Ocean research
Marine scientist Mari Myksvoll on board Statsraad Lehmkuhl. Photo: Arnbjørg Aagesen / Havforskningsinstituttet

Collects an ocean of data from the circumnavigation

3 months ago
Written by Anders Jakobsen, Institute of Marine Research
Ocean research > Collects an ocean of data from the circumnavigation

Collects an ocean of data from the circumnavigation

3 months agoOcean research
Written by Anders Jakobsen, Institute of Marine Research
Marine scientist Mari Myksvoll on board Statsraad Lehmkuhl. Photo: Arnbjørg Aagesen / Havforskningsinstituttet

During the first 13 months of the circumnavigation, "Statsraad Lehmkuhl" collected more than 700,000 files of research data. That equals to more than 8.6 terabytes.

This article was published during the One Ocean Expedition 2021-2023.

When the tall ship "Statsraad Lehmkuhl" left the quay in Arendal in August 2021 and set off on the One Ocean circumnavigation, the ship had been transformed into a somewhat downscaled research vessel.

Long before the voyage, scientists from the Norwegian Institute of Marin Research (HI), among others, had installed all kinds of research equipment on board. Data from sonar, wave measurements, hydrophones, environmental DNA measurements and temperature are just some of what is collected during the ship's journey around the earth.

Students Kjetil Grotle and Erlend Mundal from UiB prepare the CTD to take samples in the Gulf Stream. Photo: Arnbjørg Aagesen / Havforskningsinstituttet
Students Kjetil Grotle and Erlend Mundal from UiB prepare the CTD to take samples in the Gulf Stream. Photo: Arnbjørg Aagesen / Havforskningsinstituttet

Eight terabytes

This data eventually ends up at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. Much of it in real time.

Until mid-September 2022, 700,000 files of data were received. In terms of storage space, we are talking about 8.6 terabytes or 8600 megabytes.

- Data is continuously coming in from both the meteorological and oceanographic devices that measure temperature, salt, weather and wind, says Sjur Ringheim Lid.

He is head of digital development at HI, and is part of the team responsible for collecting data from the ship.

- Every time there is a crew change, we get the remaining data in, says the data manager.

And by remaining, he means, among other things, data on acoustics, ocean acidification, waves and environmental DNA.

Fishing is part of the research program. Photo: André Marton Pedersen
Fishing is part of the research program. Photo: André Marton Pedersen

Everything will be made available

HI has an open data policy. All research data is made available to everyone.

- This is something we are working to achieve, and the data from One Ocean follows this principle of transparency, says Lid.

By sharing data across disciplines and institutions, new opportunities for research are opened up. Also in many, many years.

- Sharing data should be a matter of course for all scientists and data collectors. Considering how expensive it is to collect data, it is only fair that we share it with others, says Lid.

The ship has been transformed into a research vessel. Illustration: HI
The ship has been transformed into a research vessel. Illustration: HI

Automatically sendt from the ship

All the data from the circumnavigation feeds into the Norwegian Marine Data Centre, which is a HI-led data centre.

- What is special about the data collection from the One Ocean voyage is that, for the first time, we are offering a machine-to-machine interface that is used by external partners. This is the way we want to do it in the future, says Lid.

Earlier, research data of this type was sent via FTP servers, but now the data center receives all the information automatically.

Translated from Norwegian by Ronald Toppe

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The One Ocean Expedition 2025-2026 is a 12-month voyage aboard the Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, aimed at raising awareness and sharing knowledge about the crucial importance of the ocean for a sustainable future on a global scale.

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