Abstract
Many countries are very active in marine research and operate their own research fleets. In this decade, a number of research vessels have been renewed and equipped with the most modern navigation systems and tools. However, much of the research gear used for biological sampling, especially in the deep-sea, is outdated and dependent on wired operations. The deployment of gear can be very time consuming and, thus, expensive. The present paper reviews wire-dependent, as well as autonomous research gear for biological sampling at the deep seafloor. We describe the requirements that new gear could fulfil, including the improvement of spatial and temporal sampling resolution, increased autonomy, more efficient sample conservation methodologies for morphological and molecular studies and the potential for extensive in situ real-time studies. We present applicable technologies from robotics research, which could be used to develop novel autonomous marine research gear, which may be deployed independently and/or simultaneously with traditional wired equipment. A variety of technological advancements make such ventures feasible and timely. In proportion to the running costs of modern research vessels, the development of such autonomous devices might be already paid off after a discrete number of pioneer expeditions.
Highlights
Introduction to ChallengesThe deep-sea is the largest marine habitat on Earth in terms of geographic coverage [1,2], and we know only very little about its biodiversity [3,4,5,6,7]
The assessment of marine ecosystem goods and services, e.g., their biodiversity, the production of natural resources and oxygen, the sequestration of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and the recycling of nutrients, is increasingly attracting the attention of scientists and stakeholders To better assess these, there is a requirement for a substantial increase of the numbers of replicates and the area sampled from the deep-sea, a requirement that cannot be readily provided with current research gear and infrastructures
Modern research vessels are equipped with navigation systems that allow deployment of gear of all sizes and weight classes
Summary
The deep-sea is the largest marine habitat on Earth in terms of geographic coverage [1,2], and we know only very little about its biodiversity [3,4,5,6,7]. In addition to the largely non-deciphered spatial patterns, not much is known about the deep-sea’s temporal faunistic succession, with responses to short-term extreme physicochemical events and long-term climate variation Such information, is needed for a better understanding of evolutionary processes and ecosystem functioning, with these requirements forming the basis for applied research aspects, as well as developing deep-sea conservation and restoration methodologies [9]. Remotely-Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are regularly used in marine research and are useful for sampling some areas of the seafloor selectively These devices cannot sample efficiently the large numbers of animals necessary for any comparative biodiversity research of meio-, macro- or megabenthos for systematic, ecologic or evolutionary research. Deep-sea research at hadal depths, including the description of available deep-sea gear from corers and trawls to lander systems, baited trap ROVs, AUVs and manned submersibles, has been comprehensively reviewed by Jamieson [21]
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