Revealing ocean-scale biochemical structure with a deep-diving vertical profiling autonomous vehicle

Area of Science:

• Marine microbiology
• Oceanography
• Biogeochemistry

Background:

• Ocean microbial communities significantly influence Earth's climate.
• Understanding microbial roles in ocean biogeochemistry is challenging due to the ocean's scale and complex physical variations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a robotic system for comprehensive ocean biochemistry and microbial community sampling.
• To bridge the gap between fine-scale biogeochemical processes and basin-scale oceanographic surveys.

Main Methods:

• Development of the autonomous underwater vehicle 'Clio', designed for precise vertical movement, Lagrangian drifting, and integration with research vessels.
• Deployment of Clio for high-resolution sensor surveys and sample return missions, including extensive mapping in the Sargasso Sea.
• Utilizing filtered seawater biomass for genomic and proteomic analyses.

Main Results:

• Clio successfully mapped 1144 km of the Sargasso Sea to a depth of 1000 meters.
• The robot demonstrated efficient high-resolution sensor surveys and sample return capabilities.
• Genomic and proteomic analyses were enabled by the collected seawater biomass samples.

Conclusions:

• The robotic oceanography approach using Clio provides a novel method for global-scale surveys of ocean biochemistry.
• This technology enhances our ability to characterize microbial community composition and its impact on ocean processes.
• Clio facilitates a more integrated understanding of marine microbial influences on global climate.