This slow-moving jellyfish is surprisingly hard to track.
Its home — the ocean twilight zone —
lets in very little light,
but houses plenty of organisms.
The creatures who live here are constantly on the move,
drifting up and down to hunt and avoid predators.
But it’s tough for scientists to observe these stealthy ocean dwellers
without disturbing their migration patterns.
Most underwater vehicles emit light and sound,
which can cause camera-shy animals to flee.
And their equipment can only operate for a few hours without human input —
not nearly long enough to observe the slow, daily migrations
that can take over 24 hours to unfold.
New research presents an underwater robot
that has captured these elusive movements,
and its creators think it’s a big step toward illuminating life
within this murky ecosystem.
Mesobot can follow marine animals for over a day
without disturbing their environment.
Its array of sensors and advanced tracking system lock onto targets,
following single organisms without a human taking the helm.
It’s not just a fancy camera taking nice pictures of sea creatures:
Mesobot could provide key insights into the Earth’s climate.
The migrations of animals in the ocean twilight zone
have a major impact on the carbon cycle.
As CO2 in the atmosphere dissolves in the ocean, surface-dwelling plankton
transform it into organic carbon.
These plankton are a perfect snack for travelers from the ocean twilight zone.
When they return to their home in deeper water, they release waste,
trapping the carbon deep in the ocean.
This carbon “elevator” takes up to 6 billion tons of carbon
out of the atmosphere every year.
By tracking the movements of twilight zone dwellers,
Mesobot could study these important patterns,
helping unveil these dark areas of the ocean.