"Tasting" scientific data
SWIMMING AS AN EXPEDITION
I think I can recognize the different oceans and seas by their taste. No joke: the North Sea tastes different, namely saltier than the Pacific. The latter has a very special “taste”, or the Indian Ocean is different from the Atlantic.
Even if I keep my eyes open and experience the sea with all my senses, these experiences are of course emotional. No factual, let alone scientific findings can be derived from them.
My wish and ambition is to learn to understand our environment in order to then derive the right measures from the “actual state”. This is the basic prerequisite for greater sustainability. The oceans are suffering quietly and life begins beneath their surface, which we as humans have not yet begun to understand despite all the technology.
In Prof. Heinz Schelwat, the founder and managing director of Sea and Sun Technology, I have found a partner who enables me to collect data during my adventures. Sea and Sun Technology specializes in building probes for maritime applications. These are used in research vessels, the navy and in laboratories. Water temperature, current velocity, pH content, oxygen content, the proportion of suspended matter and many other data can be measured at depths of up to 12,000 m to a thousandth of a degree and with incredible accuracy in real time and forwarded for evaluation.
A research vessel like this, with its crew, equipment and crew, costs a lot of money every day and can only penetrate coastal regions to a limited extent in order to carry out the important work. And this is exactly where I work: I’ll be swimming around the Hawaiian Islands, especially on the next big project, “The Epic Swim Maui”. I’m going to places where no one has ever been before.
With the help of Prof. Schelwat and his team, I will be equipped with the latest technology and, like a research vessel, will be able to collect important data and help to sharpen our understanding and record the current state of the coast off Hawaii.
Until then, it will still be exciting, as many tests are still necessary. Here on The Blue Heart we will keep you up to date, let you take part in this expedition and take you along on the journey. Stay tuned!
