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Starry Seafloor

February 21, 2017

Starfish and shrimp graze on a microbial mat on a decaying giant sponge near the summit of Karasik Seamount beneath the Arctic Ocean. The scene was filmed during an expedition in October 2016 that used Nereid Under Ice (NUI), a Hybrid Remotely Operated Vehicle (HROV) built at WHOI. NUI operates in two modes: as an untethered autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) connected to a ship by a single optical-fiber tether that allows real-time two-way communication between the vehicle and scientists and engineers aboard ship. This light tether allows the battery-powered NUI vehicle to roam long distances under sea ice, away from its support ship, in ways that cannot be done using conventional ROVs that use thicker, heavier cables. (Photo courtesy of the NUI Science Team, FS Polarstern Cruise PS101 2016 ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution )