Technology | Observation Tools | PDA

You Can Take it With You: Using Small Computers on Small Submarines and Boats

Jessica Stephen
Biologist
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Have you ever tried to write on paper with a boat rocking in 3 to 5 foot seas while being showered with sea spray? Tried to write information down while being cramped into a small submersible that rocks in the water?  Forget to log routine data (like the time and date) because there were so many exciting things to see on the bottom of the ocean?  Have your hands been so smeared with fish slime that you kept dropping the pencil? Even with waterproof paper, gloves, and a small notebook, these are cumbersome tasks (and let’s not mention being able to read the handwriting!). Scientists have had to “grin and bear it” for years in order to collect their data.  It was a fact of scientific life.  But these days, an ordinary gadget that virtually anyone can own, from businessmen to students, has simplified the process. 

I am talking about the hand-held computer or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Scientists, like other professionals, have used the PDA to record important dates and deadlines and are now using it to collect scientific data. Accurate data recording is a time-consuming but necessary step when collecting and analyzing data, and any scientist will leap at an opportunity to reduce this time without reducing the data quality. Enter the PDA, which can be used in conjunction with software to record necessary sample information, then transfer it to a database stored on a desktop computer or network server.

Scientists at South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) have incorporated the PDA into many projects, including upcoming expeditions on the high seas and to the deep abyss.  SCDNR scientists involved in the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration expedition, “From the Estuaries to the Abyss,” will use a PDA during submersible dives, which will go as deep as 900 meters. Database software installed on the PDA will help scientists collect and store information about each submersible dive. Combining the database with the PDA’s portability and date/time feature allows scientists to record the exact times of transect starts and ends, collections and other special events.  This information was previously recorded on paper, which often resulted in inaccurate times, missing data, or illegible handwriting. 

The PDA, with accompanying software, aids in data management by limiting the types of data entered into each field and requiring data to be entered into certain fields. Another advantage is being able to quickly and accurately record the time of observations, with the PDA clock synchronized to other clocks in the submersible and on the surface ship. This enables observers to match observed events with accurate geographic positions from the submersible track, as recorded by the surface ship. Back on the support ship, the PDA is synchronized with or "linked" to a desktop PC, where the data are downloaded to a central database. Here, the data is checked for quality and accuracy before being stored for later analysis.

SCDNR scientists also use new water-resistant PDA's equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) devices for tagging and fishery community studies. These PDA's allow a scientist to record the location (latitude and longitude), date, and time of each collection. The PDA becomes an essential tool for collecting data during tagging studies, where the boat is a wet, slippery, moving platform. Multiple PDA's can be loaded with the same forms and databases so that many scientists can collect the same types of information from different vessels. Information from all of these PDA's can be downloaded to one database for comparisons among the vessels or study sites. The PDA is quickly becoming an essential field tool for marine scientists, and we hope to see many more studies of its time-saving features.

 

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