DIVING WITH BENTHIC ROVER II
The autonomous deep-sea vehicle that’s checking the health of our oceans
1 CURRENT METERS
These sensors monitor currents along the seafloor. When optimal currents are detected, the rover will move up into the current to reach an undisturbed site for data collection.
At the front of the rover is a set of cameras that can not only take snapshots of sea life, but also measure fluorescence to identify chlorophyll in phytoplankton.
2 CAMERAS 3 RESPIROMETER
This sensor measures the amount of oxygen that’s available for marine life on the seafloor.
6 BUOYANCY
The rover uses 18 blocks of foam, four floats and steel ballast to remain rooted to the seabed.
5 MOVEMENT
The rover will monitor carbon levels over 48 hours before autonomously moving forward ten metres to repeat the data collection.
7 POWER
Two 10kwh batteries deliver power; due to its low energy consumption, it can operate for over 12 months before the batteries are depleted.
4 DEPLOYMENT
Researchers lower the Benthic Rover II from a MBARI research ship. The rover spends two hours falling to the seabed.