The Indiana Jones of the ocean

Dr Rob Ballard, one of the greatest underwater explorers of our time, on the real final frontier

Combine the sea-faring exploits of Captain Cook with the hi-tech adventures of Captain Kirk and you start to get some idea about the career of one of the greatest explorers of our time. For the last six decades Dr. Rob Ballard has made it his mission to unlock the secrets of the oceans and, as a result, he has spent a lifetime criss-crossing the globe, pioneering new exploration techniques, discovering unknown alien life forms, solving scientific conundrums and uncovering the poignant remnants of ancient and long-forgotten civilisations.

Although he is probably most famous for discovering the haunting remains of the Titanic looming spookily below his submarine cameras twenty five years ago, his exploits both before and since read like something out of a boy's book of adventure.

“I've been on 138 expeditions,” he says. “I'm 68 in a few weeks and I'm only just beginning. I went on my first ocean exploration trip 51 years ago, but I've got plenty more lined up and ready.”

Not only did Ballard find the rusting hulk of the most famous ship in the world, but he did so while on a top secret mission for the US Navy to find two sunken nuclear submarines. He's also dived on the infamous German battleship the Bismark and pioneered the use of robotic vehicles on numerous other wrecks, including ancient trading vessels that he found perfectly preserved in the special conditions of the Black Sea.

As well as wrecks, he's famous for many other discoveries, some of which have completely altered our view of the natural world and plate-tectonics. On an expedition to understand how the underwater mountain ranges of the Pacific were formed, he discovered fields of huge and completely unexpected hydrothermal vents shooting superheated chemicals into the surrounding cold. These huge 'black smokers' were not only a marvel in their own right, whose presence supported a new theory of geo-physics, but they also teemed with previously unknown life. In a world where it was thought that nothing could survive, his team instead discovered mysterious ten-foot-long tube worms and clam-like creatures that had developed text-book-changing techniques to thrive in the darkness.

The unexplored

Despite this work, the ocean deeps that sit black and silent off of our shores and that cover an incredible three quarters of the planet still remain almost entirely unexplored – it's the marine equivalent of outer space, but whose coldest, darkest reaches have seen fewer humans than have ever walked on the moon. “We act like all the surprises are over, but that's ridiculous,” says Ballard. “How can we say that when we haven't seen 90 percent of the sea and the 10 percent we have seen was full of them. How many are there? Lots. What are they? I haven't got a clue. I'll tell you when I find them.”

When it comes to funding, the vast figures directed towards space exploration often look more like binary computer code than accounting details, however the coffers of national governments have traditionally had much less to offer those wanting to explore the sea. 

This has not always been the case. In 1872, Britain's treasury agreed to fund the first ever dedicated ocean exploration voyage by the now legendary HMS Challenger. The mission proved exceptionally successful. The discoveries and data collected from that early survey took twenty years to catalogue and are still used even today. However the fiscal pain felt by the treasury, which quickly regretted covering the exorbitant cost of the ocean expedition, seems to have filtered through to current day government bean counters. According to Ballard, if the funding directed at NASA for just one year went to its ocean based equivalent the NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) the sum would be enough to cover its annual budget for the next 1,600 years. 

It's a situation that frustrates him and one that he has fought for years to change. Recent successful lobbying on Capitol Hill, however, has now borne fruit with some extra funding and even the use of an ex-US Navy ship. It's a development that Ballard regards as a turning point. ”This is where it gets really exciting, this is the beginning of the next phase.”

Later this year the new ship, the Okeanos Explorer and another, the E/V Nautilus, will set out on missions dedicated to ocean exploration. While most similar ships carry scientists on board and are geared up for research rather than just discovery, the mission of these ships is simply exploration - to go where no one has ever been before.

Instead of spending valuable time researching their discoveries, they will simply move around the planet uncovering new underwater phenomena and leave the follow-up to others. Sweeping the ocean floor with sophisticated scanners, the ships will send their data back in real time on super-high bandwidth connections to control centres in the US, manned 24/7 by scientists who can remain at their universities instead of getting sea sick. If they spot something worth looking at, then the crew will dispatch robotic vehicles to gather more information. At this stage the exploration ships will move on, leaving the scientists to organise further research at the site if they feel it warrants it.

