Summer 2020
It’s July already? It just doesn’t feel like summer. Our usual coastal escapes have been restricted, with the beach largely out of reach. Scientific ocean observation continues to be throttled as the COVID caseload continues to increase. Critical climate research risks interruption; especially worrisome as the Arctic experiences a heatwave and the oceans warm. The volume of oceanic plastic pollution is raising new red flags, and data on degradation times in the ocean are more troubling than previous estimates. To make matters worse, we now have COVID waste washing up on shorelines worldwide, another pollution source with an undetermined half-life. We face uncertainly and a sense of urgency.
Fortunately, the world is responding urgently. The United Nations World Oceans Day 2020 reemphasized the theme of “innovation for a sustainable ocean.” New ideas, products, and methods were welcomed to keep all of our oceans healthy. The global ocean-based economy is enormous — it currently contributes 2.5% of the world’s GDP and provides employment to 1.5% of the global workforce. Its output is expected to be $3T by 2030, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Even with the challenges of COVID, ocean science is forging ahead, playing a vital role in understanding our planet. In fact, we hit some notable milestones in Q2. Below are just a few examples:
🗺️ We’ve mapped 20% of the ocean floor.
✊🏾Marine biologist Professor Ayana Johnson continues to elevate our consciousness on climate and racial justice.
🤖 Scientists working remotely with Schmidt Ocean Institute used AUVs to get a first look at deep waters in the Coral Sea, identifying ten new marine species.
❄️ MOSAiC, the largest polar expedition in history, is progressing well, gathering insights on the complex ways the Arctic Ocean affects our climate.
This quarter’s Deep Dive features the latest from Seatrec, plus breathtaking moments in nature, new discoveries, a few sad adieus, and some remarkable stories of resilience.
SEATREC UPDATE
⚙️Back to Work
Our team has been able to gradually return to the lab and resume production of our Navis-SL1 autonomous profiling floats. And our engineers are excited about starting two new R&D projects. Our previous production and shipping plan has been disrupted by the public health crisis, and we are currently experiencing a 3-month delay for both the SL1 energy harvesting modules produced at our Los Angeles facility and the Navis floats supplied by Sea-Bird Scientific located in Seattle, Washington. We are making best efforts to deliver the Navis-SL1 floats to our customers ASAP in support of their BGC Argo applications. With the Navis-SL1 floats, researchers can increase the number of profiles, reduce the cost of profile data, and add more power-demanding sensors. The SL1 is the first energy harvesting system that provides clean, renewable energy to power these floats — by the ocean, for the ocean!
📣 Seatrec gets a shout-out!
Silicon Republic gave us a very appreciated shout-out for being one of seven emerging startups building promising marine-focused solutions. We were in impressive company with EConcrete (environmentally-sensitive concrete), ioCurrents (maritime data analytics), Nautix (SaaS for maritime processes), Orca.Ai (sensors and computer vision to prevent sea collisions), Rovco (AUVs creating 3D hydrographic surveys), and XOcean (unmanned surface vessels -USVs- that capture data for survey companies.)
💵 Raising Money During A Plague Year
In this “new normal”, it’s been challenging for startups to raise seed and early-stage rounds. This is especially true for deep tech startups. But, we did it! We just got a term sheet for our first equity round from an incredible lead investor, who has extensive knowledge about our industry. There is still a little room in the round for additional investors, so if you’re interested in learning more, feel free to contact us at info@seatrec.com.
🐬This Aquatic Show is Spectacular!
Enjoy your front-row seat at this aquatic light show! These electrical dolphins are positively dazzling as they dance in the neon glow caused by bioluminescence in Newport Beach.
🔊 The Sounds of Silence
While we are missing the oceans during COVID, marine life may be enjoying the corresponding reduction in noise pollution. This is a remarkable research opportunity for us to listen and evaluate the consequences of human activity for marine life.
👂Eavesdropping on the Narwhals
These “unicorns of the sea” are skittish and shy by nature and challenging to study because they tend to populate deeper waters. Thanks to Inuit hunters and geophysicist Evgeny Podolskiy of Hokkaido University, we get to relish an unprecedented series of narwhal conversations — buzzes, clicks, and whistles recorded in the Greenland fjords.
🐠 Jack Randall, “Dr. Fish,” Dies at Age 95
Ichthyology legend Jack Randall discovered and named more than 830 species of fish in his lifetime — an immeasurable contribution that will be a high bar for any scientist who follows in his squishy footsteps. Most of his career was dedicated to taxonomy — classifying organisms and obsessing about the subtleties of each fish species. Much of what we know about the beautiful creatures of our tropical reefs comes from his life work. There were several tributes to him. Perhaps Sylvia A. Earle captured it best, “Fish everywhere in the world know Jack as one of their own.”
“The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the composer, but when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again.” -William Beebe
😞Tragic Moment for Our Blue Planet
We regret to inform you that the Smooth Handfish, Sympterichthys unipennis, officially became the first modern-day marine fish to be declared extinct. This exceptionally peculiar bottom dweller (a relative of the anglerfish) used its highly modified pectoral fins to “walk” along the seafloor. It was likely a bycatch victim of destructive trawling practices, and it wasn’t even targeted. We need to address the use of wasteful fishing practices and improve efforts to prevent species from sharing the fate of this beautiful, random creature.
🇬🇱A Vast Coral Garden Discovery
In Greenland, a massive new deep-sea coral garden was found 1600 feet deep using a low budget, low-tech rig called a “benthic sled,” consisting of a GoPro, lights, and laser pointers mounted on a steel frame and trailed from a research vessel.
📈Noteworthy Comebacks
By giving nature a little bit of breathing room, it will reclaim a precious few of our worst mistakes. Marine life and reefs are even growing on shuttered oil rigs.
Some corals under stress are producing vibrant pigments that attract algae, their symbiotic partner, and allow them to recolonize.
Summary
Resilience. The oceans show us they are capable of it, and the United Nations ocean community is committed to solving the challenges that we have created for ourselves. Innovation for sustainability is essential to rebuild marine life and better understand our changing climate and deep oceans. As we ease into some level of “normalcy” and look to the future, may we reunite with the oceans and marine life more thoughtfully than ever before.
Yours from at least a fathom away,
Team Seatrec
