Oceanography in the Age of Intelligent Robots and a Changing Climate

The advent of robotic and artificial intelligence technologies has transformed ocean exploration, overcoming many, but not all, of the challenges posed by the sea’s depth, vastness, and inaccessibility. From data collection and long-term monitoring to real-time communications, data sharing, and public engagement, hybrid human-machine and fully autonomous systems are revealing an unprecedented perspective on the interplay between marine chemistry, physics, geology, and biology in ways that humans cannot match. This paper examines a number of exemplary decades-long interdisciplinary science and engineering pursuits that have fueled that progress. More recent advancements in microelectronics, biopharma, aerospace, manufacturing, materials and computer sciences, and social media—foundations of multibillion dollar industries that generally have nothing to do with marine science—are accelerating our ability to explore the ocean and share our findings with a global audience. Every time we return to the sea with open minds, a willingness to attempt something that has never been done before, and new technologies in hand, we learn something new, more often than not serendipitously. The ocean is undergoing increasingly rapid change due to human activities, and we are in a race to learn more about its inner workings, reveal its incredible diversity of life, and visualize its submerged landscapes. A sustained commitment to technology development is integral to competing in that race. No doubt, there is still much to learn about the largest and least explored habitat on Earth and the vital role it plays in sustaining the health of our planet and the well-being of society.