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In the summer of 1969 NASA made

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history. Well, yes, up here, of course,

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but way, way down here too.

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Down 2,000 feet under the surface of the ocean. Starting off the coast of

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Florida, six aquanauts drift along inside the Gulf Stream

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for thirty days. 

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This is the Ben Franklin, a fifty-foot submersible

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designed by Swiss explorer Jacques Piccard and his team of engineers.

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The mission of the Ben Franklin is to explore the Gulf

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Stream, not by powering its way through it like a military submarine might

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do, but to enter it and become a part of it.

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The Ben Franklin will drift passively within the core of this massive current,

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observing and gathering scientific data along the way.

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The crew will collect continuous observations on

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drift speed, water depth, water temperature, salinity,

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marine life in the stream and conduct 3D photomapping of

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the Continental Shelf. As the

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days extend into weeks, the crew of the Ben Franklin makes exciting

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scientific discoveries and observes amazing sea life

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while at the same time having to endure sudden surges in the current,

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abrupt changes in the sea floor, and malfunctioning support

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systems that begin to make life inside the sub very

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uncomfortable. On August 14, 1969,

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after 1,400 miles and 31 days spent drifting within the Gulf

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Stream, the Ben Franklin splashes up some 300 miles

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off Nova Scotia, Canada.

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The Ben Franklin and the Apollo 11 missions were perhaps the greatest

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expeditions of their kind and ended a decade of incredible technological

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achievements. The findings from the Ben Franklin mission

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provided a wealth of information that is still being used to this day and helps

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provide a better understanding of the Gulf Stream and its role in weather and climate.

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This influence becomes abundantly clear each year

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as hurricanes tear through the Atlantic coastal region. The warm water

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of the Gulf Stream often increases the intensity of hurricanes.

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That's when the impact of ocean currents can very literally hit home.

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NASA studies the ocean from a very different perspective, using

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satellites in space that can make measurements of many key ocean factors, 

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such as ocean color, temperature, salinity, and many more that

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influence the ocean, such as winds and sea ice. Ocean currents

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are also closely linked with our atmosphere. The exchange of heat

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between the ocean and the atmosphere drives the atmospheric circulation

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over the entire globe. Ocean currents on the surface and the deep ocean circulation

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also redistribute heat absorbed by the ocean and allows the ocean

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to act as our planet's thermostat, helping regulate the temperature of Earth.

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The ocean and atmosphere are just two components of complex

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global system of give-and-take that impacts Earth's overall climate.

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From the work done over 40 years ago by the Ben Franklin mission,

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to the work done today by its satellites, NASA's study of Earth's

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systems is contributing to a better understanding of global climate change,

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its causes, effects, and consequences.

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