Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 11/12/2007 - 06:33
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Antarctic Undersea ROV

hi ms.bell i have a question how does the research that yall are doing help the enviorment and in which ways?oh and some general questions dont you guys ever get tired of the cold?

Mon, 11/12/2007 - 08:29

Mindy Bell

I hope our work helps the environment in a number of ways:1. The ROV will be able to photograph and "size" organisms with its lasers, so we can learn how fast some organisms are able to grow. This could help guide decisions on where and how people should be able to fish. For example, if fisherman are scraping the bottom of the sea to get fish that live near the bottom, they may be damaging marine life that takes a long, long time to recover. And what they are damaging is part of the food web that supports the fish they are trying to catch!
2. The sediments and organisms that Stacy collects on her dives can be analyzed for many things including which species are present, and if there are trace chemicals in the organisms that come from human products. For example, humans make plastics and we all use plastics, and we actually get some of these chemicals in our body. When we urinate, we release some of those chemicals and they ultimately end up in the ocean! How long do those chemicals persist (last) in the environment and what kind of harm they cause is an important environmental question that Stacy and the team are studying.
And yes, I do get tired of the cold!  But it is starting to warm up a little more here as it gets closer to "summer".