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ESP Power

June 29, 2015

Research associate Bruce Keafer and senior engineering assistant Jim Dunn wrestle a battery pack onto a frame to hold an Environmental Sample Processor (ESP), a computerized mini-laboratory to be moored in the Gulf of Maine. Coastal New England waters see recurring harmful algal blooms (HABs) that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in people. The ESP autonomously samples the water and detects the cells and their toxins, sending the information back, such as this year’s data from the Gulf of Maine. A project of WHOI biologist Don Anderson, the deployment is a step toward continuous, long-term monitoring for HABs.(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)