The sheer expanse of the deep sea and the technological challenges of working in an extreme environment make these depths difficult to access and study. For the past seven years, Benthic Rover II has been continuously operational at Station M, an MBARI research site located 225 kilometers (140 miles) off the coast of central California. Station M lies 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) below the ocean’s surface—as deep as the average depth of the ocean—making it a good model system for studying abyssal ecosystems.
A study published in Science Robotics details the development and proven long-term operation of this rover. This innovative mobile laboratory has further revealed the role of the deep sea in cycling carbon. The data collected by this rover are fundamental to understanding the impacts of climate change on the ocean.
The success of Benthic Rover II and MBARI’s ongoing work at Station M highlight how persistent platforms and long-term observations can further our understanding of the largest living space on Earth. With more companies looking to extract mineral resources from the deep seafloor, these data also give valuable insights into the baseline conditions in areas under consideration for industrial development or deep-sea mining.
Learn more about the study: [ Ссылка ]
Related research:
Robots in the Abyss: 30 years of research on the abyssal plain provides clues to climate change: [ Ссылка ]
Editor: Kyra Schlining
Script writer: Susan von Thun
Production team: Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun, Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Raúl Nava
Music: Digital Nation (MotionArray)
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