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Working from Home: Matt Long

For this marine chemist, being homebound doesn't mean you can't accomplish big things.

WHOI scientist Matthew Long's hobby and scientific interests overlap significantly, allowing him to continue some of his MACHINE Lab (Marine Chemistry, Instrumentation, and Engineering) operations at home.

He has constructed a solar communications buoy in his basement that will allow for long-term instrument deployments to measure coastal carbon cycling. The buoy has batteries, solar power, cellular communications, GPS, marine lights, and the ability to continuously transmit power to instruments on the seafloor in shallow, coastal environments. Now, he just needs to figure out how to get it out of his basement.

Matt Long welds together parts of a frame that will allow for instrument attachment points on his team's new buoy. (Photo by Matt Long, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Matt Long welds together parts of a frame that will allow for instrument attachment points on his team's new buoy. (Photo by Matt Long, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The solar-powered buoy, now assembled with a metal frame, will help to track the flow of carbon elements in the ocean, a necessary insight to study climate's effect on the ocean. (Photo by Matt Long, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The solar-powered buoy, now assembled with a metal frame, will help to track the flow of carbon elements in the ocean, a necessary insight to study climate's effect on the ocean. (Photo by Matt Long, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)