"Ocean Research Project provides scientific data and education about the changes within our oceans to inspire people to action..."
OK Matt - what are you thinking (or hoping for) that people can really do from your project?
Our Story
The Ocean Research Project is seeking funds and materials to carry out our objectives:
developing and conducting expeditions to various locations throughout the world to collect data to aid the scientific community and to create documentaries that are both educational and fun to watch.
developing and conducting expeditions to various locations throughout the world to collect data to aid the scientific community and to create documentaries that are both educational and fun to watch.
A nonprofit science and public outreach organization, we are dedicated to gathering scientific data that enable improved characterization of the global oceans and coastal areas. In addition to collecting useful scientific data, Ocean Research Project creates educational documentaries promoting sailing and discussing the various problems and solutions for our changing oceans.
The expeditions will be carried out aboard a sailboat, which provides us with a floating research station as well as an affordable and environmentally low-impact method of transportation. For each expedition, the
At present, we have determined locations for the first three expeditions:
Atlantic Ocean
Arctic & NW Passage
Pacific Garbage Patch
Sure thing Matt, but what do you expect people to really do? You are going adventure sailing - using other people's money. You will create a video and rally the troops to join your cause... but then what will people really do? Use more "green" products? Not use or throw their plastic into recycle waste bins?
Your stated Mission is...
Ocean Research Project provides scientific data and education about the changes within our Oceans to inspire people to action.
WE BELIEVE
We believe that while no one can do everything, everyone can do something. At Ocean Research Project, we are dedicated to gathering scientific data that enable the improved characterization of our global oceans and coastal areas. Through the use of scientific data, informative and entertaining documentaries, and providing a clear way to get involved, we will empower people to act on behalf of one of our greatest resources: our oceans.
We believe that while no one can do everything, everyone can do something. At Ocean Research Project, we are dedicated to gathering scientific data that enable the improved characterization of our global oceans and coastal areas. Through the use of scientific data, informative and entertaining documentaries, and providing a clear way to get involved, we will empower people to act on behalf of one of our greatest resources: our oceans.
OUR MODEL
Using a team of expert scientists and sailors, we embark on expeditions to some of the world’s most dynamic parts of the ocean. The expeditions are carried out on a sailboat which provides an affordable and environmentally-friendly floating research station. We then use the data for several purposes. 1) Using a blog during the expedition and a documentary after, we provide people with education on how and why the oceans are changing. We also provide them with resources and tools they need in order to get involved and help make change themselves. 2) We share our scientific data with established research organizations such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center to help further continued understanding.
Using a team of expert scientists and sailors, we embark on expeditions to some of the world’s most dynamic parts of the ocean. The expeditions are carried out on a sailboat which provides an affordable and environmentally-friendly floating research station. We then use the data for several purposes. 1) Using a blog during the expedition and a documentary after, we provide people with education on how and why the oceans are changing. We also provide them with resources and tools they need in order to get involved and help make change themselves. 2) We share our scientific data with established research organizations such as the National Snow and Ice Data Center to help further continued understanding.
MATT - OTHERS HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU - MANY HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS RESEARCH - BUT UNLESS YOU CAN STATE CLEARLY WHAT YOU EXPECT PEOPLE MIGHT DO FROM HEARING AND SEEING YOUR ADVENTURE ITS JUST ANOTHER ASKED AND ANSWERED QUESTION. A MUTE POINT!!!
Lets take your projects for examples
1. Warming of Alaskan Permafrost and Implications for Hydrate Stability:
As a part of a large, collaborative effort in the 1970’s between the Office of National Petroleum Reserve Alaska and several companies (Mobil, Exxon, BP, Sinclair, and Forest Oil) several exploratory wells were given to the science community for long-term temperature monitoring to depths of 2,000 feet. Data from these wells indicate that the Arctic is warming more rapidly than the rest of the planet; however, the last data acquired in many of the wells was taken nearly ten years ago. Warming of Arctic permafrost has global implications because of the large amount of terrestrial methane that may be released from these areas as they warm. As a greenhouse gas, methane released into the atmosphere will accelerate climate warming, thus accurately estimating how much has been released and how much may be released in the coming decades is of critical importance to the broader community. Our expedition will visit eight of these wells, those which are nearest to the coast, so that we may continue this time series into the present decade. We will make the data available to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) upon completion of the voyage.
