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Sebastien de Halleux: How a fleet of wind-powered drones is changing our understanding of the ocean
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Our oceans are unexplored and undersampled -- today, we still know more about other planets than our own. How can we get to a better understanding of this vast, important ecosystem? Explorer Sebastien de Halleux shares how a new fleet of wind- and solar-powered drones is collecting data at sea in unprecedented detail, revealing insights into things like global weather and the health of fish stocks. Learn more about what a better grasp of the ocean could mean for us back on land.
Sebastien de Halleux - Entrepreneur, explorer
Sebastien de Halleux is a technology entrepreneur with a lifelong passion for building impactful businesses. Full bio
Sebastien de Halleux is a technology entrepreneur with a lifelong passion for building impactful businesses. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
We know more about
other planets than our own,
other planets than our own,
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and today, I want to show you
a new type of robot
a new type of robot
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designed to help us
better understand our own planet.
better understand our own planet.
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It belongs to a category
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known in the oceanographic community
as an unmanned surface vehicle, or USV.
as an unmanned surface vehicle, or USV.
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And it uses no fuel.
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Instead, it relies
on wind power for propulsion.
on wind power for propulsion.
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And yet, it can sail around the globe
for months at a time.
for months at a time.
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So I want to share with you
why we built it,
why we built it,
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and what it means for you.
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A few years ago, I was on a sailboat
making its way across the Pacific,
making its way across the Pacific,
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from San Francisco to Hawaii.
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I had just spent the past 10 years
working nonstop,
working nonstop,
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developing video games
for hundreds of millions of users,
for hundreds of millions of users,
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and I wanted to take a step back
and look at the big picture
and look at the big picture
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and get some much-needed thinking time.
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I was the navigator on board,
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and one evening, after a long session
analyzing weather data
analyzing weather data
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and plotting our course,
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I came up on deck and saw
this beautiful sunset.
this beautiful sunset.
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And a thought occurred to me:
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How much do we really know
about our oceans?
about our oceans?
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The Pacific was stretching all around me
as far as the eye could see,
as far as the eye could see,
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and the waves were
rocking our boat forcefully,
rocking our boat forcefully,
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a sort of constant reminder
of its untold power.
of its untold power.
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How much do we really know
about our oceans?
about our oceans?
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I decided to find out.
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What I quickly learned
is that we don't know very much.
is that we don't know very much.
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The first reason is just
how vast oceans are,
how vast oceans are,
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covering 70 percent of the planet,
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and yet we know they drive
complex planetary systems
complex planetary systems
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like global weather,
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which affect all of us on a daily basis,
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sometimes dramatically.
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And yet, those activities
are mostly invisible to us.
are mostly invisible to us.
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Ocean data is scarce by any standard.
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Back on land, I had grown used to
accessing lots of sensors --
accessing lots of sensors --
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billions of them, actually.
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But at sea, in situ data
is scarce and expensive.
is scarce and expensive.
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Why? Because it relies on
a small number of ships and buoys.
a small number of ships and buoys.
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How small a number
was actually a great surprise.
was actually a great surprise.
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Our National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration,
and Atmospheric Administration,
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better known as NOAA,
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only has 16 ships,
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and there are less than
200 buoys offshore globally.
200 buoys offshore globally.
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It is easy to understand why:
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the oceans are an unforgiving place,
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and to collect in situ data,
you need a big ship,
you need a big ship,
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capable of carrying a vast amount of fuel
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and large crews,
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costing hundreds
of millions of dollars each,
of millions of dollars each,
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or, big buoys tethered to the ocean floor
with a four-mile-long cable
with a four-mile-long cable
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and weighted down
by a set of train wheels,
by a set of train wheels,
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which is both dangerous to deploy
and expensive to maintain.
and expensive to maintain.
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What about satellites, you might ask?
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Well, satellites are fantastic,
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and they have taught us
so much about the big picture
so much about the big picture
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over the past few decades.
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However, the problem with satellites
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is they can only see through one micron
of the surface of the ocean.
of the surface of the ocean.
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They have relatively poor
spatial and temporal resolution,
spatial and temporal resolution,
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and their signal needs to be corrected
for cloud cover and land effects
for cloud cover and land effects
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and other factors.
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So what is going on in the oceans?
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And what are we trying to measure?
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And how could a robot be of any use?
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Let's zoom in on
a small cube in the ocean.
a small cube in the ocean.
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One of the key things we want
to understand is the surface,
to understand is the surface,
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because the surface,
if you think about it,
if you think about it,
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is the nexus of all air-sea interaction.
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It is the interface through which
all energy and gases must flow.
all energy and gases must flow.
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Our sun radiates energy,
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which is absorbed by oceans as heat
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and then partially released
into the atmosphere.
into the atmosphere.
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Gases in our atmosphere like CO2
get dissolved into our oceans.
get dissolved into our oceans.
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Actually, about 30 percent
of all global CO2 gets absorbed.
of all global CO2 gets absorbed.
