U.S., NASA will give $17 million to explore marine biodiversity


The U.S. has announced a new prototype system to "gauge national marine biodiversity," NASA reports. The system will include three demonstration projects, which together will cost roughly $17 million.
The projects, which will be completed over the next five years, will be funded by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in conjunction with contributions from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The prototype observation networks will use NASA satellite data from marine environments in four locations in the U.S: the Florida Keys; Monterey Bay and the Santa Barbara Channel in California; and the continental shelf in the Chukchi Sea in Alaska. The Shell Oil Company will also contribute funding to the Alaska project.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scientists hope the projects will "lay the foundation" for the first national network to monitor biodiversity, NASA reports. The new network would include observations of every part of marine life, "at scales ranging from microbes to whales." If successful, the network could "serve as a marine resource management tool to conserve existing biodiversity and enhance U.S. biosecurity against threats such as invasive species and infectious agents," according to NASA. The network could also help scientists develop strategies for dealing with pollution and climate change.
"We now have large amounts of biologically relevant information on marine ecosystems, including global observations of ocean color and sea surface temperature from space," Woody Turner, manager of NASA's Biodiversity Research Program at NASA's Washington headquarters, said in a statement. "But we need a more effective way of combining different types of information to get a better picture of how marine ecosystems are changing if we are to sustain these important ecosystem resources."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
Why does Donald Trump keeping showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
‘Democracy is under threat globally’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Job hugging: the growing trend of clinging to your job
In the Spotlight People are staying in their jobs longer than ever
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th test
speed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Colorado
speed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's study
Speed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-off
Speed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet undersea
Speed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition