OVERVIEW
As the East Coast Project Manager, I helped launch the 2016 Smartfin pilot program. I liaised among project partners (researchers, engineers, citizen scientists, and non-profits) and oversaw outreach and education.
What is Smartfin?
The nearshore environment is compromised, and climate change is playing a large role. To understand trends in ocean warming and acidification, scientists need to know how seawater chemistry is changing over time. Although vitally important, nearshore ocean health measurements are notoriously difficult to gather. By putting sensors directly onto surfboards, surfers can collect seawater measurements within the surf zone.
How does it work?
Sensors are sealed inside the fin. The data collected during a surf session is made accessible via a smartphone app. This data will be distributed online and accessed in near-real time by scientists globally.
The initial pilot program tested the temperature sensor. The purpose of the pilot was to validate the scientific application of Smartfin in the surf zone.
The Smartfin Project is an innovative collaboration with researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, one of the world’s leading institutions for oceanographic research, Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the world’s oceans, and Futures Fins, the world’s leading surfboard fin manufacturer.
Smartfin - The Surfboard Fin That's Saving the Ocean, produced by Great Big Story/CNN Digital
Smartfin Project - Concept Video, produced by Lost Bird, Inc/Frannie Laks