A Nonprofit Effort to Unlock the Secrets of the Ocean Depths

Researchers on OceanX expeditions are unlocking the secrets of the seas. Among their accomplishments: They’ve conducted the first submersible dives to the Antarctic seafloor, found a previously unknown variety of algae that could contribute to corals’ resistance to warming waters, and captured the first recording of whitetip sharks’ mating rituals.

But the nonprofit ocean-exploration initiative, an operating program of Dalio Philanthropies, is about more than cutting-edge science. OceanX is also working to expand the ranks of who studies the ocean and using storytelling to bring the ocean depths to the public.

“It’s hard to have people care about the ocean if they haven’t seen it or experienced it or learned about it,” says Stephanie Lo, interim executive director of the OceanX education initiative.

The vessel OceanX uses for its expeditions is outfitted with both high-tech research labs and a full media-production suite. Lo says that if an expedition were exploring a shipwreck, the scientists and historians would be the subject-matter experts, but the media professionals would be working closely with them. They would have a 360-degree VR camera rig attached to the submarine or remotely operated vehicle that goes down to do the research.

“We are getting real-time media footage of what is happening,” Lo says. “Then we can take that content and really tell the story behind it.”

Footage from OceanX expeditions has played a prominent role in museum exhibits, an immersive video game, and Our Blue Planet, an IMAX movie made in collaboration with BBC Earth.

OceanX opens up its research vessel to outside scientists and students. The Young Explorers Program brings college students from different fields of study — like marine science, film, and maritime operations — together for 8- to 12-day journeys of hands-on learning. OceanX has developed partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities to expand the number of people who see a place for themselves in ocean exploration and the marine sciences.

“One of the fundamental things that we have been focused on is how do we diversify who stays in the field,” Lo says. “If you look at the percentage of women and then specifically women of color, the percentage dropped year after year when you go from college to postdoc.”