Communications of the ACM
Ocean Life in 3D: Mapping Phytoplankton With a Smart AV
Norwegian scientists are using autonomous underwater vehicles to map phytoplankton distribution in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Credit: Avid Fierstein and Arild Hareide
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) scientists are using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to map out phytoplankton distribution in the North Atlantic Ocean.
One AUV, called Harald, is programmed to think on the go and "see" where the phytoplankton live by choosing to focus on patches to acquire a better sample.
When given an area of ocean to explore, Harald collects data to generate a three-dimensional map of phytoplankton patches, roaming within a 700-×700-meter “box.”
NTNU's Trygve Olav Fossum said, "[Harald] boxes in a volume of water and based on what it sees, it estimates what is inside. Then it plans a route for inside and makes a map of the most interesting region.
"What I really want from this is an accurate map, with the accuracy where it is most needed—where the plankton aggregation is high."
From Gemini
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Abstracts Copyright © 2019 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA
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