The Marine Times

Advances in technology have opened up the ocean to exploration from the shallows to the deep sea. New tools for marine research are being added to the list of tools that have been used for decades. Trawling has been used in the past to collect marine specimens for study. However, when used in the midwater environment, trawls can be used very effective at collecting samples of elusive species with a wide migratory range. Plankton nets have a very fine weave to catch microscopic organisms in seawater for study. Remotely operated vehicles (ROV’S) have been used underwater since the 1950’s. ROV’S are unmanned submarine robots with umbilical cables used to transmit data between the vehicle and researcher for remote operation in places where diving is restricted by health or other hazards. They are often built with video cameras and mechanical tools for specimen retrieval and measurements. Fiber optic observational equipment uses LED light and dim light cameras that do not disturb deep sea life to capture the behaviors and characteristics of these creatures in their natural habitat. Satellites are used to measure geographic ocean data such as; temperature and color of the ocean. Sounding is used to detect and record signals in the ocean. Sound data can be used to monitor waves, marine mammals, ships sounding and other ocean movements. Sonar, which is similar to sounding, is used to find big objects in the water and to measure the oceans depth. Soundwaves last longer in water than in air, and that’s why they are useful to detect underwater sounds. Computer technology is used to collect, process, analyze and display data from sensors placed in the ocean to measure temperature, depth, navigation, salinity and meteorological data.