SeaKeepers Monitoring Network Now Among
Largest Providers of Global Marine Data

Since its initial installation in 1999 aboard M/Y Allegra, the SeaKeeper 1000™ system has been deployed in various locations around the world, including numerous private luxury yachts, six cruise ships, a car ferry in the Mediterranean, merchant ships, government buoys, and a U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker.  Presently, 55 systems are installed on various platforms. To some, that may not sound like an impressive number. However Dr. Paul Moersdorf, Director of NOAA's National Data Buoy Center, stated, "Anytime you have more than a couple dozen observing platforms you are making a very significant contribution to ocean observing. With well over fifty instrument-equipped vessels, SeaKeepers becomes one of the larger providers of maritime data."

To give an idea of the volume and scale of the SeaKeepers monitoring mission, consider the impact of 20 SeaKeeper-equipped vessels moving at 12 knots in any given day. With measurements made every minute (about every 400 meters), these vessels will collect and distribute more than 28,000 datapoints covering 5,760 miles of ocean. And, since each datapoint consists of 10 discrete scientific and meteorological measurements, the actual number of observations each day for just 20 vessels totals 300,000.

The SeaKeeper 1000™ is now being used by leading institutions including NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center, part of the National Weather Service; the National Marine Sanctuaries Program, for deployment aboard its patrol vessels; and now the hi-tech unmanned Harbor Wing (see www.seakeepers.org for more information). The Society also has partnered with renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography to raise $1.1 million over three years for a joint Coastal Monitoring Project to create the next generation of SeaKeeper 1000™ technology to significantly advance the formation of a globally integrated coastal monitoring system.

Not only is SeaKeepers proud of its 55 installed systems, new orders are increasing.  Approximately 22 new systems are in process, including more yacht owners wanting to aid scientific monitoring. Others interested in supporting ocean monitoring include several international marinas, as well as scientific groups such as the regional Coastal Ocean Observing Systems around US shores. CEO John Englander said, “This recent surge in orders is extremely gratifying.  Our supporters act as a catalyst to yield better data, more cost-effectively, in the long-term interest of a healthy marine environment. However, even more systems are needed out there. Old data is relevant for comparative purposes, but scientists and policy makers need current information, and lots of it.”  While it may look like the ‘same old sea,’ the oceans are changing rapidly due to agricultural and industrial runoff, increased acidity from carbon dioxide, warming, changing populations of marine life, and reduced salinity from melting ice.  Englander added, “We need more data both to monitor what is happening, but also to develop models to better predict future impacts. SeaKeepers aims to be an innovative part of the solution.”