One overlooked impact of the Indian Ocean piracy boom has been
the inability of scientists to roam far and wide doing their
thing; in this case, gathering data for climate change research
and weather forecasting. Photo: Ho New/Reuters With attacks by
pirates, especially near the Somali coast, more than doubled
since 2008 it has become increasingly tricky for oceanographers
and meteorologists to deploy measuring tools. Research ships
report having been chased by pirates on numerous occasions. “We
don’t like putting scientists at risk like that,” says Ann
Thresher of the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research
Organization (CSIRO), Australia’s lead science agency. With more
than one-quarter to one-half of the Indian Ocean currently
regarded as a “no go” zone, scientists are increasingly asking
military ships deployed in the region—from the U.S. and
Australian Navies—to help by dropping robotic floats in the
danger zone. Of course, given the assignment of the naval
ships—deterring and chasing pirates—it is