NOAA and the exploration initiative OceanX have forged a formal agreement to advance ocean exploration and scientific research that increases public understanding of the importance and value of the ocean.
Through a new memorandum of understanding, NOAA scientists will advise and join OceanX on missions aboard specially designed high-tech OceanX vessels to advance their shared goals to explore and characterize the deep ocean.
“We are living in a new age of ocean discovery with today’s ocean explorers working together to better understand the vast mysteries of the global ocean,” said RDML Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., USN Ret., assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator. “NOAA is forging new partnerships such as the one with OceanX to accelerate our mission to explore and characterize the ocean, understand its key role in regulating our weather and climate, and sustainably manage and use its valuable resources to power the American Blue Economy.”
OceanX was created in 2018 with a mission to explore the ocean and bring it back to the world. OceanX combines next-gen technology, science, and storytelling to educate, inspire, and connect the world with the ocean. OceanX does so by convening leading scientists, media entities, global leaders, and philanthropy partners to drive towards greater understanding and protection of our oceans.
The collaboration will support the recent Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and Shoreline and Near Shore of Alaska and the goals announced at the November 2019 White House Summit on Partnerships in Ocean Science and Technology.
The MOU with OceanX comes on the heels of two other partnerships with the technology company Ocean Infinity and Viking Cruises.
Source: NOAA