In the summer of 1969 NASA made
history. Well, yes, up here, of course,
but way, way down here too.
Down 2,000 feet under the surface of the ocean. Starting off the coast of
Florida, six aquanauts drift along inside the Gulf Stream
for thirty days.
This is the Ben Franklin, a fifty-foot submersible
designed by Swiss explorer Jacques Piccard and his team of engineers.
The mission of the Ben Franklin is to explore the Gulf
Stream, not by powering its way through it like a military submarine might
do, but to enter it and become a part of it.
The Ben Franklin will drift passively within the core of this massive current,
observing and gathering scientific data along the way.
The crew will collect continuous observations on
drift speed, water depth, water temperature, salinity,
marine life in the stream and conduct 3D photomapping of
the Continental Shelf. As the
days extend into weeks, the crew of the Ben Franklin makes exciting
scientific discoveries and observes amazing sea life
while at the same time having to endure sudden surges in the current,
abrupt changes in the sea floor, and malfunctioning support
systems that begin to make life inside the sub very
uncomfortable. On August 14, 1969,
after 1,400 miles and 31 days spent drifting within the Gulf
Stream, the Ben Franklin splashes up some 300 miles
off Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Ben Franklin and the Apollo 11 missions were perhaps the greatest
expeditions of their kind and ended a decade of incredible technological
achievements. The findings from the Ben Franklin mission
provided a wealth of information that is still being used to this day and helps
provide a better understanding of the Gulf Stream and its role in weather and climate.
This influence becomes abundantly clear each year
as hurricanes tear through the Atlantic coastal region. The warm water
of the Gulf Stream often increases the intensity of hurricanes.
That's when the impact of ocean currents can very literally hit home.
NASA studies the ocean from a very different perspective, using
satellites in space that can make measurements of many key ocean factors,
such as ocean color, temperature, salinity, and many more that
influence the ocean, such as winds and sea ice. Ocean currents
are also closely linked with our atmosphere. The exchange of heat
between the ocean and the atmosphere drives the atmospheric circulation
over the entire globe. Ocean currents on the surface and the deep ocean circulation
also redistribute heat absorbed by the ocean and allows the ocean
to act as our planet's thermostat, helping regulate the temperature of Earth.
The ocean and atmosphere are just two components of complex
global system of give-and-take that impacts Earth's overall climate.
From the work done over 40 years ago by the Ben Franklin mission,
to the work done today by its satellites, NASA's study of Earth's
systems is contributing to a better understanding of global climate change,
its causes, effects, and consequences.