Focus on Advancements and Investments in Ocean Technology, Observations and Research - Concluding 10 minutes for Audience Q&A

Bullet points for Earth-X Panel

Ray Schmitt, Salient Predictions, Inc.

·       Background: >40 year research career at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NASA Salinity Science Team Leader 2006-2016

·       Enjoyed the engineering challenges of designing new ocean instrumentation

·       As a scientist I knew the key importance of observations and the difficulty of sustaining them for decades to centuries- helped to start the ARGO Float Program

·       In my research on the water cycle, we discovered improved predictability for terrestrial rainfall in ocean data that led to a decisive win in a forecasting contest

·       Formed the weather prediction company Salient Predictions to transition new forecasting skills into societally useful products and to help develop demand for data on key ocean variables like salinity

Softball question: In what markets is Salient having its best success?