A better understanding of our oceans

To understand our oceans we need to understand the marine microbiome. This microbiome is made up of very small plankton that collectively:

  • fix more carbon than the Amazon rain forest,
  • provide half of the oxygen that we breathe,
  • and provides the very base of the food web!

In order to get a better understanding we need to collect data. But data collection at sea is really expensive. Indigo V Expeditions has set up a really great project where ocean sailors collect the data. We will contribute to this project by taking samples while we are out at sea. Read more about this on the Indigo Project website.

Secchi disk

From time to time we will deploy our home made Secchi disk and submit our measurements via an app. You can read more about the Secchi disk study here.

 

Ocean drifters

With plankton nets we will scoop up sea water and look for plankton under a microscope. Maybe we can find the ones below? Want to learn more about plankton or see some amazing photos – we recommend getting this book by Richard Kirby.

Listening to the whales

It would be really cool if we can hear whales and dolphins with our hydrophone. Hopefully we can record songs like the one below.