Background
Look around on land, and you can see life everywhere. But it’s a different story down in the deep ocean. There are still plenty of animals around, but deeper than about 200 m (660 feet) there’s no light left to see them. Instead, light comes from the sea creatures themselves. More than 90 percent of them give off faint bluish flashes and glows, called bioluminescence, that seem unearthly to visitors from dry land.
When looking around in the dark, it’s natural to use a flashlight, and that’s how most research in the deep sea is done: cruising in a submarine behind bright headlights. But it’s not a great way to find shy creatures, which can dodge out of the way of the loud, glaring sub. By taking the opposite approach – sitting quietly and watching in the dark – ORCA’s Eye-in-the-Sea lets creatures come to it.
The basic design is a very sensitive black-and-white video camera mounted on an aluminum tripod. The camera amplifies stray photons of light to create images we can see. The seafloor around MARS is so deep and dark that a nearby bioluminescent animal can light up the screen almost as if it were a cruise ship passing at night.
The camera is focused on a spot about 2 meters (6 feet) away and can see an area about 2 m wide. Extra illumination is provided by powerful red lights that are invisible to most sea creatures. The added light helps in identifying animals by making their non-luminescent parts visible.
ORCA’s Eye-in-the-Sea can lure curious animals into view in one of two ways: by offering bait or by grabbing their attention using an electronic flashing jellyfish lure. Scientists plan to soon add a high-resolution color camera (with powerful flash) that they can trigger remotely when something interesting swims into view.
Eye-in-the-Sea Activities | Back to top
Eye-in-the-Sea Video | Back to top
Use the links below to access some recent video footage from the deployment of ORCA’s Eye-in-the-Sea in the Monterey Canyon. Then use the activities to incorporate these videos into your instruction!
Eye-in-the-Sea Video |
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 Flash Video (Progressive Download) |
 Quicktime Video (Approx. 11 MB each) |
Critter Characteristics | Back to top
This activity encourages students to apply their knowledge of natural selection, ocean life, and ocean zones to observe and analyze the unique adaptations needed by organisms that exist in the deep ocean.
Printable Lesson Plan
Critter Characteristics Student Datasheet (MS Word | Adobe PDF)
Observing Deeply | Back to top
Animals and plants have a great variety of body plans and internal structures that contribute to their being able to make or find food and reproduce. Scientists use technology to help them answer questions about the organisms they can't readily access. In this activity, students will explore how animals in the deep sea are adapted to living in that environment.
Printable Lesson Plan
Background Information: Fish Characteristics
Observing Deeply Student Datasheet (MS Word | Adobe PDF)
Who's New in the Deep Sea? | Back to top
This activity helps familiarize students with the technology and methods scientists use to study the deep sea, and teaches students how technology informs scientists about remote environments. Based on observation, students make possible connections between organisms and their habitat using near-real-time data via ORCA’s Eye-in-the-Sea (EITS) underwater camera system. Further, they are encouraged to pose and investigate their own questions about the ocean.
Printable Lesson Plan
EITS Video Review Sheet (MS Word | Adobe PDF)
ORCA’s Eye-in-the-Sea in the news | Back to top
Wired Science: (01/22/09)
Gallery: Robotic Sub Installs Deep-Sea Webcam
Wired Science : (01/21/09)
WiSci Tweets Live from a Monterey Bay Research Boat
PBS Nature Interview: (06/11/08)
The Beauty of Ugly—Interview with Dr. Edith Widder
Popular Mechanics: (May 2006)
A More Candid Underwater Camera
Science News for Kids: (12/12/07)
Eyes on the Depths
Mystery of Large Squid Caught on Video
ORCA’s Eye-in-the-Sea Web Resources | Back to top
- MBARI MARS Observatory Eye-in-the-Sea info page
- NOAA Ocean Explorer: Explorations
- Operation Deep Scope 2005: Eye-in-the-Sea
Pictures, video clips, and a daily log from a 2005 expedition to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico - Eye-in-the-Sea: An Innovative, Unobtrusive Camera System
- Operation Deep Scope 2005: Eye-in-the-Sea
- Ocean Research & Conservation Association
- The Bioluminescence Webpage—This section of the UCSB Bioluminescence Webpage includes photos and short explanations of various organisms and their luminous properties.
- Bioluminescence lessons
- Primer on bioluminescence by Edie Widder
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