Australian researchers can now record the deep ocean without being spotted thanks to Medusa, a remote-operated underwater platform.

Due to its special lighting, the Medusa does not scare away certain sea life that would otherwise swim away at the sight of regular lights.

In March, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI), FAU’s marine campus in Fort Pierce, finished the development of the lander, which is essentially a robot that can be submerged up to 6,500 feet, or more than a mile. Different tools, like cameras or arms, can be attached to it and used to collect data.

HBOI gave the two models it built to University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia, which funded the entire project. In August 2010, HBOI project manager Lee Frey will join UQ’s scientists and use Medusa in the waters west of South America.

Professor Justin Marshall, Ph.D., of UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), was a key player in developing Medusa alongside Frey. He said that some sea life might see Medusa’s lights in the same way humans see infrared lights, which is not at all.

“We want to see them behaving in their natural context,” he said. “They behave a lot more normally if you don’t shine bright lights in their faces.”

But at the same time, Medusa had to be able to attract sea life. Along with tuna heads, Frey and Marshall created other elements to lure animals to the lander.

“A lot of animals in the deep sea generate light,” explained Frey. “We’ve designed some sensors to emulate that light as sort of optical attractant, like flashy lights to draw prey in rather than a stinky fish head.”

Medusa took about a year to make, and its design, development and testing cost roughly $50,000. Now, according to Marshall, more Medusas can be built for much less, and UQ would like to buy more of them.

“We can mass produce them for half that price,” he said. “It depends a little bit on the funding, but it would be nice to have 10 of these.”

Medusa will help scientists see the sea in its natural habitat without obtrusive lights, but it still leaves a question mark as to what the lander will accomplish.

“This is not a hypothesis-driven device,” said Frey. “This is an exploratory device.”

So far, Marshall and his team have taken Medusa out for a testing spin between May 12 and 22. The lander got down to almost 5,000 feet.

“The most memorable bit was seeing the first big shark coming,” said Marshall of the captured footage. “It’s great to see the animals come in and be quite happy to cruise past and take the bait and not get scared by [Medusa].”

Looking ahead, both Marshall and Frey want to use Medusa for educational purposes.

“I’m hoping that we’re going to have some good data of underwater life we haven’t seen before,” said Frey. “I hope we can convince people to understand what we have before we destroy it.”

It doesn’t end with Medusa

HBOI has a summer internship that allows students to get real experience with projects similar to the one that developed Medusa. HBOI project manager Lee Frey said, “interns are not treated like most other interns are treated.”We architect a project for them to do; we don’t have our interns just digging ditches or getting coffee,” said Frey. “They can get some real hands-on work experience with real oceanographic hardware.”

For more information on the summer internship at Harbor Branch, email [email protected].

Word Bank

LED light arrays:
Lights that can simulate different environments. For example, far-red lighting doesn’t disturb deep-sea creatures, blue-green lighting simulates natural lighting, and white lighting emulates downwelling sunlight.

Synthetic foam floatation module:
Ultrahard foam holds buoyancy at depths that would crush and flood typical foam.

Modular frame:
Like a Lego set, the frame can be changed to alter the configuration of the lander. Other sensors, batteries, cameras and arms can be attached to it.

Medusa’s ball feet keep it from getting stuck in the mud and allow it to land on an uneven surface.