Measuring ocean light

Developed by WHOI engineer Paul Fucile, this inexpensive, easy-to-deploy bathy-photometer measures light levels from bioluminescent marine life. Marine organisms ranging from bacteria to fish make their own chemically induced light—called bioluminescence—to hunt, frighten predators, attract mates, communicate, or camouflage themselves. The worldwide database of bioluminescence measurements is fairly sparse. The WHOI Bathy-Photometer is intended to be routinely used by scientists to make inroads into this field.

(Photo courtesy of Dave Fratantoni, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)