Exploring Volcanoes to Save Lives

Last month BME's co-founder and Chief Explorer, Scott Parazynski, participated in an incredible expedition led by Sam Cossman of Qwake. The team went where no human being had ever gone before--into the mouth of an active volcano--to deploy innovative technology that could provide an early-warning system for millions of people.

Sponsored by General Electric, the expedition focused on the Masaya volcano in Nicaragua. The team consisted of explorers, scientists, filmmakers, and riggers, who ensured everyone's safety while lowering them into the volcano.

Over the course of several weeks, the team made several descents to "Level 0", just above the molten lava, to deploy a network of sensors that will "connect" the volcano for scientists to study and evaluate. Once activated, the network will help provide advance notice of potential eruptions to the millions of Nicaraguans who live near the volcano.

The Qwake team is currently working on a documentary to showcase their work at the volcano, so stay tuned for exciting footage coming out soon!

[All photos courtesy of Qwake]

Europa Report

This year, audiences flocked to see the science fiction sensation, Insterstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. Besides being a wildly popular movie with general audiences, it was also a hit with the science community, which applauded director Christopher Nolan for the film's scientific accuracy and integrity.

For the exploration community, last year's Europa Report provided similar authenticity. Using video footage and still images from NASA and JPL and leveraging technical consultants from both, it was an amazingly accurate depiction of a future private expedition to one of Jupiter's moons.

As you celebrate the holiday season and prepare to close out 2014, try to carve out some time to enjoy this movie (either for the first time or for a repeat viewing). It will thrill your "inner explorer".

Adventures of an Aquanaut:Exploration to Inspire STEM Learning

It has been exactly 10 years since I fulfilled a childhood dream of visiting Antarctica.

As an Antarctic Studies student at the University of Canterbury, I was given the opportunity to spend two weeks at New Zealand’s Scott Base on Ross Island. This internationally competitive postgraduate course provided first-hand experience of living and working in the extreme polar environment.

It was a life-changing event that ignited my passion to inspire the public, particularly young people, to live more sustainably and harmoniously. Rather than pursue a Research Higher Degree, I returned home to Australia with the idea of using unusual exploration initiatives to inspire STEM learning.

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BioSUB

Funding for my first initiative, the BioSUB Project, was provided through a $50,000 sponsorship prize I won in the Australian Geographic 'Live your dream' Wildest Adventure Competition. My idea was to spend two weeks living in an underwater capsule at the bottom of a lake in a one-of-a-kind science adventure. Making headlines around the world, the BioSUB was a great success and a real labor of love for which I received the coveted Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year award.


The BioSUB was designed as a partly regenerative system and evolved into a virtual underwater classroom. Some of the oxygen I needed to survive underwater was generated by a photosynthetic bioreactor designed and built by students from a high school Advanced Biology class. I also built a pedal powered generator that produced enough electricity to power my laptop. I used cameras, the Internet and a telecom system to communicate with people from all over the world from the depths of the lake. Thousands of people worldwide followed my progress over the Internet.

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Life Amphibious

My projects are a way of raising awareness of critical environmental issues around the globe in a fun, provocative and scientific way. My next project, Life Amphibious, was an adventurous human-powered submarine expedition through the Greek islands. In partnership with the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles, I promoted their “Small Garbage” campaign in island schools. The Ecole de Technologie Superieure in Montreal, Canada, supported me by sending an assistant professor, four young engineers and their pioneering Omer 6 submarine to Greece for the expedition.


The submarine featured a biology-inspired design, resembling a penguin, as the means of propulsion. The aim of the Life Amphibious project was threefold: to get young people excited about science and engineering; to inspire environmental awareness; to provide university students with an educational experience that translated their theoretical knowledge into reality.

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LEGOLAND ATLANTIS

In 2010, I completed a project with LEGOLAND Deutschland® as Project Manager and “Edutainer”. My role was to launch the LEGOLAND Year of Records by living in an underwater house in the LEGOLAND ATLANTIS by SEA LIFE aquarium. I entered on 30 March and surfaced again two weeks later having achieved a new Guinness World Record for the most electricity generated by pedaling underwater (2,502 watt hours).


It was a globally unique experiment with over 100,000 children and parents visiting me on location in LEGOLAND Deutschland® and via the Web site. The project featured on National Geographic Channel’s Naked Science ‘City Under the Sea’ documentary and with over 100 million viewers globally, the project was awarded a silver medal at the Econ Awards in Germany in the category “PR-Activity”.

