Collaborative Research: Mesobot: a robot for investigating the ocean interior

GSTDTAP

项目编号	1636575
	Collaborative Research: Mesobot: a robot for investigating the ocean interior
	Dana Yoerger
主持机构	Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
项目开始年	2017
	2017
项目结束日期	2019-12-31
资助机构	US-NSF
项目类别	Continuing grant
项目经费	406122(USD)
国家	美国
语种	英语
英文摘要	The ocean's midwater realm is the next frontier for underwater robots. The mesopelagic or "twilight" zone encompasses depths from 200 to 1000 meters where sunlight is dim. This vast region plays a key role in regulating ocean chemistry and biology, which in turn strongly effects global climate. The mesopelagic zone holds much of our planet's fish populations as well as poorly understood processes that couple the ocean surface to the seafloor including vertical fluxes of plankton, organic and inorganic particles, bubbles, and droplets. Mesopelagic features are often mobile, patchy, and ephemeral, so surveys and sampling can be very difficult. Recent studies have found that mesopelagic biomass including fish are dramatically underestimated, yet investigations of patterns and processes in this region are strongly constrained by available technology. This program will produce a unique new robot that will enable unprecedented scientific access to midwater environments, complementing existing survey and sampling tools. The robot will use cameras, lights, and oceanographic sensors to autonomously track slow-moving individual targets such as migrating mid-water animals, descending particles, and rising bubbles and droplets without disturbing those targets. It will also have the ability to detect and follow fine-scale oceanographic features such as thin layers that hold critical nutrients. Finally, the robot will take samples utilizing on-board intelligence to determine precisely when and where to sample. Under this program, the robot will be built and tested under a collaboration between the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Stanford University, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
来源学科分类	Geosciences - Ocean Sciences
文献类型	项目
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/70699
专题	环境与发展全球科技态势
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Dana Yoerger.Collaborative Research: Mesobot: a robot for investigating the ocean interior.2017.