Latest article in the Boston Globe: Eric Schmidt, executive chair of Google, and his wife, Wendy, own the only privately-owned oceanographic research vessel on the sea, the R/V Falkor. They provide grants for ocean scientists worldwide to do deep-ocean mapping and pure oceanographic research from on board.
Most excitingly, in my opinion, they’re now designing a brand new deep-sea submersible as a permanent fixture for the Falkor, in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. It’ll be one of just two robotic divers worldwide able to dive to the ocean’s deepest environments, like the Mariana Trench almost 11 km below the surface.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute, which runs the Falkor, has loads of fantastic video, photos, and info from the ship’s expeditions here:
Julie Huber of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and Mario Fernandez of WHOI, collecting samples. Image: Chris German, provided by Schmidt Ocean Insitute