In the context of the activities of the EMSO Western Ligurian Sea (EMSO-WL), the underwater observatory located at 2500m in the Mediterranean Sea, and 40 km south of Toulon, is taking place the EMSO WL Cruise mission that will end on February 14th, 2022.
The mission is carried out by the oceanographic vessel the “Pourquoi pas?” operated by Ifremer and the goal is to deploy new observation devices in addition to the ALBATROSS line and the MII (Instrumented Interface Module) already in place.
Among the most relevant novelties, there is the BathyBot, an underwater robot that will join the observatory site for several years. Specifically, BathyBot will carry out the biological and environmental analyses using its sensors and cameras, to study biogeochemical dynamics and biodiversity. Thanks to a hypersensitive camera, BathyBot will in particular take interest in bioluminescence for a better understanding of the deep sea environment.
On the ocean floor, BathyBot will be connected to the SJB (Scientific Junction Box, developed by Ifremer) whose role is to supply energy and internet connection to the instruments of the site. The SJB is hosted by the KM3NeT neutrino telescope infrastructure set up by the LSPM.
BathyBot will join the bottom with BathyReef, an artificial reef, biomimetically inspired by Lab Rougerie+Tangram and manufactured by Vicat.
Follow the entire EMSO WL cruise at the following link: https://www.mio.osupytheas.fr/en/seas-and-oceans-global-change/emso-wl-bathycruise
Or follow BathyBot‘s discoveries on its Twitter account @BathyBot.