Jan. 22, 2010
Contact: Professor Chris Clark
805-756-6482, cmclark@calpoly.edu
Professor Mark Moline
805 756-2948, mmoline@calpoly.edu
Professors, Students Spend January in the Arctic
with Underwater Robots
Professors Mark Moline (l) and Chris Clark in Svalbard - Photo courtesy Prof. Clark
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly Biology Professor Mark Moline and Computer Engineering Professor Christopher Clark brought their collection of marine robots -- and two Cal Poly students -- to Norway to study the underwater Arctic ecosystem in January in collaboration with Norwegian biologists.
Their two week expedition to Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in Norway's Arctic region, was funded through the Norwegian Government, National Geographic, and the United States' National Science Foundation. The two professors and their students worked with divers, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), a Remotely Operating Vehicle (ROV), and an ocean bottom crawler.
This expedition is part of the NORUS program titled “Technology Development for Marine Monitoring and Ocean Observation.” It's a novel research-based higher education program with a scientific focus on how climate-induced changes impact the living resources and ecosystems in the Arctic, said professor Clark.
The team ran two workshops in the last year: one in Longyearbyen, Svalbard and the second at the Cal Poly Center for Coastal Marine Science. Involved are both faculty members and students, including Computer Engineering students Scott Layton and Robbie Plankenhorn, who traveled to the Arctic with Moline and Clark, as well as biology student Anniken Lydon.
"This interdisciplinary work is furthering robot technology, and highlighting its application in the marine sampling experiments necessary for understanding global climate change," Clark said.
To see more photos of their experiences, watch robot obtained video of life underwater, and learn about their daily work, see their blog at http://norus-na.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome.html.
Read the February Mustang Daily interview with the professors about the trip
Read more about Cal Poly's underwater ROV research in Malta
Read more about Professor Moline and Cal Poly's Center for Coastal Marine Sciences