4. VISIONS
COMING TRUE
Artificial Intelligence and
Robotics Begin toTransform
Ocean Conservation and
Research

5. At SOI, we are gearing up for the
future, and the new ways
oceanography will be done. We are
always excited and curious to see
what scientists who conduct
research on board Falkor will come
up with, and how, together, we can
push the existing boundaries of
marine research.
- Wendy Schmidt

6. NUMBERS
AND METRICS
2013-2018
1,176
Science
Days
350 K
Km traveled
(+ Circling the Globe
9Times)
1,176
Scientists
from 165
Institutions
in 30 Countries
1,176
Students
1,176
CTD Casts
1,176
AUV Dives
36
UAVs
Launched
Totaling
31.3 Hours

7. 324
ROV
Dives
737
ROV
Samples
Collected
497
Hrs
livestreamed
onYouTube
NUMBERS
AND METRICS
2013-2018

8. 128
BLOGS
2018 OUTREACH
90
LIVE SHIP TO SHORE
CONNECTIONS
Viewed By 8,187 People
38
DOCUMENTARIES AND
EXHIBITS
Using SOI footage
121
EXPEDITION
VIDEOS
2,741
PEOPLE REACHED
Through Community
Presentations
531,460
Using SOI footage
1,716,000
MINUTES
of YouTube Video Watched
1,000
PEOPLE WELCOMED
onto Falkor for Tours
528,475
on YouTube, 51%
Increase from 2017
VIEWS

9. 272,160
REPORTS
2018 DATA
573,590 KM2
of Falkor Mapping Data
Merged into GMRT since
2012
763 GB
203
DAYS OF DATA
Sent to SAMOS
7, 326
DATA FILES
Downloaded from MGDS
74 TB
of Data
Sent to and Quality
Processed by SAMOS
Falkor and SuBastian
Data Downloaded from
MGDS

10. WHERE
WE HAVE BEEN
Coordinated Robotics: ʻAuʻAu Channel01
Eddy Exploration and Ecosystem Dynamics02
Voyage to the White Shark Café03
Exploring Fronts with Multiple Robots04
Solving Microbial Mysteries with Autonomous Technology05
The Seeping Cascadia Margin06
Adaptive Robotics at Barkley Canyon
& Hydrate Ridge
07
Characterizing Venting and Seepage
Along the California Coast
08
Interdisciplinary Investigation of a
New Hydrothermal Vent Field
09
Interdisciplinary Investigation of a
New Hydrothermal Vent Field
10
New Approaches To Autonomous
Exploration At The Costa Rican Shelf Break
11

11. MAKING
WAVES
2018 HIGHLIGHTS

12. MAKING WAVES
2018 HIGHLIGHTS
Improved marine surveys by teaching
robots to collaborate and share knowledge
Achieved the longest deployment of
Environmental Sampling Processors on
Long Range AUVs
Protected white sharks with Saildrones and
shipboard eDNA

13. MAKING WAVES
2018 HIGHLIGHTS
Located and mapped a Pacific subtropical
ocean front using a coordinated fleet of
robots
Tested in situ microbial incubators to
understand how marine life adapts to
oxygen depletion in the ocean
Reached non-science audiences with
artistic visualization of marine data

14. MAKING WAVES
2018 HIGHLIGHTS
Guided exploration and research of
changing seafloor habitats with AI
Developed new ways to understand ocean
cycles via methane bubbles
Revealed new sites and species in the
California Borderland

15. MAKING WAVES
2018 HIGHLIGHTS
Conducted centimeter-scale AUV survey of
hydrothermal vents in Pescadero Basin
Tested AI-driven robots for a possible
extraterrestrial mission
Broadened participation in ocean sciences

16. AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS
SCALABLE OCEAN RESEARCH WITH

17. The challenge is trying to do as
much as we can to help people
make sensible decisions. Having
more ocean observations is critical
to good science and providing a
comprehensive view of what is
happening, and how things are
changing. This will build our ability to
understand the ocean, and to make
wiser decisions and policies in the
future.
- Oscar Pizarro,
Principal Investigator

18. Collected more
than 500,000
georeferenced images along the the
'Au'Au Channel covering 77,453 m2
of seafloor
LRAUVs sample to
depths of
300 m
LRAUVs sample
to depths of
1,000 km

19. data
stations
80
CTD
casts
28
shark satellite
pop-up tags
recovered
10
yielding 70+ hours of
midwater observations in
habitat never before
surveyed
9 SuBastian
Dives

