Ocean Exploration in a Sea of Data
From October 21 to 22, 2017, experts in ocean exploration
and data science, as well as other fields, attended the fifth
annual National Ocean Exploration Forum at the University
of California, San Diego’s, Qualcomm Institute, a division
of the California Institute for Telecommunications and
Information Technology. The goal of the 2017 interdisciplin-
ary forum, Ocean Exploration in a Sea of Data, was to move
the application of ocean exploration data into the future.
Partners from the Qualcomm Institute, Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, NOAA, and others gave presentations,
provided demonstrations on priority areas, and held discus-
sion groups. Thinking of ocean exploration in broad terms,
forum participants considered how relevant data—whether
from satellites, ocean sensors, hydrophones, or deep ocean
cores—can be integrated, analyzed, and visualized to under-
stand the ocean in new ways.
Demonstrations of new technologies included those
for exploring ocean data through audio spatialization and
sonification, for applying near-360 degree immersive visual-
ization of video and data, for exploring an active mid-ocean
ridge volcano in real time through a fiber-optic cable con-
nection to data, for visualizing Antarctic ice shelf structure
and bathymetry from the air, and for allowing point-based
visual analytics and habitat characterization using under-
water photogrammetry. Participants shared impressions of
these demonstrations and discussed how these tools could
impact their work, areas of interest, and the ocean explora-
tion community.
A Brief History of the Forum
Since 2013, leading ocean exploration experts have assem-
bled at National Ocean Exploration Forums to discuss the
priorities and aims of a national ocean exploration program.
These forums have examined the future of ocean exploration
through the lens of a coordinated NOAA-led, multi-agency
federal collaboration with the private sector and academia.
The inaugural 2013 Forum, called Ocean Exploration (OE)
2020, prioritized exploration in the polar, Indo-Pacific, and
central Pacific regions and recommended expanding tra-
ditional ocean exploration to include ocean chemistry and
the water column. OE 2020 recommendations emphasized
the importance of using a variety of exploration platforms,
developing new technologies, creating citizen science
opportunities,
increasing
and
fostering
partnerships,
improving low- to no-cost near-real-time data accessibility,
and enhancing and expanding ways to communicate about
ocean exploration. Subsequent forums have built upon
these priorities and recommendations, helping to drive
ocean exploration in both the public and private sectors
in subsequent years.
Looking Ahead
With these priority areas defined, further aims established,
and additional ocean exploration conducted, the next step
with the 2017 forum was to determine how the ocean
exploration community can best manage large quantities of
new and historical data and apply data science analysis and
visualization techniques to them. The 2017 forum yielded
community recommendations, described in a formal report
to be released in 2018, for how data scientists, ocean explor-
ers, and members of other disciplines can work together to
expand traditional concepts of ocean exploration while driv-
ing toward new discoveries, increased access to contempo-
rary and historical data, and improved public engagement.
The 2018 National Ocean Exploration Forum will continue
to build upon previous recommendations and will review
ways to better explain ocean exploration to students and
the public with a goal of developing recommendations for
more effective messaging and engagement strategies.
Vicki Ferrini of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory demon-
strates the SunCAVE’s near-360 degree capabilities at the 2017
National Ocean Exploration Forum. These immersive environ-
ment technologies allow experimentation with new ways to
represent deep ocean bathymetry, seafloor features, and other
attributes of the deep ocean. Image credit: OER
2017 National Ocean Exploration Forum:
Ocean Exploration in a Sea of Data
By David McKinnie and Adrienne Copeland