Observing Systems and Sensors
The exploration of any ecosystem requires detailed study and observation. Even on land exploration can be a challenge. In the ocean, however, the obstacles are even greater. The ocean is the most complex, challenging, and harsh environment on Earth and accessing it requires specially designed tools and technology. It has only been within the last 50 years that technology has advanced to the point that we can examine the ocean in a systematic, scientific, and noninvasive way.
Our ability to observe the ocean environment and its resident creatures has finally caught up with our imaginations.
Certain tools, such as sondes, CTDs, and drifters, provide specific information about the ocean environment. Other instruments, such as satellites, provide generalized data from which a wide range of observations can be made. The information gathered from the instruments deployed in the oceans and the sky will help us answer many fundamental questions about our world.
If we are truly fortunate, we will also gain a better understanding of ourselves and the role we play in the complex web of life on Earth.
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
The Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measures the speed and direction of ocean currents using the principle of “Doppler shift.” Measuring currents is a fundamental practice of physical oceanographers.
Technologies for Ocean Acoustic Monitoring
Just as microphones collect sound in the air, underwater hydrophones detect acoustic signals, or sounds in the ocean, including marine mammals, earthquakes, ships and waves.
The "Bushmaster" and the "Chimneymaster"
The Bushmaster and Chimneymaster are large collection nets that can be closed by a submarine using a system of hydraulic cylinders and cables. They collect intact communities of tube worms and all associated hydrothermal vent fauna, either on the seafloor (using the Bushmaster) or on a sulfide chimney (using the Chimneymaster).
Clod Cards
Clod cards are cards made of plaster of Paris or alabaster used to understand patterns of water motion over benthic organisms, which can help us understand the physiology and ecology of these organisms. By measuring how quickly clod cards dissolve, scientists can characterize near-bottom flow patterns.
Drifters
Using devices known as drifters, scientists can study the complexities of global ocean currents, and, in turn, the many systems that they influence. With advances in technology, drifters now provide researchers with information about ocean circulation patterns in real time.
Mapping: Geographic Information Systems
Geographic information systems (GIS) are mapping tools that can essentially create a virtual ocean inside of a computer. GIS components work together as a system to provide a digital platform for viewing and processing layers of spatial information. Because of its power and speed, GIS technology is doing most of the cartographic work that, in the past, was laboriously done by hand on paper charts and maps.
Satellites
Satellites that detect and observe different characteristics and features of the Earth's atmosphere, lands, and ocean are often referred to as environmental satellites. Most environmental satellites have one of two types of orbits: geosynchronous or sun-synchronous.
Semipermeable Membrane Devices
Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) are a passive sampling device used to monitor trace levels of organic contaminants. When placed in an aquatic environment, SPMDs accumulate hydrophobic (water-“hating,” fat-“loving”) organic compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and organochlorine pesticides from the surrounding waters.
Sonar
SOund NAvigation and Ranging—SONAR—is used to find and identify objects in water. It is also used to determine water depth (bathymetry). Sonar is applied to water-based activities because sound waves attenuate (taper off) less in water as they travel than do radar and light waves.
Sonde and CTD
Multi-parameter water monitoring systems, such as sondes and conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD) devices, have been designed to address the need to simultaneously measure a range of biological and physical properties in both fresh and seawater environments.
Submersible Collectors
Many components make up a successful research submersible. The suction sampler and detrital sampler were designed to attach to different types of submersibles and collect many of the unique and fragile organisms found only in the deep ocean.
Trawls
Trawls, which are nets towed behind a boat to collect organisms, have been used by fishermen for centuries. Trawls are used to collect quantitative data of marine organisms, such as biomass, length and weight, and age class distributions. This data helps scientists in managing marine animal populations and preventing their overexploitation.
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