XPRIZE contestants downloading pH data for analysis and submission to the judges. Photo credit: NOAA/PMEL
Philippe Cousteau joined researchers from PMEL and UW/JISAO at the Seattle Aquarium, where Phase 3 of the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE contest was wrapping up this weekend. Following one month of data collection, the 14 teams' pH sensors were removed from a flow tank filled with Puget Sound seawater, and the data were downloaded.
The $2M Ocean Health XPRIZE is a competition to create accurate and affordable pH sensors that can be used around the globe. The development of this technology, which will help scientists map and characterize ocean chemistry globally, is of utmost importance as ocean acidification (a change in seawater chemistry resulting from CO2 absorption) is expected to impact the health of a number of vulnerable ecosystems around the world including coral reefs, shellfish, and fisheries.
Read more about the PMEL Carbon Program, the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE, UW/JISAO, the Seattle Aquarium and EarthEcho International.