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Tik and Bubbles Underwater Headquarters

Most recently, I started developing a new educational initiative called Tik and Bubbles with the intention of designing community-based science projects that are creative, collaborative, challenging and fun. Tik, an underwater superhero, will encourage young people to pursue STEM studies and careers, promote and protect Australia’s marine biodiversity and lead an active and healthy lifestyle.


I have just completed a successful peerfunding campaign with StartSomeGood to create the ultimate underwater superhero headquarters to be located off the coast of Australia. I raised over $33,000 and set a new Australian record using their peerfunding platform. Let the challenge begin!

I invite you to follow my new project as it unfolds and encourage you to get in touch with any ideas or questions you may have. If you’d like to get involved in some way please let me know, as I am sure we can find a way.

Follow Lloyd's exploration adventure initiatives on Twitter @Lloyd_Godson or visit his website!

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Contributed by Lloyd Godson Marine Edutainer and Aquanaut New South Wales, Australia

Exploration Live!From the Deep Sea to Outer Space

Want to explore the depths of the ocean or the far reaches of the universe without leaving home? Researchers and explorers are increasingly offering ways to join their expeditions around the world in real time, no matter your location.

Thanks to video streaming from robots and submersibles and live videoconferencing with astronauts and aquanauts, all you need is an internet connection to experience first-hand the thrill of discovery!

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NAUTILUS LIVE

With a mission to bring the deep sea into homes and classrooms around the world, the Ocean Exploration Trust operates the E/V Nautilus in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Led by founder Dr. Robert Ballard, a rotating team of scientists guides expeditions from onboard the ship and through “telepresence,” allowing for researchers to collaborate from afar.

Video captured by ROVs streams to the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island where it is examined and simultaneously broadcast live to the public. This month, the Nautilus is exploring seafloor ecosystems with active seismic and volcanic activity near the West Indies.

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NOAA OKEANOS EXPLORER

It may come as a surprise that some of this summer’s most popular reality television was streamed live…from the deep! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made a media splash with their expedition on the Okeanos Explorer off the coast of the Northeastern US, hooking tens of thousands of viewers.

With daily coverage and live analysis by biologists, geologists and oceanographers likened to sports commentary, NOAA succeeds in getting a whole new audience excited about their daily deep sea squid sightings.

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SLOOH SPACE CAMERA

Connecting land-based observatories to the internet, Slooh offers live broadcasts of events in space including spacecraft transits and asteroid and comet sightings. In 2011, Slooh’s footage of the total lunar eclipse was streamed live through Google, reaching billions of viewers, and this week streamed the fly-by of NASA’s Juno spacecraft on the way to Jupiter.

Making outer space even more accessible, Slooh engages a citizen scientist network to crowd-source broadcasts and recently released an iPad app allowing anyone to capture photos remotely using their observatory’s telescopes!

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NASA

NASA has also engaged a wider audience through live-streaming events from the International Space Station. Astronauts host Google+ Hangouts, fielding questions from viewers around the world, and even teach mini lessons about gravity and physics from the ISS.

On Earth, NASA recently partnered with privately funded Orbital Sciences to live broadcast their Cygnus rocket launch, carrying supplies to the ISS.

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With less than 5% of our world’s oceans explored and a whole universe outside of our planet, human exploration is at an exciting peak. Now, live streaming expeditions and events help make otherworldly landscapes accessible to anyone with an internet connection!

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Contributed by Samantha Wishnak Education and Outreach Coordinator Blue Marble Exploration Brooklyn, NY, USA

Summer of Shark Tagging:Field Notes from a Student Explorer

A normal week of the “Natural History of Sharks and Rays” class I took this summer at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo consisted of reading five scientific articles, a dissection in lab, and Friday nights out in the field tagging sharks. Those Friday nights were probably the most fun and rewarding I have had in school. We would spend a good four to five--and on one night even seven--hours baiting and tagging sharks in Hilo Bay.

We operated off two boats, the first being an 18-foot Larson fishing boat (the “base”) and the other a smaller 15-foot rigid inflatable (the tender). We measured the length, took a tissue sample, and tagged the sharks and rays on the inflatable as it is easier to manage and still keep the sharks in the water during the procedures. On a slow night we only had one juvenile oceanic blacktip shark, while on our busiest night we couldn’t check the lines fast enough!

Three of our catches stick out in my memory.

