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One of a kind

The new hybrid underwater robotic vehicle, called Nereus (rhymes with “serious”) prepares to launch during an October 2009 expedition to the Mid-Cayman Rise —one of the deepest points in the Caribbean Sea, with a maximum depth just over 6,800 meters (4.2 miles) deep. The one-of-a-kind vehicle can operate either as an autonomous, free-swimming robot for wide-area surveys, or as a tethered vehicle for close-up investigation and sampling of seafloor rocks and organisms. Take an Interactive Tour of Nereus to learn more.

(Photo by Christopher German, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)