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Expedition Titanic

Search for Amelia Earhart

On July 2, 1937, Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanished without a trace during her attempt to become the first woman to fly around the world at the equator.

In early 2009, the Waitt Institute conducted an extensive deep-sea search for Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra aircraft in the area of the South Pacific where many researchers believe she crashed. The expedition, known as CATALYST 2, involved assembling a diverse group of experts from multiple backgrounds and institutions to identify areas to search for Earhart’s plane. The CATALYST team then utilized the Waitt Institute’s REMUS 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles to survey over 2,000 square miles of ocean floor at an average depth of 5,200 meters.

The Electra was not found during the expedition, but the data from the sea floor created a 2,000 square-mile exclusion zone where we now know the plane is not located. For the benefit of future researchers, the Waitt Institute is sharing all of these results, as well as a provocative, first-hand account of life aboard ship, at a specially designed new website known as Search for Amelia. One of the most comprehensive digital records on the life and legacy of Amelia Earhart available today, Search for Amelia is a collaborative site where comments and ideas about Earhart and her final flight are invited and encouraged.

Explore the expedition’s website

View videos from the CATALYST 2 Expedition Log

NGS/Waitt Grants

The National Geographic Society/Waitt Grants Program helps qualified and experienced individuals launch the most difficult stage of a project for which to secure funding—the search. Grants are made for exploratory fieldwork that holds promise for new breakthroughs in the natural and social sciences. NGS/Waitt Grants applications are processed throughout the year and grants are awarded expeditiously to help researchers take advantage of immediate opportunities. The NGS/Waitt grants are an initiative of the National Geographic Society and the Waitt Institute.

Funded through a five-year grant from the Waitt Foundation, the NGS/Waitt Grants Program is administered by National Geographic Mission Programs and makes approximately one hundred grants annually of $5,000 to $15,000. Proposals are considered as they are received and awards are made within weeks of application.

The Waitt Grants Program upholds rigorous standards of review and scientific merit, but does not shy away from risky or unproven ideas. In that spirit, NGS/Waitt Grants support projects at the cutting edge of technology and research. The Program encourages applicants to think big—but travel light—as they look toward new frontiers around the globe. Grants are made to explorers and scientists in research fields such as biology, anthropology, and the geosciences who are working across disciplines and reacting quickly to field opportunities.

The NGS/Waitt Grants Program targets nascent initiatives and untested concepts that may have trouble finding funding through traditional sources. Where time is short and the stakes are high, NGS/Waitt Grants can ensure that opportunities for discovery are undertaken. The NGS/Waitt Grants Program is a collaboration of the National Geographic Society and the Waitt Institute, and is made possible by a grant from the Waitt Foundation.

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Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Analysis

Sylvia Earle and Tom Shirley prepare to dive aboard the Waitt Institute's submersible.

Leading scientists and representatives from a number of organizations are in the northern Gulf of Mexico on an expedition led by Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, and Dr. Thomas Shirley, professor at the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Using a submersible provided by the Waitt Institute, the expedition aims to explore and document several areas west and east of the site where BP Deepwater Horizon released nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf.

“Our goal is to identify areas with potential for Gulf ecosystem recovery,” said Dr. Earle, founder of SEAlliance and recipient of the 2009 TEDPrize that developed into Mission Blue, an international ocean conservation movement. “That is going to require protection of places healthy enough to replenish and rebuild populations. What’s happened here is far from over for the clams and oysters and other sea life critical to a healthy Gulf of Mexico.”

The fate and impact of the spilled oil, gas, and dispersants applied following the blowout into the Gulf is the subject of intense discussion by experts. The expedition team, assembled under the broad banner of the Mission Blue initiative, seeks answers to questions about the current status of key species and ecosystems. What they learn will be compared with historical data gathered in the region since the 1950s, archived at the Harte Research Institute.

Other research participants include: Edith Widder and Brandy Nelson, Ocean Research and Conservation Association; Carl Safina, Blue Ocean Institute; Eric Hoffmayer, University of Southern Mississippi; Marissa Nuttall, NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program; and Larry McKinney, Douglas Weaver, and Harriet Nash of the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Research dives, using the Dual DeepWorker submersible, are being facilitated by the Waitt Institute. Support for the expedition is also provided by the National Geographic Society, Google Inc., and Hope Spots LLC. The Waitt Foundation is supporting sponsor of the Mission Blue initiative.

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