We are familiar with how climate change is impacting the ocean’s biology, from bleaching events that cause coral die-offs to algae blooms that choke coastal marine ecosystems, but it is becoming clear that a warming planet is also impacting the physics of ocean circulation.

As Bermuda shuttered international travel and local business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, three container ships continued to deliver a critical supply of food and consumer goods to the island. One of these vessels, the Oleander, has been quietly serving the public, and the scientific community, in another important way for several decades —as a volunteer “ship of opportunity” that acquires important ocean measurements during its weekly voyages between Bermuda and the United States.

For decades, sea-going research vessels have been the backbone of observational oceanography, giving scientists mobile platforms to conduct a variety of open-ocean research for days, or even weeks, at a time. Oceanographic research continues to build off previous work and, at the same time, the scale of research questions has broadened. As a result, the desire for more frequent observations of the deep ocean has driven the development of new technologies to increase research capability and accessibility.