Mabel's recovery from the ocean floor off Antarctica. [Update 2007-02-20: The recovery attempt was not successful, reports Polarstern. Mabel will stay on the ocean floor for another year.] The joint German-Italian project "Mabel" (Multidisciplinary Antarctic BEntic Laboratory) is the first scientific project to be conducted during the current Antarctic Polarstern Expedition ANT-XXIII/9. Mabel is...

Memorial University of Newfoundland is hosting the 2007 MATE international competition. Events will be held at Marine Institute (MI) of Memorial University and the National Research Council’s Institute for Ocean Technology (IOT). The unique facilities at MI and IOT are allowing the competition to simulate real-world environmental conditions like never before. For example, MI is home to the world’s largest flume tank, with a water capacity of 1.7 million liters. The tank can generate currents ranging from 0-1 meters per second, challenging teams as they attempt to recover the severed anchor of an ocean observing buoy. Family, friends, and fans can observe the action from a viewing gallery that looks into the side of the flume tank's test section, giving them a complet...

The 2007 MATE international competition is crossing borders in more ways than one. This is the first time that the competition has been held outside of the U.S. It’s also the first time that the event will have such global representation. More than 170 teams from middle schools, high schools, home schools, colleges, and universities have registered to compete in either the international competition or one of the 14 regional contests that will feed into the international event again this year. Along with students from North America and the winners of the second annual Hong Kong Underwater Robot Challenge, the competition will welcome students from Scotland, Spain, Pakistan, Iran, and Japan. What better way to help students prepare for the global workpl...

The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center and the Marine Technology Society’s ROV Committee organize an annual International ROV Competition for middle school through university-level students worldwide. In recognition of IPY, the 2007 competition is challenging students to design and build ROVs (“underwater robots”) for science, exploration, and industry operations in polar environments. On this blog you will learn more about the 2007 international event, which is taking place June 22-24 at Memorial University and the Institute for Ocean Technology in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. You will also hear from so...