Winter 2022 science in the Bonner lab
The Rothera 2022 wintering marine team had to take diving out of the equation this winter due to unforeseen circumstances. Diving is a tool that allows marine scientists to access their underwater office and conduct a range of data collection such as the deployment of underwater experiments, species collection, surveys of the seabed along a transect, the use of specialised equipment to measure species responses and much more. In order to gain an accurate understanding of what is happening in Antarctic marine environments, divers need to be up close and personal with their subject. We call this type of work ‘ in situ ’ observations. DEBRA, our ROV Other tools can also be used to sample the marine environment and contribute towards maintaining long term time series to document changes over the years. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) allow the exploration of marine environments and require a pilot to drive the underwater robot. Our ROV is called DEBRA, short for deep environment benth