Because the depth of hydrate stability (the solid ice within permafrost) is extremely shallow in terrestrial environments (sometimes <100 m), only slight surface warming is required to release possibly significant quantities of methane. Furthermore, because surface warming occurs much more quickly in terrestrial environments than in deep ocean basins (where the large reservoirs of hydrate exist), permafrost hydrate reservoirs represent a “canary-in-the-coal-mine” indicating how future warming (particularly in the oceans) may ultimately impact climate, and if the melting of permafrost plays a role in abrupt warming events.
In short, this research will help the scientific community address the following questions:
- How much methane has likely released from permafrost regions over the past century, and how does this compare to estimated atmospheric methane quantities?
- How much atmospheric methane injection will likely occur from permafrost regions in the next century, and will it have a significant impact on climate?
2. Exploration of Northern Baffin Bay and the Northern Northwest Passage
This expedition will be exploring the Arctic in places where little or no scientific data have ever been acquired. All areas of Arctic science, whether it be fundamental physical oceanography, plate tectonics, climate change, or mineral exploration are affected by knowledge of the seafloor topography as well as profiles of the ocean’s salinity, temperature, and depth. The ocean water column, defined by the sea surface to the seafloor, quite literally defines the volume through which energy is transmitted from the overlying atmosphere to all areas of the earth through global, interconnected ocean currents. When these data are combined with the salinity, temperature, and velocity profiles of the water column acquired at various, characteristic points throughout the ocean, it is possible to provide a complete characterization of the water body at a given point in time.
The Arctic appears to be a particularly sensitive environment as indicated by rapidly rising temperatures and unprecedented changes in ice conditions. However, any computer models that attempt to predict the future of the climate/ocean system rely on accurate knowledge of the present ocean conditions. Therefore, continuously throughout the proposed expedition, we will measure the depth to the seafloor as well as the salinity, temperature, and water velocity at various depths in the water column and will make the data available to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) upon completion of the voyage.
3. Pacific Garbage Patch
Scientific and educational exploration of the Garbage Patch.
Ocean Research Project – Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch stretches for hundreds of miles across the North Pacific Ocean, forming a nebulous, floating junk yard on the high seas. It’s the poster child for a worldwide problem: plastic that begins in human hands yet ends up in the ocean, often inside animals’ stomachs or around their necks. Earth has six major oceanic gyres — huge spirals of seawater formed by colliding currents — but one of the largest is the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, filling most of the space between Japan and California.
The upper part of this gyre, a few hundred miles north of Hawaii, is where warm water from the South Pacific crashes into cooler water from the north. Known as the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, this is also where the trash collects. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is thought to be the size of Texas. Previously other expeditions have gone to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for two to three weeks taking water samples.
Spending approximately 100 days, the Ocean Research Project would not just taking samples of water and debris but also map out the boundaries of the Garbage patch itself. Again, the project would create a documentary that will teach people about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and come up with possible solutions.
ALL YOU NEED DO IS GOOGLE THE FOLLOWING:
WHAT COULD HAPPEN FROM PEOPLE YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH? PEOPLE WHO READ YOUR WEBSITE? PEOPLE WHO VIEW YOUR VIDEO? WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE? PLEASE DON'T SAY CARBON CREDITS OR GREEN PRODUCTS OR CLAIM TO HAVE INVENTED THE INTERNET... AL GORE HAS ALREADY TAKEN THOSE CLAIMS AND MANY MORE....LOL
WHAT THE HECK OVER???
