It is now indisputable that our oceans are severely deteriorating and undergoing rapid change. From marine litter, to offshore drilling, to ship collisions: our oceans are exposed to a range of threats that are induced and aggravated by human activities. These anthropogenic factors harm the marine environment and give rise to other pressing problems such as contamination and acidification of our ocean. In turn, this results in further degradation of entire marine ecosystems, which affects the overall health of marine habitats and breath-taking marine life. On top of that, additional stress factors, namely plastic pollution, are speeding up the extinction of endangered species such as the Mediterranean monk seals and sperm whales (Fig. 1) [1]. With the ever-growing threats to our ocean, immediate action is required before our oceans become nothing but an irrecoverable loss to humanity. Meanwhile, advancement in technology has encouraged countless groundbreaking discoveries related to deep-ocean exploration, ocean conservation, and more. These breakthroughs could provide some of the solutions we need to take conservation efforts to the next level to find a fix to the planetary crisis of our oceans, and could be a great step towards reaching SDG 14.
Aquadrones
Admittedly, plastic is the most abundant yet toxic form of litter found both on land and in water [3,4]. It accounts for almost 80% of all marine litter with almost 14 million tons of plastic ending up in the ocean each year (Fig. 2) [4]. Fortunately, drone technology has come to the rescue of our plastic-filled oceans. RanMarine, a Dutch technology company, has developed the first autonomous water-based drone called WasteShark that can remove plastic waste and marine debris from congested waterways such as harbours and ports [5]. These aquadrones can collect up to 500 kilograms of marine litter per day and successfully deliver them back to shore for proper disposal [6, 7]. This ensures that marine waste originating from land is immediately removed from its initial source before it travels further and contaminates the ocean [7].
In general, WasteShark drones get to work by storing the collected waste in a basket structure that is attached underneath the body of the drone. An on-deck algorithm detects when each drone is full, which then triggers the drones to return to their charging pods to empty the waste collected and recharge themselves [5, 7]. These drones can also function collectively by making decisions based on shared interactions and knowledge; for example, if a drone is filling up quickly, it learns that it is working in a waste-dense area [7]. By understanding that additional help is required to clean up this area, the drone then signals for more drones to be deployed. As the accumulation of waste can vary depending on weather and tidal conditions, these drones are also capable of learning more about the environment to make prompt decisions based on these conditions [7]. Most importantly, these drones emit no carbon, produce no noise or light and pose no threat to wildlife [9]. Therefore, the potential of aquadrones to remove marine waste and restore ocean life is far-reaching and incomparable to any.
Biomimetic Undersea Robots
On another note, much of the ocean floor and marine ecosystems are damaged in the process of constructing and maintaining deep-sea mining stations and offshore wind farms (Fig. 3) [10]. In response to these problems, aquatic robots were developed to monitor the impact of undersea infrastructures on the marine environment – however, most were too clunky and inefficient which increases the possibility of harming marine life [10]. So, scientists have been turning to nature to inspire new forms of aquatic robots that can sustainably repair and maintain undersea facilities. Recently, they have gained inspiration from the most efficient and agile swimmers on earth – the moon jellyfish [11]. The moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) has a unique way of recapturing some of the energy spent on swimming each 'stroke' [11, 12]. It then effectively uses the recaptured energy to propel further without spending additional energy to move its muscles [11, 12].
To mimic the characteristics of the moon jellyfish, scientists are now using the concept of physics called ‘resonance’ that correlates with the self-propelling motion of jellyfish [10, 12]. The concept of resonance is applied in many real-life situations such as singing, playing the guitar or riding a swing. For instance, when a person is playing on a swing, giving them a small push every time they return keeps the swing oscillating. Each time the swing oscillates it reaches a greater height which only requires a fraction of the force required to swing the person at the very beginning. When this happens, resonance is achieved. By applying the same concept, scientists from the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh designed an undersea robot with an elastic propulsive system that could propel forward by expanding and contracting like a jellyfish [14]. Despite being in the early stages of development, this dynamic invention has the potential to inspect the construction and maintenance of underwater infrastructures without disturbing or damaging the ocean environment [10].
Innovative technology is also being applied to tackle the increasing rate of ship strikes - collisions between marine life and cargo vessels - which threaten one of the largest aquatic mammal species in the world, whales (Fig. 4) [15]. Ship strikes injure almost 80 blue, humpback, and fin whales on the West Coast of the USA alone each year [15]. Although there is no straightforward solution to this problem without stopping all global shipping, developments in the field of data science and artificial intelligence are helping to reduce the rate of whale-ship collisions [15, 16]. For example, the Benioff Ocean Initiative launched a whale tracking system named WhaleSafe along with its partners from National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration and other institutions, which supports SDG 17 [16]. WhaleSafe ensures that mariners are alerted of any whale sightings beforehand, which gives them sufficient time to avoid collisions by steering away from whale feeding grounds.
Unlike other animal trackers, WhaleSafe is equipped with the latest technological instruments such as digital acoustic monitoring (DMON) and low-frequency detection and classification system (LFDCS) that can help with correctly identifying whale sounds [18]. On top of that, it is also equipped with AI-powered acoustic systems that can accurately trace whale callings in real-time from afar [16, 18]. Such real-time capability is also known to significantly improve the efficiency of analysing visual cues and complex data recorded by acoustic systems. WhaleSafe’s system also helps to ensure that important transactions in the supply chain are made transparent to monitor cargo ships and companies that are slowing down to protect endangered whales [16, 18]. Lastly, WhaleSafe’s digital system is integrated with the latest software technologies such as species distribution models and data-assimilative ocean circulation models [19]. This helps to observe and provide forecasts of whale sightings and migratory patterns based on environmental factors like temperature, ocean currents and more. Thus, this cutting-edge technology is a wonderful asset to conserving whales and other marine species while safely shipping goods around the world.
Conclusion
Emerging technologies such as drones, robots and AI-powered systems are making a prominent impact by helping to mitigate the challenges our ocean and marine life face. By offering a promising range of smart solutions, these up-and-coming technologies have the potential to revolutionise marine conservational efforts. That being so, there is no silver bullet to tackle the pressing issues of our ocean. Hence, investing in collaborative efforts is crucial to effectively scale up ocean action through new inventions and other feasible solutions. After all, the way to a sustainable future is where both humans and marine life can thrive hand in hand.
References
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