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Plankton and microorganisms
release oxygen into the atmosphere,
release oxygen into the atmosphere,
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so much so that every other breath
you take comes from the ocean.
you take comes from the ocean.
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Some of that heat generates evaporation,
which creates clouds
which creates clouds
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and then eventually
leads to precipitation.
leads to precipitation.
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And pressure gradients
create surface wind,
create surface wind,
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which moves the moisture
through the atmosphere.
through the atmosphere.
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Some of the heat radiates down
into the deep ocean
into the deep ocean
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and gets stored in different layers,
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the ocean acting as some kind
of planetary-scale boiler
of planetary-scale boiler
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to store all that energy,
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which later might be released
in short-term events like hurricanes
in short-term events like hurricanes
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or long-term phenomena like El Niño.
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These layers can get mixed up
by vertical upwelling currents
by vertical upwelling currents
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or horizontal currents,
which are key in transporting heat
which are key in transporting heat
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from the tropics to the poles.
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And of course, there is marine life,
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occupying the largest ecosystem
in volume on the planet,
in volume on the planet,
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from microorganisms to fish
to marine mammals,
to marine mammals,
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like seals, dolphins and whales.
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But all of these
are mostly invisible to us.
are mostly invisible to us.
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The challenge in studying
those ocean variables at scale
those ocean variables at scale
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is one of energy,
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the energy that it takes to deploy
sensors into the deep ocean.
sensors into the deep ocean.
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And of course, many solutions
have been tried --
have been tried --
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from wave-actuated devices
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to surface drifters
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to sun-powered electrical drives --
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each with their own compromises.
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Our team breakthrough came
from an unlikely source --
from an unlikely source --
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the pursuit of the world speed record
in a wind-powered land yacht.
in a wind-powered land yacht.
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It took 10 years of research
and development
and development
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to come up with a novel wing concept
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that only uses three watts
of power to control
of power to control
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and yet can propel a vehicle
all around the globe
all around the globe
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with seemingly unlimited autonomy.
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By adapting this wing concept
into a marine vehicle,
into a marine vehicle,
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we had the genesis of an ocean drone.
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Now, these are larger than they appear.
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They are about 15 feet high,
23 feet long, seven feet deep.
23 feet long, seven feet deep.
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Think of them as surface satellites.
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They're laden with an array
of science-grade sensors
of science-grade sensors
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that measure all key variables,
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both oceanographic and atmospheric,
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and a live satellite link transmits
this high-resolution data
this high-resolution data
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back to shore in real time.
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Our team has been hard at work
over the past few years,
over the past few years,
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conducting missions in some of
the toughest ocean conditions
the toughest ocean conditions
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on the planet,
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from the Arctic to the tropical Pacific.
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We have sailed all the way
to the polar ice shelf.
to the polar ice shelf.
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We have sailed into Atlantic hurricanes.
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We have rounded Cape Horn,
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and we have slalomed between
the oil rigs of the Gulf of Mexico.
the oil rigs of the Gulf of Mexico.
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This is one tough robot.
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Let me share with you
recent work that we did
recent work that we did
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around the Pribilof Islands.
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This is a small group of islands
deep in the cold Bering Sea
deep in the cold Bering Sea
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between the US and Russia.
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Now, the Bering Sea is the home
of the walleye pollock,
of the walleye pollock,
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which is a whitefish
you might not recognize,
you might not recognize,
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but you might likely have tasted
if you enjoy fish sticks or surimi.
if you enjoy fish sticks or surimi.
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Yes, surimi looks like crabmeat,
but it's actually pollock.
but it's actually pollock.
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And the pollock fishery
is the largest fishery in the nation,
is the largest fishery in the nation,
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both in terms of value and volume --
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about 3.1 billion pounds
of fish caught every year.
of fish caught every year.
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So over the past few years,
a fleet of ocean drones
a fleet of ocean drones
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has been hard at work in the Bering Sea
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with the goal to help assess
the size of the pollock fish stock.
the size of the pollock fish stock.
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This helps improve the quota system
that's used to manage the fishery
that's used to manage the fishery
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and help prevent a collapse
of the fish stock
of the fish stock
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and protects this fragile ecosystem.
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Now, the drones survey
the fishing ground using acoustics,
the fishing ground using acoustics,
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i.e., a sonar.
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This sends a sound wave downwards,
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and then the reflection,
the echo from the sound wave
the echo from the sound wave
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from the seabed or schools of fish,
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gives us an idea of what's happening
below the surface.
below the surface.
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Our ocean drones are actually
pretty good at this repetitive task,
pretty good at this repetitive task,
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so they have been gridding
the Bering Sea day in, day out.
the Bering Sea day in, day out.
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Now, the Pribilof Islands are also
the home of a large colony of fur seals.
the home of a large colony of fur seals.
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In the 1950s, there were about
two million individuals in that colony.
two million individuals in that colony.
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Sadly, these days,
the population has rapidly declined.
the population has rapidly declined.