THE WEBSITE IS A HECK OF A LOT OF SLICK WEBMASTER WORDS WHICH BASICALLY SAY YOU ARE GOING TO SEA TO COLLECT DATA - WHAT NEW DATA DO YOU EXPECT TO COLLECT? THEN YOU ASK TO BE SPONSORED - THIS IS YOUR PRIMARY GOAL IN IT NOT? GETTING YOU BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN SAILING?... I DON'T SEE YOUR BACKGROUND AS A SCIENTIST, THE FACTS, THE FIGURES, AT LEAST THE SCIENTIST NAMES, YOUR CREW NAMES AND CVs, THE PROPOSED SAILING SCHEDULES ETC... BOTTOM LINE - THE HOPED FOR FINDINGS AND BENEFITS?
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD INVOLVES A HYPOTHESIS - A PROPOSED EXPLANATION - SO LETS START SIMPLE - TAKE EACH OF YOUR THREE PROJECTS AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK WILL OCCUR AS A RESULT OF EACH OF YOUR PROJECTS - HOW DO YOU PROPOSE TO ACHIEVE THOSE RESULTS - DO YOU HAVE A METHOD - WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT EACH PROJECT? WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO OBSERVE THAT HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED PREVIOUSLY OR IS IN NEED OF REVISION OR CHANGE... ETC.
1. Atlantic Ocean Expedition
2. Arctic & NW Passage
3. Pacific Garbage Patch
WE ARE STANDING BY - FEEL FREE TO POST YOUR REPLY BELOW AS A COMMENT(S).
IF YOU JUST WANT TO GO SAILING - SAY SO - NO ONE IS GOING TO HOLD IT AGAINST YOU. WE ALL LOVE THE SEA AND LONG TO BE BACK UNDERWAY... ALL OF THIS WEBSITE RHETORIC ABOUT SAILING ADVENTURIST MATT RUTHERFORD DOING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE IS TO MUCH PIE IN THE SKY THINKING.
ENJOY SAILING FOR THE PURE ENJOYMENT OF LETTING THE WIND AND WAVES BE YOUR COMPANION... IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE GARBAGE IN THE OCEANS - ASK PEOPLE TO WRITE THEIR REPRESENTATIVES FOR LEGISLATION CHANGES... MAKE BETTER BUYING DECISIONS... SO MANY OTHERS HAVE ALREADY ATTEMPTED AND SAID IT MUCH BETTER... THAT WOULD BE A GOOD FIRST STEP... RAISE MONEY FOR PEOPLE TO JOIN YOU SAILING - SO THEY CAN SEE THE TRASH, SMELL THE METHANE STINK, AND KNOW HOW OUT OF CONTROL HUMANS ARE HERE ON PLANET EARTH...
IF YOU JUST WANT TO GO SAILING - SAY SO - NO ONE IS GOING TO HOLD IT AGAINST YOU. WE ALL LOVE THE SEA AND LONG TO BE BACK UNDERWAY... ALL OF THIS WEBSITE RHETORIC ABOUT SAILING ADVENTURIST MATT RUTHERFORD DOING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE IS TO MUCH PIE IN THE SKY THINKING.
ENJOY SAILING FOR THE PURE ENJOYMENT OF LETTING THE WIND AND WAVES BE YOUR COMPANION... IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE GARBAGE IN THE OCEANS - ASK PEOPLE TO WRITE THEIR REPRESENTATIVES FOR LEGISLATION CHANGES... MAKE BETTER BUYING DECISIONS... SO MANY OTHERS HAVE ALREADY ATTEMPTED AND SAID IT MUCH BETTER... THAT WOULD BE A GOOD FIRST STEP... RAISE MONEY FOR PEOPLE TO JOIN YOU SAILING - SO THEY CAN SEE THE TRASH, SMELL THE METHANE STINK, AND KNOW HOW OUT OF CONTROL HUMANS ARE HERE ON PLANET EARTH...
GOOD LUCK!
References:
The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) supports national and international efforts to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris. The MDP serves as a centralized capability within NOAA, coordinating and supporting activities within NOAA and with other federal agencies, as well as using partnerships to support projects carried out by state and local agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry.
Arctic Council (www.arctic-council.org)
The Council's activities are conducted in six working groups.
There are six Working Groups of the Arctic Council:
Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP)
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)
Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR)
Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME)
Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG)
Major findings include:
Snow cover: A new record low snow extent for the Northern Hemisphere was set in June 2012, and a new record low was reached in May over Eurasia.
