Surfing Scientists? That’s Swell.

From the United Kingdom to California, surfers and scientists are teaming up to monitor sea surface temperatures and ocean health.

In 2014, Robert Brewin went out for 85 surf sessions along the Southwest United Kingdom coastline. But these weren’t regular paddle-outs. Along with his board, he equipped himself with a temperature sensor and a GPS device. Brewin, a recreational surfer and senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, was collecting data on sea-surface temperature (SST) and ocean acidification every time he rode the waves at various surf spots on Cornwall’s peninsula and Devon. A year later, his surfing experiment turned into a published paper, which “demonstrated the feasibility and highlighted the potential amount of data that could be collected in the UK if the surfing community had sensors.”

photo of smoke stacks
Surfers are among the new wave of citizen scientists contributing to research about the health of the planet. Photo by Stephane / Flickr.

As temperatures rise, oceans acidify, and species are lost at record rates, need for radical innovation when it comes to environmental research and conservation work has never been more urgent. Fortunately, scientists are proving up to the challenge, and around the world, citizen science programs are facilitating a series of unconventional partnerships that allow those who don’t hold a PhD to get involved and work towards a solution to the climate crisis.

Among this new wave of citizens-turned-scientists, one group stands out for their potentiality in engagement — surfers. Rising ocean temperatures are responsible for many of the threats faced by humanity today — from global sea level rise and the submerging of coastal land to coral bleaching and its domino effect on the livelihoods of nearshore communities. The measurement of ocean parameters is one of the most effective ways to assess the health of our planet.

Although technological advances have allowed for reliable data collection in the deep ocean, when it comes to coastal zones — a region of major economic and environmental importance — it gets more complicated. Natural elements such as the intensity of swells and the temperature exchange between land and water, as well as logistical challenges such as the expense of satellites and the difficulty in placing buoys, impede scientists from gathering accurate, consistent data from nearshore waters. That is where surfers come in.

“There are vast numbers of surfers, and other watersports participants, regularly going in and out the ocean. It is clear from our work that by collecting data they can offer a cost-effective solution to environmental monitoring in a critically undersampled region,” says Brewin. Furthermore, it is clear this data is useful for science, whether to improve satellite observations and ocean models, or for advancing our understanding of coastal physics and ecology, he adds.

Along these same surf-scientist lines, another initiative is underway along the coast of California. Since 2015, scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have been developing a device called the Smartfin — a surfboard fin modified with sensors to measure temperature and location, and eventually other ocean parameters such as salinity and pH as well, while a surfer is in the water. Similar to Brewin’s approach, the Smartfin promotes the concept of citizen science by allowing those who use the fin to log onto the program’s app and upload the data collected. There are currently some 75 smartfins in use.

“Right now a surfer turns on their fin (either by a magnet or with new motion-sensing firmware) and goes surfing. Once they come back on land they connect their fin to a smartphone via our app and upload the data to the cloud. Currently, each ride is catalogued on our website along with all of the data (temperature, GPS location, and motion data) which can be accessed by anyone and downloaded onto an Excel spreadsheet,” Tyler Cyronak, a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said via email.

In 2017, Brewin and his team began collaborating with the scientists at Scripps some 5,000 miles away, along with the Surfrider Foundation. “Partnering with the Smartfin group reignited the work we were doing in the UK,” says Brewin, who pioneered the idea of surf citizen science. “It was clear that while our work was useful as a proof-of-concept, the equipment we were using was not well suited for the job. For instance, it required a laptop to launch the sensor and read out the data. These guys have helped develop and test a device that has minimal impact on the activity of surfing. It’s very similar to a normal surfboard fin, and requires little time investment by the surfer for operation, maintenance and data transfer.”

Last September, Brewin and a group of researchers from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory set off on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to validate a range of satellite data on the exchange of CO2 between the ocean and the atmosphere. They took the opportunity to test the Smartfin further from shore.

“On the AMT [Atlantic Meridional Transect] 28 voyage, we essentially attached a Smartfin to the underside of a swim float and deployed it at stations along the cruise track. Firstly, we wanted to compare Smartfin data with a range of other instruments on the ship designed to measure sea surface temperature very accurately. Secondly, we wanted to use the setup to help characterize the near-surface water temperature profile in the ocean, for testing models designed to extrapolate skin temperature measurements, observable via satellite sensors, to deeper depths,” Brewin says. In essence, they wanted to bear out the Smartfin’s capability to provide reliable temperature measurements.

Although they are still analyzing the results, which will be presented in an upcoming publication, the initial findings show that the temperature sensor on the Smartfin is very accurate, within a mere 0.1 degrees Celsius of the Infrared Scanning Autonomous Radiometer (ISAR) system, a reliable instrument designed for satellite data validation that sits on the top millimeter of the water and continuously measures the ocean’s surface temperature.

But the active implementation of citizen science — surf citizen science included — is not without challenges. These range from something seemingly simple, such as the motivation for engagement from the part of citizens (including surfers) to the usual yet intricate matters of ethics and data protection rights and the need to meet various legal requirements for securely collecting, storing, and transferring participants’ data. There are also more technical issues such as ensuring data is compliant with existing data quality standards, stored appropriately in repositories, and freely available through open-access platforms. All things considered, however, the fact that we are moving towards a more multipartite and dynamic way of managing the disruption we have caused to the very environment that has given us so much is significant. It is a huge step towards uncrossing our arms and taking responsibility, regardless of who we are.

It is evident that the climate of our planet will continue to change. “To monitor and adapt to these changes it is vital we strengthen these surfer-scientist partnerships, not only from a monitoring perspective. It has been proven that citizen scientists are more likely to engage constructively in policy and become stewards of the environment, and that citizen science projects improve ocean literacy, and have a positive influence on our behavior towards the environment,” says Brewin.

Strengthening partnerships between scientists and regular citizens will undoubtedly put the next generation in a better position to address issues like climate change. However, their success will depend on “whether these projects can be supported sustainably by governmental, non-governmental, and private bodies at a transnational level,” Brewin adds.

Get the Journal in your inbox.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

You Make Our Work Possible

You Make Our Work Possible

We don’t have a paywall because, as a nonprofit publication, our mission is to inform, educate and inspire action to protect our living world. Which is why we rely on readers like you for support. If you believe in the work we do, please consider making a tax-deductible year-end donation to our Green Journalism Fund.

Donate
Get the Journal in your inbox.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

The Latest

The Shocking Truth About Sloths

As their forests disappear, sloths are climbing on dangerous power lines. Veterinarians and rescue centers are developing new techniques to help.

Madeline Bodin

Australian Gas Project Threatens Aboriginal Heritage

Activists worry a Scarborough gas field project could destroy petroglyphs while hurting climate goals.

Campbell Young

Bats of the Midnight Sun

Active in daylight during the Arctic summer and hibernating during the long winter nights, Alaska’s little brown bats are a unique population. Can their niche lives help them avoid white-nose syndrome?

Words Trina Moyles Images Michael Code

Land and Love in Melbourne

An Australian referendum to provide a political voice for First Peoples may have failed, but the push will continue.

Alda Balthrop-Lewis

A Canadian Corporation is Poisoning My Argentinian Community

We, the people of Jáchal, are fighting for the right to safe and clean water.

Saúl Zeballos

Climate Comedy Works. Here’s Why.

We all need some refreshing levity nowadays – especially during this politically heavy year.

Maxwell Boykoff Beth Osnes