News Summary

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, through his foundation Schmidt Sciences, has announced funding for a project to deploy drone boats in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. This initiative aims to gather critical data to better understand the ocean’s role as a carbon sink. The Southern Ocean, despite being the second smallest of the world’s oceans, is responsible for 40% of the ocean-based carbon dioxide absorption annually. However, due to its remote and challenging conditions, it remains understudied. The project is part of a larger $45 million funding commitment by Schmidt Sciences to enhance research on the global carbon cycle over the next five years.