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A system of coordinated autonomous robots for Lagrangian studies of microbes in the oceanic deep chlorophyll maximum
- Source :
- Science Robotics. 6
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2021.
-
Abstract
- The deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) layer is an ecologically important feature of the open ocean. The DCM cannot be observed using aerial or satellite remote sensing; thus, in situ observations are essential. Further, understanding the responses of microbes to the environmental processes driving their metabolism and interactions requires observing in a reference frame that moves with a plankton population drifting in ocean currents, i.e., Lagrangian. Here, we report the development and application of a system of coordinated robots for studying planktonic biological communities drifting within the ocean. The presented Lagrangian system uses three coordinated autonomous robotic platforms. The focal platform consists of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) fitted with a robotic water sampler. This platform localizes and drifts within a DCM community, periodically acquiring samples while continuously monitoring the local environment. The second platform is an AUV equipped with environmental sensing and acoustic tracking capabilities. This platform characterizes environmental conditions by tracking the focal platform and vertically profiling in its vicinity. The third platform is an autonomous surface vehicle equipped with satellite communications and subsea acoustic tracking capabilities. While also acoustically tracking the focal platform, this vehicle serves as a communication relay that connects the subsea robot to human operators, thereby providing situational awareness and enabling intervention if needed. Deployed in the North Pacific Ocean within the core of a cyclonic eddy, this coordinated system autonomously captured fundamental characteristics of the in situ DCM microbial community in a manner not possible previously.
- Subjects :
- Chlorophyll
Control and Optimization
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Situation awareness
Oceans and Seas
Real-time computing
Population
Oceanography
01 natural sciences
Artificial Intelligence
Humans
Seawater
education
Ecosystem
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
education.field_of_study
Deep chlorophyll maximum
Pacific Ocean
010505 oceanography
Microbiota
Mechanical Engineering
Ocean current
Acoustics
Robotics
Plankton
Satellite Communications
Computer Science Applications
Third platform
Communications satellite
Environmental science
Robot
Environmental Monitoring
Subsea
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 24709476
- Volume :
- 6
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Science Robotics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....004e4f801df658d980c4d307bd37b7e8