20. PLATFORM
AWORKING

21. CLOUD DATA ANALYTICS
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND
ACCELERATE MARINE SCIENCE

22. It is amazing to see large areas of
the seafloor mapped only days after
the raw data was collected. It is not
just the size of the map, but the way
we used it to inform our on-site
decisions. This makes a real
difference as the technology allows
us to visualize wide areas at high
resolution, and select where we
should collect data. This has not
previously been possible.
- Blair Thornton,
Principal Investigator

23. TECHNICAL INNOVATION
SCALING UP MARINE CONSERVATION WITH

24. We are taking the latest and greatest
technologies and using it to
understand the relationships among
the geology, chemistry, and the
animal life.
- Peter Girguis,
Principal Investigator

25. for acidity, nutrients, and dissolved gases
600 chemical analyses
gathering 15,000 bottles of seawater for further
analysis
325 shipboard experiments

26. UNDERSEA FEATURE NAME PRO POSAL
(Sea NOTE overleaf)
Note: The boxeswill expa nd as you fill the form.
The prop oser offers the IHO/SCUF N the op tion to select a nam e fo r this feature should o ne be deem ed m ore
suit able or al ready prop osed bu t held on a reserved nam es list
Ab ove: 200m con tour plot (WGS 84 DD MM SS) of the proposed Phobos Seamoun t detailed in this naming pr oposa l
[File: Phobos Seamount 001]
UNDERSEA FEATURE NAME PRO POSAL
(Sea NOTE overle af)
Note: The boxeswill expa nd as you fill the form.
The prop oser of fers SCU FN/IHO /Un ited States the option to app ly a nam e from their reserved n ames lis t
sho uld they deem o ne more suitabl e/appropriate
Above: Plan view of propose d Cornerstone Ridge feature cover ed by thisp roposa l [Flede rmaus]
[Suppor ting image 001.tif]
UNDE RSEA FEATURE NAME PRO POSAL
(Sea NOTE overleaf)
Note: Theboxeswill expandas you fillthe form.
Above:3Drendering of the pr oposed Indy Maruseamount detail edint he followi ngpr oposal [Fledermaus]
[IndyMar uSeamountSupportingImage001.png]
Above:Plan viewof proposedIndyMaruSeamount featur e [Fledermaus]
[IndyMaru Seamount SupportingImage 002.png]
North
WHAT WE FOUND
2013-2018
Colosseum Guyot
Terra Nova Shipwreck
Phobos Seamount
Cornerstone Ridge
Ffynnon Garw Hill
Tell Qarqur Knoll
Nautilus Seamount
Falkor Seamount
Falkor Deep
Engineers Ridge
Schmidt SeamountAfa Maolk Seamount
Cenotaph Seamount

27. DIGITIZING MARINE LIFE
AND SEAFLOOR HABITATS

28. We are seeing these sites right now
as they are in their full glory, and that
let’s us make comparisons to the
past and future, with an eye on
scientific decisions about
conservation, management, or
places for further investigation
- Charlotte Seid,
Scientist

29. INSPIRING
AND SHARING

30. REACHED MORE
THAN 100 GROUPS
Scientists on Falkor
LINKING OVER 8,000
students and members of the public
to the research happening on board

31. FRONT
AND CENTER

32. FRONT
AND CENTER

33. ARTISTIC
ENDEAVORS

34. ARTISTIC
ENDEAVORS 21
ARTISTS
99
Created through the Program
PIECES OF ARTWORK
14
in 10 Different Cities
EXHIBITS
Scientists on Falkor
REACHED MORE
THAN 100 GROUPS
students and members of the
public to the research
happening on board
LINKING OVER 8,000

35. FALKOR ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
Main Engines, Port Main Engine Clutch, Sea
Water Cooler, Emergency Generator
FALKOR SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
ROV Event Logger, Irradiance Sensors
High PerformanceComputing, Cybersecurity & Falkor’s Network
Enrollment, Ship-to-ShoreVideo Enhancements, Advanced
Shipboard Monitoring, Faster Internet.
FALKOR AUDIO VISUAL / INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY /
ELECTRONICS
FALKOR

36. REMOTE OPERATION OF ROV SUBASTIAN
ROV SUBASTIAN
SEAFLOOR STEREO IMAGERY CAPABILITY
BETTER VEHICLE CONTROL
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
EQUIPMENT
CATENARY FLOAT RACK FOR
UMBILICAL

37. COLLABORATORS

38. SchmidtOcean
Schmidt Ocean Institute
SchmidtOcean
SchmidtOcean
www.SchmidtOcean.org