INSPIRATION AT SEA 2015 SCHIMDT ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 2 SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT 2015 @SCHMIDTOCEAN SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE SCHMIDTOCEAN 2015 SCHMIDTOCEAN SCHMIDTOCEAN.ORG INSPIRATION AT SEA 2015 SCHIMDT ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION STRATEGIC FOCUS THE YEAR MIXING UP THE MAGNETIC ANOMALIES OF HYDROTHERMAL HUNT AREAS IN REVIEW TROPICAL PACIFIC THE LARGEST VOLCANO AT MARIANA ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— 4 8 10 36 40 44 WHERE WE TRACKING THE TASMAN PERTH CANYON: FIRST BUILDING NEW FALKOR UPGRADES SHARING WENT IN 2015 SEA’S HIDDEN TIDE DEEP EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY AND IMPROVEMENTS THE PASSION ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— 12 14 18 50 52 54 COORDINATED TIMOR SEA REEF UNLOCKING TSUNAMI NEW DATA SHARING LOOKING BACK: PUBLICATIONS AND ROBOTICS CONNECTIONS SECRETS ACTIVITIES RESEARCH UPDATES PRESENTATIONS ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— 22 26 30 58 60 68 Falkor off of Australia heading towards Scott Reef in the Timor Sea INSPIRATION AT SEA 2015 SCHIMDT ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 4 SHARING OUR LABORATORIES, In March, Falkor supported the first ever deep robotic survey of COMPUTING AND the previously unexplored Perth Canyon in Western Australia COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES using a combination of multibeam acoustic mapping and ABOARD FALKOR IS THE FIRST interactive visual surveys with a remotely operated vehicle STEP IN CREATING A NEW KIND OF (ROV) deployed from Falkor. This was the first time such a COLLABORATIVE MARINE SCIENCE project was ever conducted in Australian waters where every COMMUNITY. ROV dive was planned using fresh acoustic bathymetry from — WENDY SCHMIDT, FOUNDER, SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE alternating multibeam surveys. According to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Malcolm McCulloch from the University of Comprehensive understanding of the ocean’s complex Western Australia, this methodology revolutionized coastal biophysical dynamics relies heavily on numeric modeling. While oceanography in the region, by demonstrating how much oceanographic data are collected at sea, their assimilation more efficient scientists can be if they have access to both of into models usually takes place on shore, where computing these advanced technologies in one expedition. Many new resources are readily available. This approach creates delays species were observed in Western Australian waters for the with data integration and makes it hard to adjust the course very first time during this cruise. of observations at sea in response to insights from the incoming data. To shorten feedback between observations In late April, Falkor supported an unconventional research and modeling and provide researchers with better visibility into project focused on advancing autonomous ocean survey observed processes, Schmidt Ocean Institute installed a high technologies. An international team of roboticists field-tested performance computer (HPC) on Falkor, making her the first innovative vehicle control and coordination algorithms, research vessel with a supercomputing system freely available enabling real time monitoring and localization of multiple to the global oceanographic community. In 2015, Falkor’s HPC autonomous vehicles, coordinated operation among supported three separate cruises, modeling the internal tides heterogeneous robotics, and intelligent communications in the Tasman Sea, biophysical dynamics in the Timor Sea, to share sensing capabilities, propagate mission-relevant and assimilating seafloor imagery into 3D photomosaics at information, and manage operational risks. The robots also Scott Reef. collected hundreds of thousands of underwater images of Schmidt Ocean Institute founders Eric and Wendy Schmidt. 20 400 EDUCATIONAL TOURS PRESENTED PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE INTRODUCTION ON FALKOR Four years after the launch of research vessel Falkor, Schmidt Ocean Institute continues to support at-sea oceanography around the world, disrupting ocean research with innovative technologies, intelligent observation and data analysis, and open sharing of information. The year of 2015 presented our institute with many unique opportunities to advance our % mission, create global impact, and make it one of our most successful years. 