Figure 2. This artist's rendition shows the three-phased approach to ocean exploration with ABE.
Exploration
Image courtesy of Christopher German. Download image (jpg, 101 KB).

Figure 2. This artist's rendition shows the three-phased approach to ocean exploration with ABE. Our three-phased approach to ocean exploration with ABE. First, guided by chemical measurements made aboard ship, we program ABE to fly around within the water column “sniffing” for where the chemical signals are strongest using specialist in situ sensors. Second, once we know where the strongest chemical signals from a hydrothermal vent are, we program ABE to fly closer to the seafloor, making detailed maps of the seabed and, ideally, intercepting the stems of hot, buoyant, hydrothermal plumes of water rising up above the seafloor. Third, and finally, we program ABE up once more to descend right above the seabed and drive carefully to and fro — using obstacle avoidance techniques to stop it from crashing into the rough rocky terrain it finds — while taking photographs of whatever it is we have found: hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, and NY new and unique animals they might host.

Learn more