New Eras of Discovery
NEPTUNE is at the forefront of a transformation in the sciences that is opening a new era of discovery on our planet.
Traditional Approaches to Studying the Oceans
Traditionally, the oceans and seafloor have been studied with ships, satellites, and instrumented moorings. Ships, however, can only be in one place at one time, and satellites mostly provide information about the uppermost portions of the ocean. Instruments are limited by battery life and power requirements.
Powerful Natural Processes
Yet many of the most powerful and fascinating processes in the oceans take place in episodic or intermittent fashion: massive storms, erupting submarine volcanoes, giant earthquakes, marine mammal feeding and hunting patterns, phytoplankton blooms in the upper ocean, and releases of microbes that live in the rocks beneath the seafloor and thrive on a diet of volcanic gas.
A Four-Dimensional Approach
We have not studied these processes or events well because the tools at hand are not well suited to the task. Understanding and prediction depend upon being present throughout the ocean, all the time, with the capacity to detect, measure, sample and respond to these rapidly evolving, energetic events. New technologies that extend power and bandwidth to the seafloor will enable this type of remote, real-time, long-term interactive presence in the oceans. Data collected will offer a four-dimensional approach--the three spatial dimensions plus time--to the study of earth and ocean processes.
