SPECIAL REPORT

JAMES DEVOY ON OCEAN CITIZEN SCIENCE

- JAMES DEVOY

The notion of conducting scientific Tresearch on board can sound intimidating. It conjures up images of experts in white coats, working in clinical laboratories. The idea that the average sailor can carry out meaningful experiments on a conventional yacht, without special equipment or giving up all their precious sailing time, might seem far-fetched. However, with so many 'citizen science' projects appealing for volunteer sailors to help them gather data there are an increasing number of opportunities to embrace your inner marine biologist.

Given the relative difficulty of getting out to sea for any length of time and the enormous size of the world's oceans it's easy to see why marine scientists face particular challenges in collecting sufficient data, but this is where bluewater sailors may be able to help.

Changes in the ocean can have enormous effects on land, from weather patterns to food production to travel. When famed sailor and ARC founder Jimmy Cornell set out to update his book Cornell's Ocean Atlas he was shocked by the changes to currents in the ocean that had occurred even in his own lifetime. He was moved to add the following to the introduction of the 2nd edition: 'Sailors are far more aware of what's happening out in the oceans, and don't question that change is taking place, [they] just simply deal with it. And anyone who doesn't believe it's happening should just go out and sail the Northwest Passage.'

Cornell's work has long included mapping changes that are occurring to the ocean environment and climate. To this end he reached out to several scientific organisations, and on his 2014 Aventura IV expedition participated in the Secchi Disk Foundation's study.