6 60 PRESENTED IN 6 COUNTRIES INCREASE IN ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS 4 5 INSPIRATION AT SEA 2015 SCHIMDT ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 6 Less than three months after announcing Falkor Seamount, the crew found an underwater mountain and named the feature Engineers' Ridge, after the hardworking Falkor crew and science team pose for a photo with the CTD Rosette, on the Mixing up the Tropical Pacific cruise. engineers aboard Falkor. the remote Scott Reef, which were consolidated into three- Schmidt Ocean Institute joined the Rolling Deck to Repository part of our Ship-to-Shore Program. Four students with no prior A CHARACTERISTIC OF GREAT dimensional mosaics to enable characterization and shared (R2R) oceanographic data collection project this year, ensuring seagoing research experience joined Falkor through the new INNOVATORS IS THEY SEE A SPACE with the public enabling user-guided virtual exploration of that all underway shipboard data is openly and freely shared. Student Opportunities program, which was in addition to the THAT OTHERS DO NOT. THE ROLE OF SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE IS never before seen marine habitats. This process established a During our Coordinated Robotics cruise, in collaboration with 33 college and graduate students who sailed on Falkor with TO FIND AND WORK WITH THE VERY foundation for the detailed computational characterization via a the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR), we used a the science party. We were also proud to see Schmidt Ocean BEST INNOVATORS TO ACCELERATE citizen science image tagging program. web-based citizen science image tagging software, Squidle, Institute featured as one of the 2015 Editor’s Choice Top Five THE PACE OF OCEAN SCIENCE. to obtain over 22,000 image tags. The tags were used to Stand-Outs in the Marine Technology Reporter’s annual Top - ERIC SCHMIDT, FOUNDER, SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE At the end of 2015, Schmidt Ocean Institute acquired over train machine learning algorithms to derive pixel-by-pixel 100 innovators in the maritime industry. 367,571 km² of detailed, 3D seafloor imagery, covering an classification of features in the acquired seafloor images. area greater than most European countries. For the first time, Additionally, Schmidt Ocean Institute has streamed over In alignment with Schmidt Ocean Institute's Innovate, Explore, Falkor supported seismic profiling and seafloor mapping in 132 hours of HD videos to YouTube in real time, bringing the Share motto, in 2015 we supported a host of projects in Indonesian waters off the west coast of Sumatra, producing beautiful coral reef and underwater canyons to over 11,000 collaboration with leading research groups from Australia, maps with greater resolution than ever seen before in this viewers and expanding a collection of openly available Indonesia, Singapore, Germany, Italy, Korea, and the United region. These maps will provide critical information for oceanographic observational data. States. Since 2013, we have worked with 371 scientists from predicting the likelihood of a tsunami-causing earthquake 87 institutions across 19 countries, including 108 experts from in the area. This year, Falkor also mapped nearly one million Schmidt Ocean Institute is committed to sharing the outputs 31 organizations who sailed on Falkor in 2015. We continue to square kilometers of the world’s single largest underwater of its research with the scientific community, classrooms, and broaden our network of partners and collaborating institutions volcano and supported the discovery of two underwater public around the world. Just this past year, 72 academic from government agencies to major universities, all working features, subsequently named Falkor Seamount and publications and presentations were produced from previous together to accelerate the pace of ocean science. We are Engineers' Ridge. research completed on Falkor. Our team reached more than excited to share with you our experiences and discoveries Map of Falkor Seamount, which was offically named in 2015 after being discovered by the team on Falkor during a research cruise in 2014. 3,000 individuals through virtual classroom connections as from 2015, and this is only the beginning. 6 7 INSPIRATION AT SEA 2015 SCHIMDT ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 8 COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE IN OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH OPERATIONS 1 Schmidt Ocean Institute is dedicated to supporting advanced marine science on Falkor, including STRATEGIC technical and operational improvements, innovative shipboard scientific instruments and systems, supporting remote research via telepresence and satellite data streaming, and high performance computing for at-sea modeling and data analysis. FOCUS INFRASTRUCTURE, PLATFORM, AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR MARINE SCIENCES 2 To support pioneering research at sea, Schmidt Ocean Institute develops and supports innovative scientific robotic vehicles, platforms, and instruments; deployable scientific platforms and instruments; AREAS testing of new research technologies on our vessels and vehicles; and technology focused research and development projects as part of the Falkor cruise program. Schmidt Ocean Institute was established to advance the frontiers of ocean research and exploration through innovative technologies, intelligent observation and analysis, and open COLLABORATIVE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ABOARD FALKOR