Volvo Ocean Race, NOAA continue working together on ocean research

WORLDWIDE — Ocean racers and federal scientists would appear to have little, if anything, in common. Yet a rare partnership between Volvo Ocean Race and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could help us figure out what happens in some of the most isolated corners on Earth. Crew from the Volvo Ocean Race deployed drifter buoys in a remote stretch of ocean in mid-November. The buoys would collect scientific data from these stretches of Earth virtually untouched by human contact and help NOAA scientists observe ocean trends. Volvo Ocean Race teams are placing the drifter buoys as they navigate around the globe. A stretch of water between the South Pacific and Southern Oceans, roughly equidistant from Chile and New Zealand, for example, is essentially devoid of humanity and almost entirely undiscovered. Strategically placing such buoys could provide NOAA’s scientists and experts with new information about weather patterns and coastal trends. Data collected from the free-floating “drifters” would specifically be used to deliver more accurate predictions of ocean conditions and regional climate patterns, according to a Volvo Ocean Race blog. “These floating sensors are equipped with satellite communications equipment to transmit information on ocean composition and currents,” the Volvo Ocean Race blog post stated. “The...