The first was the brown stingray that was about the size, if not larger, than a dining table! I have never seen a wild stingray that large, but she was a beauty!

The second catch I remember was the female sandbar shark that bit the boat. Just as we had her all calmed down (or so we thought) and ready to measure her length, she turned and bit the boat. When a shark bites an inflatable boat you can’t just yank it off unless you want to lose a chunk of the vessel. All you can do is wait until it decides to let go. After a few tense few minutes of listening to the air seep out, she tried to reposition her hold, and we were able to keep her from latching on again. Once the whole class stopped laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole thing, some duct tape was found and a basic patch was made.

My third memorable moment was one of our last outings. I was helping set the trotline out, when I felt a tug ... small, but definitely something there. My professor was skeptical, since the line wasn’t completely out and I was claiming we had a shark on the line. What felt like minutes ticked by as I pulled the line in. I was starting to second-guess myself, when I felt a definite tug and saw a small wriggling body slowly making its way to the surface. Circling just below the surface was the smallest baby oceanic blacktip I had ever seen. He was so young that the umbilical scar was still open! He was a little fighter, too. Instead of bringing him back to the rest of the class waiting on the Larson, we decided the less traumatic procedure would be to just work on him right there. One, two, three, and he was off, swimming away enthusiastically. We reset the line and made our way back to the rest of the class, still beaming from our encounter with the little guy we just released.

The sharks and rays class was the most reading-, studying-, and writing-intensive class I have ever taken, but also the most rewarding. For six weeks I was able to work with sharks, up close and personal. I learned more than I could have ever imagined, and I want to learn more. My "Summer of the Shark" was a memorable one for sure!

Follow Rebecca's adventures on Twitter @BectheDiver or visit her website!

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Contributed by Rebecca Ziegler Student Explorer Blue Marble Exploration Hilo, HI USA

Deep Sea Storytelling

[This post is adapted from a presentation I gave at Blue Vision Summit: Inspiration Through Exploration in Washington, DC, on May 14, 2013.]

As ancient and beloved as language itself, storytelling is deeply rooted in human civilization.  As audiences evolve through the centuries, storytelling adapts to changing times. From the long narrative of Homer’s  The Iliad to concise rapid-fire TED talks and from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens to Twitter by everyone, storytelling adapts as quickly as our needs for it change. In this age of environmental enlightenment, storytelling has taken a front and center role in sharing environmental insights and discoveries with the public.

During the early centuries of research and exploration, new discoveries lived in lab notebooks and were tied up in the academic vernacular of specialized journals or publications. Traditionally, scientific discovery was about the meticulously detailed examination of “How does it work?”.

As funding has transitioned from public sources to private, the expectations of what those funds will cover has also transitioned. I believe private sector supporters still have a vested interest in seeing pure science logged in the record books, but additionally have a humanitarian goal. We now see an increase in projects being funded with a large outreach and communication component in mind, a component that answers the question, "Why does this apply to me?". Discovery is no longer limited to the language of lab notebooks; it is translated for the people though creative storytelling.

Though our planet is mostly ocean, the untamed seas are among the most unfamiliar and intimidating environments to many people. To engage a global audience in conversation about this alien world, we must translate our scientific understanding of the oceans into something more familiar.

A multitude of incredible people have already stepped up to this task. Generations of explorers have told stories though television and film, and in the age of the internet storytelling took shape in websites and blogs. As we move further still into the tech age, social networking platforms such as Twitter and Google Hangout have provided outlets to share stories as they are happening in real time. Ocean exploration is not only happening, researchers are actively sharing their discoveries.

In recent news, a research team aboard the R/V Falkor streamed footage from their Hybrid ROV Nereus in real time from deep sea hydrothermal vents. The researchers were not only collecting their data but also narrating their progress as it happened. This type of science communication imparts knowledge while also drawing in the audience to feel as if they are onboard the vessel sitting with the working ROV pilot. These vents in the deep ocean have made their way right into our own living rooms.

Though the oceans cover more of the earth than dry terrain, they are often far from the thoughts of the everyday person. But as author and ocean champion David Helvarg eloquently puts it, “Every state is a coastal state.” From coast to coast, the same rains, watersheds, and glaciers connect us all to the ocean. For someone who has no perceived connection to the ocean, how can we share the wonder of our seas to a landlocked population? By tapping into our natural ability to relate to the abstract through stories.

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Contributed by Erika Bergman Emerging Explorer Blue Marble Exploration Seattle, WA USA