Ocean Discovery League Inc

Bristlemouth Pioneer Program. In collaboration with Sofar Ocean, the organization continued to support the Bristlemouth Pioneer Program to accelerate the development of solutions to some of the enormous challenges that face our planet. The program is intended to fast-track hardware to developers, scientists, and start-ups. By joining this program users can be amongst the first to start developing ocean exploration and monitoring hardware with Bristlemouth. Funder: Oceankind

FathomNet. The organization is continuing work on the FathomNet Portal (formerly Ocean Vision AI), an online platform where thousands of hours of deep-ocean video will be automatically transcoded, objects detected, and initial classification done with minimal human intervention. This work will accelerate the processing of visual underwater data with a globally integrated network of services, tools, and a diverse community of users. In 2024, the organization entered the next phase of development building toward Beta 3 testing, and moved to an advisory role on the project. The FathomNet project is a collaboration between the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Purdue University, CVision AI, NOAA, and others. Funders: National Science Foundation, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Expanding the Community. The organization is developing deep-sea capacity and community development programs to establish the long-term technical and human capacity for deep-sea exploration and research in locations worldwide that do not currently have the capability to undertake this critical work. In 2024, the organization piloted Accessing the Deep, a new virtual deep-sea training program that focuses on fundamental technical and oceanographic knowledge, emphasizing low-cost, accessible methods for exploring depths greater than 200 meters. The organization also created the Deep-Sea Capacity Development Maturity Model, a practical, user-friendly framework to support organizations in evaluating and strengthening their deep-sea capacity development efforts. The organization completed its work developing curricula and workshops for the OceanX 4th Young Explorers Program. Funders: Schmidt Family Foundation, NOAA, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, National Geographic Society, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Oceankind, and Dalio Family Foundation.

Global Deep Sea Exploration Goals. The organization continued researching historical visual deep-sea exploration and research, culminating in the submission of a manuscript to Science Advances. Continued additions to the deep submergence dive locations database are maintained. This work will underpin the Global Deep Sea Exploration Goals initiative, which is underway and will launch in 2025. Funders: National Geographic Society, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Dalio Family Foundation, and Oceankind.

Beyond the Blue. Beyond the Blue: Illuminating the Pacific is a multifaceted science campaign designed to raise collective knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of deep ocean waters in the Pacific Islands region through coordinated mapping and exploration expeditions, data management and sharing, strategic partnerships, and outreach and engagement. NOAA leads this exciting projec,t and T=the Ocean Discovery League is a core partner. The campaigns first year was 2024, resulting in 322 days at sea and over 377,000 square kilometers of deep seafloor mapped. Funder: NOAA.