Going live

Another important element, says Ballard, is that the missions will be broadcast live on the web in a move that he hopes will engage the public who can watch as new wrecks are uncovered, new scientific discoveries made – and maybe even as new life is found. Through special outreach projects he hopes to target school children in particular. ”We need to use the excitement of live exploration to motivate and enthuse them,” he says. ”When you're able to see a jaw drop, you know you've successfully put so much information into that mind, it's in full receive mode.”
 
But even dedicated ships systematically exploring can do no more than chip away at the vast unknown expanse of the oceans. To really get to grips with the task it will take innovative thinking, more money and more technology. One of the first advances is the increasing use of Automated Underwater Vehicles to replace the current generation of remotely operated ones. Instead of being tethered to the boat and controlled by human operators, AUVs use their on-board computers to make decisions for themselves, allowing for more flexibility and a much wider range of roles and access. 

However that's just the start of the change that AUVs can make. Dr. Tim O'Hare, senior lecturer in Ocean Science at the University of Plymouth sees a major role for AUVs in ocean research, expecting ”that fleets of unmanned vehicles will form the foundation for future exploration.” In years to come we are likely to see armadas of these robots, powered by new technologies, going out to search the oceans for us, coordinating between themselves and beaming back data on a near real time basis.

The sort of robot that could one day be part of this armada has already been tested. Known as gliders, these sea-going AUVs see-saw through the ocean using the difference between the cold waters of the deep and the warm water up above to power their movement. Surfacing occasionally to pinpoint its position and beam home data, one such AUV has already successfully crossed the Atlantic and plans for longer missions are already underway.

Despite the increasing automation however, it's likely that there will still be a be a role for manned exploration and for the Robert Ballards of the future. One possibility is underwater laboratories, some of which already exist and are so similar in many ways to space stations that NASA often uses them for training its astronauts. Situated off the coast of Florida, Aquarius is a complete underwater laboratory that allows scientists to stay living under the water for up to two weeks at a time. Compressed to the same pressure as the water outside, the lab's hatch can be left open without the water streaming in and the permanent compression means that the divers can operate at depths and durations that would otherwise lead quickly to the bends.

Another innovative concept is French architect Jacque Rogerie's SeaOrbitor – essentially a space station for the sea. An unbelievably futuristic-looking craft that comes somewhere between a sailing ship, a submarine and a mobile underwater laboratory, SeaOrbitor is designed for three-to-six month missions that would allow the sort of dwell time most ocean experiments can only dream of. Equipped with a permanently pressurised deck, divers will be able to operate with ease, while scientists will be able to observe for 24 hours a day, drifting with the currents to avoid disturbing the natural habitat with engine noise. Ariel Fuchs is the coordinator of the SeaOrbitor project and he says the aim is ”to expand the observation of the ocean with a tool that allows people to spend more time there. We hope SeaOrbitor will become a true educational and ecological tool for generations to come, helping to acquire more experience and data on the ocean, so that it can be protected and better utilised.”

Eventually the team envisage at least five or six SeaOrbitors observing the seas, sending back data, raising awareness and interacting with the ocean on its own terms.

Yet another idea is the 'FLIP-ship', a research vessel that sails normally until it reaches its operations area and then flips into the vertical to become a floating base. Even these pioneering projects, however, are not enough for Dr.Ballard who, after a lifetime spent exploring the ocean, would like to see more permanent settlement.

”Why are we not looking at moving out onto the sea? Why do we have programmes looking at habitation on Mars, programmes looking at colonising the moon, but no programme looking at how we could colonise our own planet. Humans only live on 28 percent of the earth and we are filling it with people. We are running out of room. Seventy-two percent of the planet is ocean. We know that there is life there and a phenomenal amount of resources. It's the ocean, not space, that's the next frontier.”

You can follow Dr.Ballard's next adventures at The Inner Space Center http://isc.gso.uri.edu/ and www.oceanexplorationtrust.org; You can watch live feeds from the Aquarius underwater laboratory at: http://aquarius.uncw.edu/live#  You can find out more about the SeaOrbitor project at: http://seaorbiter.com/accueil