Ocean Explorers & Sustainability | Future of Our Seas
- The Statsraad Lehmkuhl, a 98-meter barque transformed into a floating university, recently docked at Port Lympia in Nice, France, coinciding wiht UNOC3.
- More then a century after its construction, the vessel now serves as a cutting-edge research platform.
- The ship's second One Ocean Expedition, which launched April 11 from Bergen, Norway, aims to bridge ocean science, education, and sustainability.
Embark on an remarkable journey wiht the floating university, Statsraad lehmkuhl, as it sails to unlock the secrets of ocean sustainability. This expedition, a fusion of ocean science, education, and sustainability, engages students from 28 countries, studying everything from microplastic pollution to complex ocean dynamics. Discover how these young scientists are using cutting-edge instruments and real-time satellite data to understand our seas better. News Directory 3 follows the mission that unites science and sailing traditions. What scientific breakthroughs will the team make next? Discover what’s next as they navigate the future of our seas.
floating University Embarks on Expedition to Explore Ocean Sustainability
The Statsraad Lehmkuhl, a 98-meter barque transformed into a floating university, recently docked at Port Lympia in Nice, France, coinciding wiht UNOC3. Originally built in 1914 and owned by Norway since 1921, the ship underwent a refit last year, equipping it with advanced ocean science instruments.
More then a century after its construction, the vessel now serves as a cutting-edge research platform. It unites scientists, students, and explorers to unlock the ocean’s secrets, focusing on ocean science, education, and sustainability.
The ship’s second One Ocean Expedition, which launched April 11 from Bergen, Norway, aims to bridge ocean science, education, and sustainability. The expedition seeks to raise awareness and share knowledge about the ocean’s critical role in a sustainable future. The vessel is expected to return to Bergen in a year.
Partnering with the ESA Advanced Training Course on ocean synergy remote sensing as part of the UN decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the expedition has gathered young talent from 28 countries. Together, they are cross-referencing ocean observations from space and sea, connecting satellite data with in-situ research.
Craig Donlon, the ESA ocean scientist leading the expedition, saeid that integrating science, oceanographic expertise, and sailing traditions offers the best approach to understanding the ocean. Real-time satellite data guides on-board research, directing students to areas needing further measurement.
Each day, the ESA transmits space-collected data to the ship, delivering it approximately three and a half hours after processing. Donlon noted that this frequently enough leads to impromptu course corrections based on new discoveries.
Cutting-edge instruments, including acoustic Doppler current profilers, hydrophone arrays, and conductivity, temperature, depth sensors, work together to decode the ocean’s hidden dynamics. Students leverage these tools to cross-pollinate findings in physics, biology, and air-sea interaction, working on projects including internal solitary waves, drifter trajectories, and ocean biodiversity studies.
Pablo Álvarez, an ESA training astronaut slated for the International Space Station, is also participating. He specializes in remote sensing of the ocean’s surface, analyzing satellite imagery to understand surface roughness, wind behavior, and ocean dynamics.
“In both fields [Ocean science and Earth System Science] you’re moving the human knowledge a bit farther with everything you do,” Álvarez said. “I think its in our DNA to explore and to learn more about our habitat, and the universe where we are living.”
Lena Schaffeld, a student from Germany, said she found the expedition inspiring, particularly the high number of female students. Her research focuses on microplastic pollution in the ocean.
“I think we need a lot of women in science, especially ocean science. So,it’s quite nice to be one of them,” Schaffeld said.
schaffeld is collecting data from different seas, including the Norwegian Sea, Arctic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean, and has found more visible plastics in samples taken from the Mediterranean.
She plans to further study these samples, exploring ways to use satellite data to detect microplastics and model their movement with ocean currents.
What’s next
Donlon emphasized the importance of bringing ocean awareness to the public and highlighted the students’ engagement with Peter Thomson, the United Nations Special Envoy for the ocean. He also expressed confidence that the science-based decisions and discussions at UNOC3 will strengthen societies and protect the environment.