August Newsletter | Marine Technology Society
IN THIS ISSUE

  • MTS News & Updates
  • OCEANS 2021
  • Industry News & Features
  • Upcoming Conferences
Eddies is a free, public digest featuring marine tech industry news and opportunities.
MTS NEWS & UPDATES
Challenger Deep Dive: From the Heights to the Depths - A Webinar with Dr. Kathryn Sullivan

Wednesday, August 19, 12 Noon - 1:00 PM (ET)

Dr. Kathryn Sullivan is the first person to both walk in space and reach the deepest spot in the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the southern end of the Marianas Trench. In this webinar, she will talk about this historic dive, her experience as an astronaut, and her work with Caladan Oceanic's Hadal Exploration System - the only submarine certified with an official "depth unlimited" rating. Moderated by MTS President Zdenka Willis.
Global OCEANS 2020: Singapore-U.S. Gulf Coast (October 5-14, 2020)

The agenda for the first ever virtual Global OCEANS 2020: Singapore - U.S. Gulf Coast is now live!

Here's a few highlights:


  • Advances in Oceanographic Research and Technology Development at Sea
  • Exploring Worlds Beyond the Coastline
  • Pipeline for Marine Technology Development and Testing

There's only one month left to register at the lowest rate of the year for the conference that brings together thought leaders and innovators in marine technology, engineering, science, research, and education from across the globe.
INDUSTRY NEWS & FEATURES
UH Underwater Vehicle Charging Station Wins National Competition


In a win for the Aloha State, a group of students from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa took the top prize in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 2020 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition. Beating out 13 other teams from prominent schools including Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Virginia Tech, and international universities from India and Barbados, the UH Mānoa team scored the highest number of points and also took home the Best Pitch award, one of five individual honors.

UH Mānoa’s four-member team included team lead Nicholas Ulm and business plan lead Stefan Mrozewksi from the Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering (ORE) in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and Jonathan Wallen and Maddyson Jeske from the College of Engineering. They were mentored by Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute faculty member Patrick Cross, whom Ulm credits with pushing them to stay organized and communicative throughout the process.

The event challenged multidisciplinary teams of students to develop unique solutions to advance the marine energy industry as related to providing power to offshore applications of relevance to the blue economy. Each group was tasked with designing a device that extracts energy from the sea and makes it available to maritime interests such as aquaculture, autonomous vehicles, ocean observing, desalination, power for remote communities and other offshore uses.
New Lakebed Mapping Tool to Assist in Collaboration, Efficiency

Posted by: The Alpena News

 New technology will assist researchers, biologists, geologists, and many more to collaborate in lakebed mapping for more efficiency, saving both time and money for multiple agencies while providing a more detailed look at the underwater world.

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (TBNMS) recently completed a mapping prioritization study that will help guide future lakebed mapping, research, and exploration efforts in sanctuary waters in Lake Huron. The study gathered the most urgent mapping needs from 24 local experts in order to identify common mapping priorities and better understand the resources of the sanctuary
Florida Current is the Weakest Its Been in a Century


The Florida Current, which forms the start of the Gulf Stream, has slowed over the past century and is the slowest it has been at any point in the past 110 years, a new study reveals.

Researchers have developed a method of tracking the strength of near-shore ocean currents using measurements made at the coast, offering the potential to reduce one of the biggest uncertainties related to observations of climate change over the past century.

“In the ocean, almost everything is connected,” said Christopher Piecuch, an assistant scientist in the Physical Oceanography Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and author of the study published Friday in Nature Communications. “We can use those connections to look at things in the past or far from shore, giving us a more complete view of the ocean and how it changes across space and time.”

Changing Seawater Hints at Future for Adhesives from Ocean Species


A scientist who studies ocean species to develop adhesives is now looking at the changing chemistry of seawater to see how it may affect the ability of mussels to adhere to their surroundings.
 
The researcher is using these insights to design adhesives for consumer products. Jonathan Wilker, a Purdue University chemist and materials engineer, studies how mussels secrete sticky plaques for attaching to wet surfaces. Wilker and colleagues use these discoveries to create new, biomimetic adhesives for everything from electronics and vehicles to construction structures and cosmetics.
NOAA, Navy Teaming Up to Work on Unmanned Maritime Systems, Policy

Posted by: USNI News

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Navy are formalizing a partnership on unmanned maritime systems and the policies that will govern their operations, as each organization stakes out their own unmanned futures.

The agreement is the result of the Commercial Engagement Through Ocean Technology Act of 2018, which called for greater collaboration between NOAA and the Navy and was sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
The law “requires NOAA to coordinate research, assess, and acquire unmanned maritime systems with the U.S. Navy, other federal agencies, industry, and academia,” reads the act.
Upcoming Conferences
The Underwater Technology Podcast

Check out these weekly short podcasts from the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) featuring news and an interview with an expert on underwater technology, engineering, science, history, and policy from across the international subsea world.

Past episodes include:
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