Department of Geography, Environment & Society, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Center for the Humanities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA; Marine Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.
Soc Stud Sci. 2018 Feb;48(1):57-79. doi: 10.1177/0306312717743579. Epub 2017 Dec 4.
The dominant practices of physical oceanography have recently shifted from being based on ship-based ocean sampling and sensing to being based on remote and robotic sensing using satellites, drifting floats and remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles. What are the implications of this change for the social relations of oceanographic science? This paper contributes to efforts to address this question, pursuing a situated view of ocean sensing technologies so as to contextualize and analyze new representations of the sea, and interactions between individual scientists, technologies and the ocean. By taking a broad view on oceanography through a 50-year shift from ship-based to remote and robotic sensing, I show the ways in which new technologies may provide an opportunity to fight what Oreskes has called 'ideologies of scientific heroism'. In particular, new sensing relations may emphasize the contributions of women and scientists from less well-funded institutions, as well as the ways in which oceanographic knowledge is always partial and dependent on interactions between nonhuman animals, technologies, and different humans. Thus, I argue that remote and robotic sensing technologies do not simply create more abstracted relations between scientists and the sea, but also may provide opportunities for more equitable scientific practice and refigured sensing relations.
海洋物理学的主导实践最近已经从基于船舶的海洋采样和感测转变为基于卫星、漂流浮标以及遥控和自主水下交通工具的远程和机器人感测。这种变化对海洋科学的社会关系有什么影响？本文通过对海洋感测技术的情境化视角，为解决这个问题做出了贡献，从而使新的海洋表示法和个体科学家、技术与海洋之间的相互作用具有了背景和分析。通过从基于船舶的感测转变为 50 年来的远程和机器人感测，我展示了新技术可能为对抗奥雷斯克斯所谓的“科学英雄主义意识形态”提供机会的方式。特别是，新的感测关系可能会强调女性和来自资金较少机构的科学家的贡献，以及海洋学知识总是存在偏向性，并依赖于非人类动物、技术和不同人类之间的相互作用。因此，我认为远程和机器人感测技术不仅在科学家与海洋之间创造了更抽象的关系，而且还可能为更公平的科学实践和重新定义的感测关系提供机会。
