BlueDOT is an innovative joint project led by Dr. Christophe Galerne and Prof. Achim Kopf from MARUM, University of Bremen. In this regard, they are advancing in climate science thanks to their cooperation with two deep diving centers in Spain and Malta. Dr. Rebecca Zitoun from GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel is one of the leaders of the initiative. Arne Schwab of Schwab Research Technology is instrumental in the project.
BlueDOT wants to be able to see and document changes in temperature across the various areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, it is very much oriented towards coastal regions across the globe. This advocacy comes at an important inflection point. According to the European Union climate service, Copernicus, 2024 is currently the hottest year on record, including a blisteringly hot summer.
To gather valuable data, BlueDOT has installed permanent high-precision temperature sensors at select dive sites, including the Costa Brava in Spain, Heligoland in Germany, and Gozo in Malta. These sensors will be a critical tool to better understand our oceans’ temperatures, which are continuing to increase due to climate change.
The project makes use of citizen-sourced data, but is locally governed by data-protection statutes. BlueDOT encourages divers to directly contribute and upload their data through its public portal. This consists of both archival records and data collected during the quieter, cooler months. Dr. Galerne emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating that “there presently exists what is known as sampling bias in the data.” He continued by pointing out the overwhelming amount of data collected in warmer months and around the holidays.
“In order to be able to establish an average value, we would like to encourage divers to enter their data—including older data—into our portal and also to record and upload data from cooler seasons,” – Christophe Galerne
The RevOcean project team is using data that volunteers have uploaded from their dive computers onto the Divelogs portal to further improve marine research. Divers help to fill seasonal gaps in temperature records. They’re incredibly important to our understanding of how the temperatures in the ocean change throughout the year.
Dr. Galerne highlighted the potential impact of this collaborative effort: “With an estimated six million active scuba divers worldwide, this citizen science initiative represents huge potential for enhancing climate research through widespread, community-driven observations of ocean temperature.”
He pointed out the effect of persistent warming and increasingly frequent marine heat waves. Collectively, these shifts pose dire threats to biodiversity and the vital ecosystem services our oceans offer. These phenomena are important to recognize as fundamental factors in the development of research and management approaches.
“The constant warming and increasing frequency of marine heat waves also have significant implications for biodiversity and the ecosystem services our oceans provide, making these phenomena a critical factor to consider in both research and management,” – Christophe Galerne