary of recommended investments and tradeoffs. ................................ 101 CLOSING REMARKS .............................................................................................................. 103 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to the members of the DESCEND–2016 steering committee, which included the members of the 2016 Deep Submergence Science Committee (Peter Girguis, Amanda Demopoulos, David Emerson, Vicki Ferrini, Nick Hayman, Laura Lapham, George Luther, and John Wiltshire), Adam Soule, Dan Fornari, and Annette DeSilva. Special thanks to Dan Fornari, Nick Hayman, and Dave Emerson for their tireless efforts and many contributions to this report. Extra special thanks to Stephanie Hillsgrove for the tremendous effort she put into organizing the meeting at the Harvard University Law School and making the travel arrangements for all the participants. Thanks to the group theme leaders Karen Bemis, Daniela D’Orio, David Emerson, Vicki Ferrini, Wally Fulweiler, Chris German, Colleen Hansel, George Luther, Larry Madin, Mike Perfit, Ken Rubin, Tim Shank, Masako Tominaga, Brandi Toner, Cindy Van Dover, Scott Wankel, and Marsh Youngbluth for leading the breakout groups and providing the written summaries from their breakout sessions. Thanks also to the members of the Girguis laboratory, including Jenny Delaney, Lauren Ballou, Jeff Marlow, Dan Hoer, Neha Sarode, Brandon Emalls, Aude Picard, and Jessie Panzarino for their help in coordinating the meeting. We deeply appreciate the efforts of John Wiltshire, Carl Kaiser, William “Bruce” Strickrott, Oscar Schofield, and Stephanie Sharuga, who led the effort to write the brief technology summaries presented herein. Thanks also to the Center for Environmental Visualization at the University of Washington, who were gracious enough to allow us use of their art for this report. The cover photos are copyright Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Finally, thanks to the participants of the DESCEND-2016 meeting. The contents herein are, at best, a modest representation of their invaluable contributions to the ocean sciences. They are the drivers of ocean science, and the inspiration for the ideas presented here. This report is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 1551838. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY “How inappropriate it is to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.” - Arthur C. Clarke Over the last fifty years, our awareness of the role that the ocean plays in the Earth system has grown remarkably. During the 1960s, as the first commercial satellites were launched, plate tectonics progressed from being a dubious idea to a well-tested paradigm that explains hundreds of millions of years of seafloor and continental processes with important implications for deep-seated phenomena within Earth’s mantle. Coincident with the first personal computers being introduced in the late 1970s, marine scientists discovered hydrothermal vents and their astonishing biological communities, both of which re-shaped our notions of where life can flourish here on Earth and on other planets. Throughout the 1980s, as biotechnologies enabled DNA fingerprinting and the Human Genome Project, marine microbiologists discovered a tiny microbe that is the most abundant photosynthetic (oxygen-producing) organism on the planet. The 1990s saw advances in our understanding of the ocean carbon cycle, and signs of how our ocean might be responding to a changing world. The past twenty years have been a watershed for understanding geological, geochemical and biological phenomena and their linkages. Through this increased knowledge base, often driven by technological advances, scientists have discovered an entirely new class of hydrothermal vents, found countless new animal and microbial species, produced high-resolution bathymetric maps of the seafloor that rival or surpass those created for land, and advanced our understanding of methane cycling in the deep-sea. Recent advances in genomics have led to a massive surge in sequencing of microbes and animals alike, which has literally redefined humankind’s understanding of the origin and evolution of life on Earth. In November 1999, in the midst of this scientific and technological revolution, marine scientists held a workshop called DEveloping Submergence SCiencE for the Next Decade (DESCEND) at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. This meeting was prompted by a desire to define the primary scientific goals of the deep- sea research community, and to identify the technologies required for advancing deep- sea studies. To accomplish its goals, the DESCEND Workshop brought together scientists and technology experts to identify the most pressing questions in deep-sea research, the newest tools, and the most innovative technological approaches necessary to address those questions. The DESCEND Workshop helped set the stage for 21th Century deep-sea research, and the recommendations of the committee helped the community and the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other cognizant federal agencies (i.e., NOAA and ONR) better deploy their resources to greater effect. In 2015, with support from the NSF, members of the Deep Submergence Science Committee (or DeSSC, which is a committee of the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System, or UNOLS), proposed a workshop in response to that recommendation. The DEveloping Submergence SCiencE for the Next Decade– 2016 (DESCEND–2106) Workshop was held from January 14 to 15, 2016 in 1 Cambridge, Massachusetts. (See http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/descend2.) The workshop involved scientists and engineers from the deep-sea research community tasked with A) identifying the technological and cultural innovations that will enable us to advance our understanding of the deep sea; and B) presenting guidelines that will facilitate government agencies, as well as industry and philanthropic partners, in developing new operational modes and funding opportunities, as appropriate, to advance deep-sea research. Key Findings 1) Federal agencies should promote joint programs that bring different communities together to advance technologies and address transdisciplinary questions, e.g. NASA astrobiology and NSF Ocean Sciences. 1A) Support advances and initiatives in robotics, automation, sensor development, and big data management/analyses that will foster new avenues for exploration and advance our understanding of geological, geochemical, and ecological processes in the ocean, on the seafloor, and within the Earth’s interior. 1B) Increase attention to, and support for, exploring and studying underserved habitats such as the shallow shelf, midwater, sub-ice ocean, abyssal plains, and trenches. Including these regions will help us better understand the biotic and abiotic evolution of our ocean system, and assess its sensitivity to natural and anthropogenic change. 2) Federal agencies, philanthropic entities, and academic institutions that support Earth-Ocean research should actively collaborate to promote effective communication among all parties. Special attention should be paid to developing