S. HRG. 113–268 DEEP SEA CHALLENGE: INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS IN OCEAN OBSERVATION HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OCEANS, ATMOSPHERE, FISHERIES, AND COAST GUARD OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JUNE 11, 2013 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 87–852 PDF WASHINGTON : 2014 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 07:08 May 19, 2014 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\GPO\DOCS\87852.TXT JACKIE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, Chairman BARBARA BOXER, California JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Ranking BILL NELSON, Florida ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi MARIA CANTWELL, Washington ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARK PRYOR, Arkansas MARCO RUBIO, Florida CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota DEAN HELLER, Nevada MARK WARNER, Virginia DAN COATS, Indiana MARK BEGICH, Alaska TIM SCOTT, South Carolina RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut TED CRUZ, Texas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii DEB FISCHER, Nebraska WILLIAM COWAN, Massachusetts RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin JEFF CHIESA, New Jersey ELLEN L. DONESKI, Staff Director JAMES REID, Deputy Staff Director JOHN WILLIAMS, General Counsel DAVID SCHWIETERT, Republican Staff Director NICK ROSSI, Republican Deputy Staff Director REBECCA SEIDEL, Republican General Counsel and Chief Investigator SUBCOMMITTEE ON OCEANS, ATMOSPHERE, FISHERIES, AND COAST GUARD MARK BEGICH, Alaska, Chairman MARCO RUBIO, Florida, Ranking Member BILL NELSON, Florida ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi MARIA CANTWELL, Washington KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut DAN COATS, Indiana BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii TIM SCOTT, South Carolina WILLIAM COWAN, Massachusetts TED CRUZ, Texas (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 07:08 May 19, 2014 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\87852.TXT JACKIE C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on June 11, 2013 ............................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Begich .................................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Wicker .................................................................................. 3 Statement of Senator Cantwell .............................................................................. 8 WITNESSES James Cameron, Explorer and Filmmaker ............................................................ 4 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6 Dr. Susan K. Avery, President and Director, Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti- tution ..................................................................................................................... 9 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 11 Captain Edward Page, Board Chair, Alaska Ocean Observing System and Executive Director, Marine Exchange of Alaska ............................................... 19 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 Jan Newton, Ph.D., Executive Director, Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems; Principal Oceanographer, University of Wash- ington Applied Physics Laboratory; and Affiliate Assistant Professor, Uni- versity of Washington School of Oceanography ................................................. 23 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 26 APPENDIX Hon. John Thune, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, prepared statement ......... 41 Dr. Michael Heithaus, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Florida International University, Aquarious Reef Base and Partnerships in Ocean Observations, prepared statement ...................................................................... 41 Written Testimony from Julie Thomas, President, The IOOS Association ........ 44 Letter dated June 18, 2013 from Jean Walat, Program Director, Port Town- send Marine Science Center ................................................................................ 47 Letter dated June 18, 2013 from Martha Kongsgaard, Leadership Council Chair, Puget Sound Partnership to Hon. Mark Begich and Hon. Marco Rubio ..................................................................................................................... 48 Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Amy Klobuchar to: Dr. Susan K. Avery .......................................................................................... 49 James Cameron ................................................................................................ 50 Response to written questions submitted by Hon. John Thune to: James Cameron ................................................................................................ 51 Dr. Susan K. Avery .......................................................................................... 55 Jan Newton, Ph.D. and Edward Page ............................................................ 59 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 07:08 May 19, 2014 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\87852.TXT JACKIE VerDate Nov 24 2008 07:08 May 19, 2014 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\87852.TXT JACKIE DEEP SEA CHALLENGE: INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS IN OCEAN OBSERVATION TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OCEANS, ATMOSPHERE, FISHERIES, AND COAST GUARD, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3 p.m. in room SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Mark Begich, pre- siding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARK BEGICH, U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA Senator BEGICH. Thank you all for being here this afternoon. Ap- preciate it. This hearing will come to order. This is the Oceans Sub- committee hearing on ‘‘Deep Sea Challenge: Innovative Partner- ships in Ocean Observation.’’ So, again, thank you all very much for being here. I will make a few opening comments, I will turn to Senator Wick- er, and then we will start with the panel. But, again, we really ap- preciate you taking the time. I was joking just a minute ago that it was like, when I walked in, I saw the big line out there, I am glad I bought my advance movie ticket to be here today. [Laughter.] Senator BEGICH. Otherwise, I am not sure I would have got in. But I am glad I am here. Again, I want to thank the witnesses for being here, especially James Cameron. Film director James Cameron is most widely known for taking audiences truly out of this world in blockbuster hits like ‘‘Aliens’’ and ‘‘Avatar,’’ but it is his nonfiction endeavors here on Earth that may be actually most alien to us. Last year, in a partnership with the National Geographic Society and Rolex, Mr. Cameron under- took the most difficult ocean dive possible, descending to the Chal- lenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench. The Challenger Deep is the deepest known part of the Earth’s oceans, more than 6.8 miles underwater. Mr. Cameron is the first person to have undertaken the dive alone and is one of the only three humans to ever reach that depth. By contrast, more than 500 people have traveled into outer space. (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 07:08 May 19, 2014 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\DOCS\87852.TXT JACKIE 2 It is astounding that, in many ways, we know more about the final frontier than about our own oceans. Ninety percent of the ocean floor remains uncharted, and recent estimates suggest that we have only identified 20 to 25 percent of the marine life in exist- ence. To further understanding of our oceans, Mr. Cameron recently donated the submersible system and science platform used in the dive, the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, to the Woods Hole Oceano- graphic Institution. Woods Hole, which I have been to more than once, is an incred- ible facility. The President and Director, Susan Avery, is here today, as well, and I look forward to hearing about the institute’s plan to use the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER to support ocean science. But we cannot rely solely on the graciousness of individuals to advance science. And the need for greater ocean research and mon- itoring has never been clearer. Whether it is ocean acidification, sea level rise, warming water temperatures, or shifting fish popu- lations, our oceans are changing. This is something felt most acutely in the Arctic and in my state of Alaska, where the average temperature rises are rising twice as fast than anywhere else and the sea ice is thawing at unprece- dented rates. If we are to prepare for these changes, we have to better our un- derstanding of the oceans. In 2009, Congress enacted several pieces of legislation aimed at improving our oceans research and observ- ing capabilities. The Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act pro- vided for the development of an integrated system of coastal and ocean observations for the Nation’s coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes. Development of the Integrated Ocean Observing System is ongoing but is already providing for better access to the ocean data that