Researchers Need YOUR Help Identifying Creatures on the Seafloor
A new interactive website, Seafloor Explorer, was created to get the public to help identify objects seen in images of the ocean floor.
The website was launched on September 13, with a preliminary set of 100,000 out of the more than 40 million images the team has.
All images were taken by HabCam, a habitat mapping camera system, developed by the HabCam group, which included marine biologists and engineers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), fishermen and other scientists.
A sea squirt colony covering the gravel sea floor and a sea scallop. Photo credit NEFSC/NOAA..
“We’re really excited about this project,” said Dr. Scott Gallager, a WHOI biologist in the HabCam Group. “We’ll gain a greater understanding of organisms living on the seafloor and create maps of habitats at a resolution that we would not be able to do without this kind of help – because of the manpower required.”
Public contributors will say what they see (fish, scallops, or other organisms) and will provide a description of the seafloor (sand or gravel) and will include any other important features in the image. This will help scientists determine the distribution of these ocean creatures.
You can read more about the website and the project here: New Website Invites Public to Help Identify Seafloor Life and Habitats
An example of a benthic community. Photo credit NOAA.
Copyright © 2012 by Marine Science Today, a publication of Marine Science Today LLC.
