Happening now: A Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities restoration expedition is underway in the Gulf. The MDBC Mapping, Ground Truthing, and Habitat Modeling team operates two REMUS 620 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to survey seafloor habitats down to 600 m, or about 2000 feet: WAHOO (Wide-Area Habitat Ocean Observer) and MAHI (Multi-Aperture Habitat Investigator). WAHOO carries a high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) and MAHI carries a camera and laser-scanner. Each gives us unique “looks” at the mesophotic and deep benthic communities!
Learn more: https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/science-areas/restoration/gulf-mdbc-restoration/
Photo credit: Thomas Moorman (NOAA)
This is from a mission supporting the restoration of Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.