Sea ice: Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September 2012 set a new all-time record low, as measured by satellite since 1979.
Greenland ice sheet: There was a rare, nearly ice sheet-wide melt event on the Greenland ice sheet in July, covering about 97 percent of the ice sheet on a single day.
Vegetation: The tundra is getting greener and there’s more above-ground growth. During the period of 2003-2010, the length of the growing season increased through much of the Arctic.
Wildlife and food chain: In northernmost Europe, the Arctic fox is close to extinction and vulnerable to the encroaching Red fox. Additionally, massive phytoplankton blooms below the summer sea ice suggest estimates of biological production at the bottom of the marine food chain may be ten times too low.
Ocean: Sea surface temperatures in summer continue to be warmer than the long-term average at the growing ice-free margins, while upper ocean temperature and salinity show significant interannual variability with no clear trends.
Weather: Most of the notable weather activity in fall and winter occurred in the sub-Arctic due to a strong positive North Atlantic Oscillation. There were three extreme weather events including an unusual cold spell in late January to early February 2012 across Eurasia, and two record storms characterized by very low central pressures and strong winds near western Alaska in November 2011 and north of Alaska in August 2012.
Sea ice: Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September 2012 set a new all-time record low, as measured by satellite since 1979.
Greenland ice sheet: There was a rare, nearly ice sheet-wide melt event on the Greenland ice sheet in July, covering about 97 percent of the ice sheet on a single day.
Vegetation: The tundra is getting greener and there’s more above-ground growth. During the period of 2003-2010, the length of the growing season increased through much of the Arctic.
Wildlife and food chain: In northernmost Europe, the Arctic fox is close to extinction and vulnerable to the encroaching Red fox. Additionally, massive phytoplankton blooms below the summer sea ice suggest estimates of biological production at the bottom of the marine food chain may be ten times too low.
Ocean: Sea surface temperatures in summer continue to be warmer than the long-term average at the growing ice-free margins, while upper ocean temperature and salinity show significant interannual variability with no clear trends.
Weather: Most of the notable weather activity in fall and winter occurred in the sub-Arctic due to a strong positive North Atlantic Oscillation. There were three extreme weather events including an unusual cold spell in late January to early February 2012 across Eurasia, and two record storms characterized by very low central pressures and strong winds near western Alaska in November 2011 and north of Alaska in August 2012.
The major findings listed above reinforce the findings presented in AMAP’s recent assessment of snow, water ice and permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA), see http://www.amap.no/swipa
The Arctic Report Card was released today at a press briefing at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco, California. For more information on this year’s report please visit: http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/
National Science Foundation (nsf.gov)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) invites investigators at U.S. organizations to submit proposals to conduct research about the Arctic. Arctic research includes field and modeling studies, data analysis, and synthesis about the arctic region.
The goal of the NSF Division of Arctic Sciences is to gain a better understanding of the Arctic's physical, biological, geological, chemical, social and cultural processes; the interactions of oceanic, terrestrial, atmospheric, biological, social, cultural, and economic systems; and the connections that define the Arctic. The Division of Arctic Sciences and other NSF programs support projects that contribute to the development of the next generation of researchers and scientific literacy for all ages through education, outreach, and broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Program representatives from OPP and other non-OPP NSF programs that support arctic research coordinate across NSF, including joint review and funding of arctic proposals and mutual support of special projects with high logistical costs.
