Wendy Schmidt News

Schmidt Ocean Institute announced that its newly refitted research vessel has been launched and is ready to be used by scientists worldwide to push the frontiers of deep sea expedition.Funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute founders Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the 110-meter global-class research ship, Falkor (too), was refit at Freire Shipyard in Vigo, Spain, with sea trials taking place off Puerto Rico. It will now embark on a series of expeditions and be available to scientists and technologists globally at no cost in exchange for making their research and discoveries publicly available.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner GC Rieber Shipping has delivered the Polar Queen vessel to new owners Schmidt Ocean Institute. The company announced the sale of the IMR vessel in February."The vessel has today been delivered to the new owner," GC Rieber Shipping said in a brief statement on Tuesday, without disclosing the name of the buyer. U.S.-based Schmidt Ocean Institute has said it acquired the vessel—now renamed Falkor (too)—for use as an oceanographic research ship.The Polar Queen is an IMR / walk-to-work vessel, built at Freire Shipyard in 2011.

Technology that could avoid the equivalent of 100 garbage bags of plastic waste being created per second received a funding boost at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday. The five winners of the "Circular Materials Challenge", which focuses on the 30 percent of plastic packaging that is too small or complex to be recycled and often ends up in the ocean, will share the $1 million prize to develop their solutions, said the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and innovation network NineSigma.

Cleaning up marine oil spills can be a challenge as there are various types of oil spilled but only a few effective recovery methods. The three main technologies for oil spill recovery for inland and offshore waters are mechanical, insitu burning (ISB), and dispersant application. Absorbent booms and pads may also be used, but they are more effective for small fuel spills. Mechanical recovery, usually an oil skimmer, is a device that skims contained floating oil and transfers the recovered oil to a storage container or vessel.

Researchers tackle the tough problems despite a lack of funding and official incentives to move forward. Progress, in particular for Arctic spill response equipment and techniques, is being made. Even in the messy but now seemingly distant wake of such environmental disasters such as the Exxon Valdez grounding and the Deepwater Horizon accident, domestic oil spill response requirements still provide little or no incentive for responders in the U.S. to develop and deploy new equipment. Elsewhere, other countries (especially Norway) have better options for testing and approving systems using an intentional spill. Here at home, this approach has been recommended especially for the Arctic by many stakeholders, to no apparent avail.

Research vessel Falkor leaves Darwin today to explore the poorly understood air-sea interactions across the Indian and Pacific Ocean. This research is very important in understanding the ocean’s role in global climate change. The exchange of energy and matter between the atmosphere and the ocean are particularly onerous requirements, and have largely been neglected in climate research. Chief Scientist Dr. Oliver Wurl, from the University of Oldenburg and his international team of scientists from Germany, the United States, and United Kingdom plan to gain new insight during this 31-day expedition. The team of sea surface experts and marine geochemists on the expedition will use newly developed technologies to closely examine the ocean’s role in exchange processes.

Located in Carmi and Fairfield, Illinois and Cocoa, Florida, Elastec manufactures water pollution control products specializing in oil spill recovery equipment. Established in 1990 with the invention of the ELASTEC Drum Skimmer, the U.S. Clean Water act inspired Elastec to expand its product line to include floating booms, turbidity curtains, vacuum systems, work boats and portable incinerators. Elastec’s new Omni Cat is a waterway maintenance catamaran designed to help municipalities comply with nonpoint source pollution.

Elastec manufactures and markets innovative pollution control and recovery systems. The company’s core competency is oil spill response: skimmers, fire and containment booms, boom deployment systems, portable vacuum equipment, workboats, dispersant spray systems, oil spill aerial surveillance systems, storage tanks and pumps. The company also manufactures floating containment booms and barriers, turbidity curtains and fumigation tarps in its Cocoa, Florida facility. Elastec Hydro…

Justin Manley has joined Juliet Marine Systems (JMS) as Vice President of Business Development and Marketing, the company announced today. Manley brings over 20 years of experience in the marine technology sector including roles at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He has also led growth of sales and development of new products at both startup companies and public corporations. At JMS, Manley will lead all aspects of sales, marketing and business development. In addition to his new role at JMS, Manley is involved in the marine technology profession through a variety of leadership roles.

XPRIZE announced that team registration is open for the $2 million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE, a competition to incentivize breakthroughs in ocean pH sensor technology that will radically transform our understanding of ocean acidification. Teams are expected to come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from nanotechnology and biotechnology to industrial chemistry and marine science -- from academic institutions, nonprofit organizations and small and medium enterprises. Or…

The oceans provide a wealth of opportunities that are currently unrealized. From trade and resources to new information services, the number of industries that could capitalize on our oceans is still far too small. But our oceans also face tremendous challenges. Pollution, over-exploitation and climate change are just a few of the problems conspiring to decimate both ecosystems and industries that rely on our seas. To tackle the grand challenges facing our oceans, we need to unite the opportunities that exist with the solutions that are needed.

XPRIZE announced the launch of its next major competition: the $2 million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE. On the heels of the successful Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup XCHALLENGE, the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE aims to spur global innovators to develop accurate and affordable ocean pH sensors that will ultimately transform our understanding of ocean acidification, one of the gravest problems associated with the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The oceans absorb about one quarter of the CO2 that humans release into the atmosphere, causing the chemistry of the water to change and the oceans to become more acidic. As a result of increased CO2 emissions, ocean acidity is now at unprecedented levels, which could have devastating global consequences.

Andrew Altendorf is the CEO and majority owner of Acme Environmental Inc. Acme’s history spans almost 50 years and the firm is recognized as a pioneer in the manufacture of oil spill containment booms and other oil spill recovery items. A U.S. Coast Guard classified OSRO, Acme and Altendorf support numerous customers in Oklahoma and the Midwest with their emergency response. He has been the President of the Spill Control Association of America since November of 2010. Prior to taking the reins as President, he served on the SCAA Board of Directors for 5 years.

Elastec/American Marine, headquartered in Carmi, IL, is pleased to announce the acquisition of the BoomVane technology, expanding its range in the manufacture of innovative pollution control equipment. Developed and patented by ORC of Sweden, the BoomVane is an aquatic paravane system that enables oil recovery and debris containment booms to be towed by a single vessel, as well as to deploy booms in rivers and tidal waters without boats or anchors. Elastec/American Marine is the largest manufacturer of oil spill recovery equipment in North America with global distribution in 145 countries.

On Tuesday, October 11, 2011 Team Elastec, a partnership of co‐inventors Elastec/American Marine and Glosten Associates, Inc., was awarded the $1 million first prize for winning the X‐Prize Foundation’s Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup Challenge with an ocean‐capable oil recovery system that shattered previous records for oil recovery rate and efficiency under controlled conditions. Glosten provided vessel engineering, mechanical system design, and operations support throughout the aggressive 45 day development process…