Dr. Robert Ballard, famous for discovering the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, set up The Ocean Exploration Trust in 2008 in order to continue seeking out new discoveries in the fields of geology, biology, maritime history, archaeology, and chemistry. Ballard and his crew of modern-day explorers are pushing the boundaries of ocean engineering, technology, education, and communications. Many of their international expeditions are launched from aboard Exploration Vessel Nautilus, a 64-meter research vessel.

“I grew up wanting to be Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” - Robert Ballard, Founder of the Ocean Exploration Trust

Along with conducting scientific research, Captain Nemo and his crew are also offering their expeditions to curious, on-shore explorers via live video, audio, and data feeds. They also bring educators and students of all ages aboard during E/V Nautilus expeditions, offering hands-on experience in ocean exploration, research, and communications. Captain Nemo and his crew are working hard to be role models for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and educators.

To help spread the passion of ocean exploration, Jim Salestrom - an Emmy Award winning songwriter - wrote "Nautilus" while sailing onboard as a member of the Corps of Exploration. Captain Nemo's talented crew recently put together a music video to go along with the song.

NAUTILUS - Jim Salestrom from Ocean Exploration Trust on Vimeo.

"Music does bring people together... No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves: We are the same." - John Denver

Whereever you travel, through whatever country, people can always connect through the shared experience of enjoying music. Everyday more and more people turn to online streaming services for their jams, creating a nexus point of musical diversity used the world over. There are already ways to make online music a more communal experience, but this newest one is something else entirely.

"Even though listening to music can be a very private experience, I wanted to see how often this experience is shared.” - Kyle McDonald

Spotify, one of the largest music streaming services, recently unveiled a map, that shows when any two people around the world are listening to the same song at the same time (within 1/10th of a second of each other). The map, named Serendipity, jumps from song to song showing the location of each of the listeners worldwide, and what they're listening to. It also gives you the option to pause, stop and listen for a while. This project, based on real-time data was created by Spotify's first artist-in-residence, Kyle McDonald. About the project, McDonald says “In person, it’s easy to see the features we share, or when we share stories in online discussions. But we’re also connected in more ephemeral ways, and we can extract these relationships with new tools. Even though listening to music can be a very private experience, I wanted to see how often this experience is shared.”

If you want to get connected with others through music,

check out Serendipity for yourself.