Cognizant Program Officer(s)
- Renee D. Crain, Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program Director, telephone: (703) 292-4482, email:rcrain@nsf.gov
- Henrietta Edmonds, Arctic Natural Sciences Program Director, 755, telephone: (703) 292-7427, email:hedmonds@nsf.gov
- Patrick R. Haggerty, Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program Director, 755 S, telephone: (703) 292-8577, fax: (703) 292-9082, email: phaggert@nsf.gov
- Anna M. Kerttula de Echave, Arctic Social Sciences Program Director, 740 S, telephone: (703) 292-7432, fax: (703)292-9082, email: akerttul@nsf.gov
- Erica Key, Arctic System Science Program Associate Program Director, 755S, telephone: (703) 292-7434, email:ekey@nsf.gov
- Neil R. Swanberg, Arctic System Science Program Director, 740 S, telephone: (703) 292-8029, email:nswanber@nsf.gov
- William J. Wiseman, Arctic Natural Sciences Program Director, 740 S, telephone: (703) 292-4750, fax: (703) 292-9082, email: wwiseman@nsf.govArctic System Science (ARCSS) Program
ARCSS Overview
The Arctic is highly complex, with a tightly coupled system of people, land, ocean, ice, and air that behaves in ways that we do not fully comprehend, and which has demonstrated a capacity for rapid and unpredictable change with global ramifications. The Arctic is pivotal to the dynamics of our planet and it is critical that we better understand this complex and interactive system. The goal of the NSF ARCSS Program is to answer the question: What do changes in the arctic system imply for the future?To address this question, researchers must:
Advance from a component understanding to a system understanding of the Arctic.
Understand the behavior of the arctic system–past, present and future.
Understand the role of the Arctic as a component of the global system.
Include society as an integral part of the arctic system.
Max Holmes, TREC teacher Amy Clapp, and other researchers from the NSF-funded PARTNERS project, teach Russian children sampling protocols on the Lena River, Siberia in June 2004.
In the twenty years since its inception, ARCSS Program research has evolved toward an increasingly integrative, rather than disciplinary, approach to studying the arctic system. Now, building on the solid foundation of more than a decade of observation, modeling, and process studies, the ARCSS Program has undertaken a synthesis effort aimed at achieving system level understanding of the Arctic.
More information about ARCSS activities can be found through the links on the left.
More information about NSF's Division of Arctic Sciences, including arctic funding opportunities, can be found through the NSF Arctic Sciences website.
Publications: http://www.arcus.org/arcss/publications/index.html
Corporate and Private Vessels:
http://www.globalreefexpedition.org/ (Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation)
Tara (Arctic) Expeditions - http://arctic.taraexpeditions.org/
http://oceans.taraexpeditions.org/en/arctic-navigation-what-awaits-tara-next-summer.php?id_page=1286
http://inhabitat.com/plastiki-plastic-bottle-boat-unveiled-in-san-francisco/
San Francisco recently saw the unveiling of the Plastiki, a boat constructed of 12,500 2-liter plastic bottles that will be embarking on a 7,500 mile journey to Sydney this spring. Built by Adventure Ecology and captained by David de Rothschild, the vessel will brave the waters surrounding the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ in an attempt to bring awareness to the mounting plastic debris floating in our Oceans. If the 50 knots of wind and rain at the unveiling last Friday, followed by tsunami warnings post-earthquake in Chile the following day, are any indication of what the crew could face on their voyage, we wish them luck!David de Rothschild, adventurer, environmentalist and founder of Adventure Ecology, became inspired (or perhaps perturbed) by a 2006 report issued by UNEP. Called ‘Action Urged to Avoid Deep Trouble in the Deep Seas,’ the report contained the fact that plastic debris outnumbers plankton in many of the world’s oceans. Adventure Ecology’s ‘message in a bottle’ is that we are all responsible for plastic waste because we all use plastic, and despite the fact that much of the plastic we use is 100% recyclable, less than 20% of all plastic bottles ever reach a recycling facility and 4 out of every 5 plastic bottles end up in the landfill. It would appear that the other 1 out of 5 ends up in our Oceans.
...and the list goes on and on... you get the idea,... WHAT ARE YOU, MATT RUTHERFORD, GOING TO DO TO MAKE PEOPLE TAKE NOTICE... EVEN A PLASTIC BOTTLE BOAT NAMED PLASTIKI DID LITTLE NOR THE NAME 'DAVID de ROTHSCHILD'... YOU PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF HIM OR THE BOAT.... lol
Neither did we hear of Matt Rutherford sailing the Northwest Passage and 23,000 miles around the Americas solo until you did it - my hat goes off to you. I wish you the best in all that you challenge!
Website: http://www.solotheamericas.org/
