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Autonomous Lander Vehicles
Autonomous Lander Vehicles (ALV) are designed to record time-lapse
photographic images of marine life on the ocean floor down to depths of 6000
meters.Much is stilll unknown about organisms living at these extreme
depths. ALV technology is proving valuable in gaining an understanding of
the distributions, abundances, and lifestyles of deep-sea benthic organisms.
The basic ALV is a metal frame that supports a host of scientific
instruments to measure physical properties such as conductivity,
temperature, depth, and current speed. With high resolution photographic
equipment, they can autonomously record time-lapse images over a period from
days to months. A newly developed ALV, the Deep Ocean Benthic Observer
(DOBO) releases food bait every five days to attract and monitor benthic
animals, particularly scavengers, which are important and poorly understood
members of deep seafloor communities. Some ALVs use acoustic technology
instead of taking photographs to record deep-sea sound. All Landers are
positively buoyant, so that when they have completed their tasks, weights
can be released by an acoustic command from a Research Vessel. The
Autonomous Lander Vehicle then ascends to the ocean surface for recovery.
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| The Deep Ocean Benthic Observer (DOBO) investigates fish distribution and migration patterns in response to changing physical oceanographic conditions using a novel long-term periodic bait release system and time-lapse camera. |
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The Robust Biodiversity Lander (ROBIO), an Autonomous Lander Vehicle used to conduct photographic surveys of biodiversity down to 6000m. |
Click on the link below to see what Census projects use this technology:
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