Seeing the Deep | Unexplored Seamounts of the Salas y Gómez Ridge - Week 2

The international team of scientists on board the research vessel Falkor (too) during the #SalasyGomezRidge Expedition is testing two low-cost technologies that could make it possible to know more about our ocean quickly. A stereo camera system facilitates 3D images of animals and seafloor features, and a hyperspectral image camera enables the team to capture color arrays not perceptible to the human eye within each image pixel. The minute color differences make it possible to identify tiny organisms, different types of sand, and potentially, whether animals are healthy or sick. Together, this data and imagery illuminate biodiversity on the ridge. To experts like Giancarlo Troni from MBARI, this technology will allow us to paint rich portraits of life in the deep sea, and seeing these remarkable ecosystems builds a connection so that people can love and protect the Ocean and its inhabitants.