Seafloor Mapping Lab
Developing tools and techniques to map the seafloor autonomously and with high resolution.
CCE-technology
Ocean Imaging Project
The Ocean Imaging Project is developing a system for mapping the seafloor and steep walls at cm-scale and higher resolution with lasers, cameras, and sonar.
CCE instruments
A dense array of sensors ( more than 50) were deployed for three consecutive six-month periods from October 2015 to April 2017 within Monterey Canyon. Traditional moorings with instruments strung between floatation packages and anchors (railroad wheels) were deployed. Additionally, instruments were mounted on platforms and deployed on and buried in the seafloor. These instruments monitored conditions in the water column and near the seafloor.
Seafloor mapping AUV
The MBARI mapping AUV is a torpedo-shaped vehicle equipped with four sonars that operate simultaneously during a mission to map the seafloor autonomously. The sonars are a swath multibeam sonar, two sidescan sonars, and a sub-bottom profiler.
Benthic Event Detectors
An MBARI based team led by Charlie Paull and Brian Kieft created a “smart boulder”—a motion-sensing instrument that can be placed within the sediment or on the canyon floor. This device, called a benthic event detector (BED), can record its motion as it moves down-canyon, providing detailed data on when an event occurred, how far and fast it moved, and the nature of its motion.
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About MBARI
Research programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) encompass the entire ocean, from the surface waters to the deep seafloor, and from the coastal zone to the open sea. The need to understand the ocean in all its complexity and variability drives MBARI's research and development efforts.