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Look Ma, No Lines

March 4, 2012

WHOI biologist Annette Frese Govindarajan (center, blue hard hat) and data manager Sarah Burnet (left), assisted with the launch of the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry in the Gulf of Mexico in May 2011. Researchers used Sentry to search for corals, which could then be examined for impacts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “I remember the first deployment during the cruise, and my shock when I realized Sentry would be going into the water with no lines or cables attached, and was still able to communicate with the crew,” said Burnet. Even after she got used to the idea, Burnet said she still breathed a sigh of relief when it popped back up to the surface.(Photo by Dana Yoerger, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)