Fund for Science and Technology awards $15 million to Scripps Oceanography

(Press-News.org) Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego has received a $15 million grant from the Fund for Science and Technology (FFST). This support will expand observational capabilities into parts of the ocean where data has historically been sparse or nonexistent. The resulting insights will help scientists understand how the ocean is changing and what those changes mean for the planet.

“Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego is pushing boundaries for exploration and discovery across the global ocean,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “This visionary support from the Fund for Science and Technology will enable Scripps researchers to advance our understanding of our planet, which has meaningful implications for communities around the world.”

FFST, a new private foundation funded by the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, launched in 2025 with a commitment to invest at least $500 million over four years to propel transformative science and technology for people and the planet.

“The Fund for Science and Technology was created to support transformational science in the search of answers to some of the planet’s most complex questions,” said Dr. Lynda Stuart, President and CEO at the Fund for Science and Technology. “Scripps has a long tradition of leadership at the frontiers of ocean and climate science, and this work builds on that legacy – strengthening the tools and insights needed to understand our environment at a truly global and unprecedented scale.” 

The grant, the largest of its kind since Scripps became part of UC San Diego in 1960, will advance research in three key areas: monitoring of environmental DNA (eDNA) and other biomolecules in marine ecosystems, augmenting the renowned Argo network of ocean observing robots, and enhancing the study of ocean conditions beneath Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the Doomsday Glacier.

"The ocean holds answers to some of the most pressing questions about our planet's future, but only if we can observe it," said Meenakshi Wadhwa, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and vice chancellor for marine sciences at UC San Diego. "This historic grant will help ocean scientists bring new tools and approaches to parts of the ocean we've barely begun to explore."

Environmental DNA

A grant supporting the work of Scripps Director Emeritus Margaret Leinen will support analysis of eDNA — free-floating fragments of DNA shed by organisms into the environment — in understudied parts of the ocean to collect crucial baseline data on marine organisms, from tiny bacteria to massive whales.

"In many regions, we know very little about the microbial communities that form the base of the ocean food web or that make deep sea ecosystems so unique," said Leinen. "Without data, we can’t predict how these communities are going to respond to climate change or what the consequences might be. That’s a vulnerability — and this funding will help us begin to address it." 

With help from the grant, researchers will build on Leinen’s work with the Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network. Using both autonomous samplers that can collect ocean water for eDNA analysis, as well as conventional sampling, scientists will  utilize biomolecular tools to reveal the biology  of the open ocean and polar regions. Recent Scripps research using biomolecular techniques revealed that different deep ocean water masses harbor distinct microbial ecosystems — a finding that underscores how much remains unknown and highlights the opportunity for high-impact work in this area. 

Deep Argo

The international Argo program maintains a global array of some 4,000 autonomous floats that drift with currents and periodically dive to measure temperature, salinity and pressure. Argo has revolutionized oceanographers' ability to track changes in all ocean basins simultaneously. Standard floats record data up to depths of 2,000 meters (6,560 feet). Newer Deep Argo floats can dive to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet), sampling the full water column.

This support will provide funding for approximately 50 Deep Argo floats to be deployed by Scripps, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, with NOAA providing ongoing data management support. The effort, which builds on past investment from Allen Family Philanthropies, will prioritize regions with little or no current coverage and enable real-time monitoring of the global deep ocean for the first time in history.

The deep ocean helps control global climate via its roles regulating ocean heat and carbon cycling. Its remoteness and inaccessibility have made the deep hard to study, meaning it still holds troves of scientific discoveries yet to be realized with critical implications for the planet. Sarah Purkey, physical oceanographer at Scripps and Argo lead, said this leap forward in deep ocean monitoring comes at a crucial time because the deep sea has warmed faster than expected over the last two decades. More direct measurements from more locations will enable more accurate climate models that can help humanity understand and predict how conditions on Earth are changing.

Peering beneath Thwaites Glacier

Thwaites Glacier is Antarctica’s largest collapsing glacier, containing enough ice to raise global sea level by roughly two feet if it were to collapse entirely. Prior expeditions led by Scripps scientist Jamin Greenbaum discovered anomalously warm water beneath Thwaites’ ice shelf that is contributing to its melting from below. Greenbaum now aims to collect water samples and other measurements from beneath Thwaites’ ice tongue to disentangle the drivers of its rapid melting. 

In addition to significant investments in eDNA and Deep Argo programs, the award also provides early-stage support for an emerging technology that will enable the collection of this vital data. Funding from FFST will support the fabrication and deployment of a unique autonomous platform called RIFT-OX (Recoverable Ice Fracture Ocean eXplorer) designed to sample ocean water through full-thickness rifts in the Thwaites Glacier ice tongue. RIFT-OX is a floating platform that is lowered into rifts in the Thwaites ice shelf via helicopter, and then can lower its instrument package with an onboard winch to collect water samples and other measurements. 

This season's Antarctic fieldwork will test hypotheses about the drivers of Thwaites’ rapid melt with implications for sea-level rise projections. The project leverages substantial in-kind contributions from the Korea Polar Research Institute, including berths on the research icebreaker R/V Araon, helicopter support and specialized equipment.

About Fund for Science and Technology

Launched in 2025, the Fund for Science and Technology (FFST) is a 501(c)(3) private foundation and part of the Paul G. Allen philanthropic ecosystem. The foundation supports big thinkers and mission-aligned organizations around the world working to advance bioscience, strengthen the environment and natural world, and harness the power of AI for Good.  


 

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