First Deployment of Laser Imager Tow Sled

Last Friday we successfully deployed our tow platform for our new laser imaging system. The sled performance was very good and we were able to tow it reliably very close to the bottom with great altitude-keeping performance. In the video below, there is a nice example of strong changes in water color and clarity as the sled descends from the surface down to 50 m. Towards the end of the video note the high abundance of jellies zipping by the sled as it moves through the water at 3.5 knots.

Recording of a Whale Swimming by an Array of AUEs

While deploying 6 of our AUEs on a stereo recording rig at 16m depth, we happened to capture a whale swimming near the surface above the AUEs. Tristan Hiatt processed the acoustic data from the AUEs into a great stereo track and overlayed it on a video of the event recorded from the boat. Have a look and listen below, you’ll see and hear the whale coming to the surface. It’s best with headphones!