High-flying Test

With R/V Knorr at the dock behind, WHOI biologist Bruce Keafer (left), engineer Wiill Ostrom (center), and Northeastern University co-op student Ethan Edson guide the ESP-1 buoy to a test well. The buoy is attached to an Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) already in the water. ESPs are underwater robotic laboratories that collect phytoplankton, analyze its genetic material, and watch for organisms that cause harmful algal blooms, or red tides. Three ESPs were recently prepared for deployment to monitor for the toxic algae in the Gulf of Maine as part of research being conducted by WHOI scientist Don Anderson’s laboratory. (Photo by Janet Fredericks, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)