A study published today in Nature’s online journal Scientific Reports (www.nature.com/articles/srep30164) has shown that temperature profiles from scuba divers’ computers can be compiled to provide accurate records across the globe that add to our existing monitoring network in inshore areas. The potential of scuba divers to provide vital information about the temperature of our oceans has been demonstrated for the first time using ‘citizen science’. This offers additional data that could help us better understand our marine environment.

Dr Serena Wright (Cefas), lead author of the study, said: “Our results show that, with processing, dive computers can provide a useful and novel tool with which to augment existing monitoring systems all over the globe, but especially in under-sampled or highly changeable coastal environments.”

The work, led by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas – https://www.cefas.co.uk/) in collaboration with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS – http://www.sams.ac.uk/), developed the diveintoscience website (www.diveintoscience.org) that collected more than 7,600 temperature records from sport divers to build up a record of global sea temperature in the first ‘citizen science’ project of its kind.

Dr Kieran Hyder (Cefas), who led the citizen science project, said: “To undertake a global science programme that could generate this information would be hugely expensive, but there are millions of sport and commercial dives every year. Making use of just a small fraction of those dives will greatly increase our knowledge of what is happening world-wide.”

Co-author Dr John Pinnegar (Cefas), lead advisor on climate change, said: “The coastal environment is an important region of our oceans and is vulnerable to pressures brought about by increasing human populations and climate change. The diveintoscience initiative can help generate the large datasets often required to support and improve management decisions.”   Click here to read more.