News: Mechanical Engineer

Seattle, WA Schmidt Ocean Institute – Robotics and Engineering Department  Full-Time / Hybrid Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) was founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt in 2009 with a goal to advance the frontiers of ocean exploration and research through technological advancement, intelligent observation, and open sharing of information. This is achieved by making ship time and … Continued

News: Thriving Antarctic Ecosystems Found in Wake of Recently Detached Iceberg

Scientists explore a seafloor area newly exposed by iceberg A-84; discover vibrant communities of ancient sponges and corals. Video and photos available here. PUNTA ARENAS, Chile— An international team on board Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) working in the Bellingshausen Sea rapidly pivoted their research plans to study an area that was, until last … Continued

Person: Maximilian Schrade

Maximilian Schrade is a doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu, Finland working on the use of eDNA in the assessments of biodiversity of aquatic environments. As part of this work the inclusion of citizen scientists is established and evaluated. Previous work had him investigating the bioturbation of Arctic deep-sea macrobenthos using both camera as … Continued

News: Schmidt Ocean Institute Completes First Expedition To Antarctica

R/V Falkor (too) successfully conducted a sea ice to seafloor transect in the Weddell Sea, livestreamed the polar seafloor worldwide. Video and photos available here. PUNTA ARENAS, Chile— After a year of preparing the ship and crew, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) has completed its first science expedition to Antarctica. The three-week expedition, … Continued

Cruise: Searching for New Species in the South Sandwich Islands

The closest human beings to the Research Vessel Falkor (too) during this expedition might be orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station. The South Sandwich Islands is one of the most remote island chains in the world. It is a volcanic archipelago created by the South American Plate subducting beneath the South Sandwich Plate. Situated between the Southern and Atlantic Oceans, these islands are part of a rich mosaic of tectonic forces that create geologic features such as hadal zone trenches, underwater volcanoes, and spreading centers. These features facilitate high levels of endemism, supporting species found nowhere else.

This Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census Flagship Expedition will be led by Dr. Michelle Taylor, president of the Deep-Sea Biology Society and Senior Lecturer at the University of Essex; her team will locate and describe new species. Dr. Jenny Gales will lead GoSouth, a collaboration between the University of Plymouth, GEOMAR, and the British Antarctic Survey; her team will survey volcanic flanks with ROV SuBastian to determine the impacts of volcanism and earthquake activity on marine ecosystems. The science teams will also seek out deep-sea volcanoes and venture into the 8000-meter-deep South Sandwich Trench, the most geographically isolated and coldest trench on Earth.

Person: Javier Cristobo

Javier Cristobo is a European PhD. in Marine Biology and a researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), Gijón Oceanographic Centre, in the specialty of benthic ecology. The main focus of interest is the Phylum Porifera in different aspects, including Taxonomy, Ecology, Sponge Grounds also the marine invertebrates, Deep Sea fauna, Antarctic research, vulnerable … Continued

Person: Rachel Downey

I am a polar and deep-sea marine biologist with 15 years’ experience in sponge taxonomy, biogeography, and seafloor image analysis. I am originally from the UK having previously worked at the British Antarctic Survey as a marine biologist, via Germany’s Senckenberg Natural History Museum as a sponge taxonomist, to Australia, where I am in the … Continued

Person: Jialing Cai

Jialing Cai is a marine biologist, underwater photographer, and science communicator from Chongqing, China. Her work focuses on exploring marine larval dispersal and planktonic ecosystems through macro photography in the open ocean at night. In 2023, she earned the prestigious title of Ocean Photographer of the Year and was invited by Ocean Census to join … Continued

Person: Oenone Scott

Nonny (Oenone) Scott is a PhD student at the University of Essex. Her research is focused on connectivity of invertebrates in the Southern Ocean, and she is currently working on larval dispersal models of octocorals in the Scotia Sea, with a goal to help improve our understanding of the connectivity of these vulnerable marine ecosystems.  … Continued