Introduction
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Have sufficiently high resolution and colour fidelity to quantitatively measure physically small (centimetre order) features and correctly identify animals or deposits from their morphology and colour.
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Achieve sufficient area coverage (in the order of hectares) to collect data that is representative of the targeted environment.
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Be robust to changes in measurement conditions caused by the imperfect altitude control of the robotic platform due to rugged underwater terrains and underwater currents and the variable turbidity of seawater which affect colour attenuation.
Mapping device and generation of 3D maps
Results from deployment at sea
Mapping megabenthos distribution
Chimney | Total nb. of counted S.c. | Highest density (inds./m2) | Density uncertainty (inds./m2) |
---|---|---|---|
C0013E | 0 | 0 | 0 |
C0014G | 3140 | 349 | 62 |
C0016B | 261 | 157 | 28 |
NBC | 5025 | 210 | 37 |