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There's less than 50 percent
of that number left,
of that number left,
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and the population
continues to fall rapidly.
continues to fall rapidly.
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So to understand why,
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our science partner at
the National Marine Mammal Laboratory
the National Marine Mammal Laboratory
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has fitted a GPS tag
on some of the mother seals,
on some of the mother seals,
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glued to their furs.
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And this tag measures location and depth
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and also has a really cool little camera
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that's triggered by sudden acceleration.
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Here is a movie taken
by an artistically inclined seal,
by an artistically inclined seal,
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giving us unprecedented insight
into an underwater hunt
into an underwater hunt
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deep in the Arctic,
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and the shot of this pollock prey
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just seconds before it gets devoured.
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Now, doing work in the Arctic
is very tough, even for a robot.
is very tough, even for a robot.
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They had to survive a snowstorm in August
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and interferences from bystanders --
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that little spotted seal enjoying a ride.
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(Laughter)
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Now, the seal tags have recorded
over 200,000 dives over the season,
over 200,000 dives over the season,
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and upon a closer look,
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we get to see the individual seal tracks
and the repetitive dives.
and the repetitive dives.
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We are on our way to decode
what is really happening
what is really happening
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over that foraging ground,
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and it's quite beautiful.
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Once you superimpose the acoustic data
collected by the drones,
collected by the drones,
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a picture starts to emerge.
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As the seals leave the islands
and swim from left to right,
and swim from left to right,
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they are observed to dive at a relatively
shallow depth of about 20 meters,
shallow depth of about 20 meters,
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which the drone identifies
is populated by small young pollock
is populated by small young pollock
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with low calorific content.
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The seals then swim much greater distance
and start to dive deeper
and start to dive deeper
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to a place where the drone identifies
larger, more adult pollock,
larger, more adult pollock,
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which are more nutritious as fish.
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Unfortunately, the calories expended
by the mother seals
by the mother seals
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to swim this extra distance
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don't leave them with enough energy
to lactate their pups back on the island,
to lactate their pups back on the island,
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leading to the population decline.
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Further, the drones identify that
the water temperature around the island
the water temperature around the island
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has significantly warmed.
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It might be one of the driving forces
that's pushing the pollock north,
that's pushing the pollock north,
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and to spread in search of colder regions.
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So the data analysis is ongoing,
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but already we can see
that some of the pieces of the puzzle
that some of the pieces of the puzzle
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from the fur seal mystery
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are coming into focus.
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But if you look back at the big picture,
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we are mammals, too.
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And actually, the oceans provide
up to 20 kilos of fish per human per year.
up to 20 kilos of fish per human per year.
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As we deplete our fish stocks,
what can we humans learn
what can we humans learn
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from the fur seal story?
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And beyond fish, the oceans
affect all of us daily
affect all of us daily
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as they drive global weather systems,
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which affect things like
global agricultural output
global agricultural output
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or can lead to devastating destruction
of lives and property
of lives and property
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through hurricanes,
extreme heat and floods.
extreme heat and floods.
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Our oceans are pretty much
unexplored and undersampled,
unexplored and undersampled,
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and today, we still know more
about other planets than our own.
about other planets than our own.
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But if you divide this vast ocean
in six-by-six-degree squares,
in six-by-six-degree squares,
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each about 400 miles long,
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you'd get about 1,000 such squares.
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So little by little,
working with our partners,
working with our partners,
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we are deploying one ocean drone
in each of those boxes,
in each of those boxes,
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the hope being that
achieving planetary coverage
achieving planetary coverage
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will give us better insights
into those planetary systems
into those planetary systems
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that affect humanity.
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We have been using robots to study
distant worlds in our solar system
distant worlds in our solar system
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for a while now.
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Now it is time to quantify our own planet,
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because we cannot fix
what we cannot measure,
what we cannot measure,
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and we cannot prepare
for what we don't know.
for what we don't know.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sebastien de Halleux - Entrepreneur, explorerSebastien de Halleux is a technology entrepreneur with a lifelong passion for building impactful businesses.
Why you should listen
Sebastien de Halleux is currently chief operating officer at Saildrone, a company that designs, manufactures and operates a global fleet of wind- and solar-powered ocean drones monitoring the state of the planet in real time. Saildrone's mission is to quantify planetary systems that affect humanity like extreme weather, global fisheries and carbon fluxes.
Before Saildrone, de Halleux cofounded a video games company called Playfish, which disrupted the industry by turning solitary game play into social experiences. Playfish attracted hundreds of million of users before being acquired by Electronics Arts. He also helped launch one of the very first mobile game companies back when mobiles had black and white screens and actual keypads, which IPOed on NASDAQ.
An internationally recognized leader, recipient of the Tech 100 and Tech Fellow Awards and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, de Halleux holds a master's in civil and environmental engineering from Imperial College, London. In his spare time, he spends every minute with his children and friends on his sailboat or driving a mobile cinema truck trough rural Africa. He recently welcomed his fourth child, a daughter named Xochi.
Sebastien de Halleux | Speaker | TED.com