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Ocean Discovery Month at the Exploratorium featured a series of events related to ocean health and raising awareness about the underwater ecosystems that make up the majority of the Earth’s surface ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco.
Visitors of all ages were invited to connect with the ocean through daily hands-on activities, ship tours, interactive exhibits, live demonstrations, and conversations with scientists and ocean advocates. A Saildrone unmanned surface vehicle (USV) was on display outside the Exploratorium and Saildrone COO Sebastien de Halleux hosted an Ocean Discovery Talk about how wind and solar-powered ocean drones are helping scientists collect valuable data in remote and dangerous areas of the ocean.
“A lot of visitors to the Exploratorium don’t realize that in addition to our exhibits, we have ongoing partnerships with institutions such as NOAA, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz to educate the public on environmental science,” said Mary Miller, science writer and director for the Exploratorium’s partnership with NOAA. “We collect carbon dioxide levels and other data related to climate change right here on our campus that feeds into international databases to better understand the impact on urban environments.”
NOAA’s research vessel Reuben Lasker was also on display and available for ship tours; during the 2018 California Current Ecosystem Survey, five saildrones and the Reuben Lasker completed a 100-day mission to survey fish stocks, count marine mammals, and test how USVs could augment ship-based sampling along the North American West Coast.
Watch the video to learn more about how the Saildrone fleet of USVs is improving our understanding of the ocean.
