OCEAN SEARCH

We have started installing the sensor system into Searcher No 1. The system should be operational in time for the Round Gotland Race.

The weather sensor reports true wind speed and direction independent of yacht movements, plus the air temperature and barometric pressure.

The sensor tank assembly with four sensor cavities: Carbohydrates, Biofouling, Salinity and pH.

Data aquisition computer.

Climate change is one of our society’s greatest challenges and the climate has become one of the most dominant issues on both the political agenda and in the public debate. Although we are totally dependent on the oceans, 95% of them are still unexplored. Mankind now faces an enormous challenge to explore and protect the largest ecosystem on earth, and this will not be enough to rely solely on new technology. We believe that participation is key if we are to stand ready for the social and political changes needed, and one of the oldest formula for participation is storytelling. Stories are what humans use to share knowledge and give meaning to our lives.

Ocean Search is a unique project that links social media, creative visualization and advanced sensor technology. Ocean Search caters to all the thousands of people in the sailing community, with the aim of creating a fleet of sensor-equipped boats acting as anchor points for stories to be told about the oceans.

Ocean Search will explore new ways to observe the oceans, where stories and tools to collect climate data will be made available to sailors and the public, thus creating commitment, participation and awareness. Ocean Search opens up new relationships between research and the people – a relationship where people are no longer passive recipients, but very much active participants. The individual will be a powerful force in the emerging change for more sustainable solutions. Ocean Search has great potential to become an effective platform to engage new groups on these issues, and meets a basic need by making research and information available on climate change and ocean health. Ocean Search is a collaborative project that ranges over a number of disciplines, organizations and businesses. It is led by the Interactive Institute with collaborators such as Journeyman, The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, Imego, Acreo and a handful of industrial partners.

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