This autonomous robotic rover will aid scientists to track the role of deep-sea in carbon cycling.

The depths of the sea and technological challenges involved in operating under extreme conditions make it difficult to access and explore the deep sea. Scientists claim that they know more about the lunar surface than the deep seabed. So, to resolve all these issues, scientists and researchers are leveraging robotics technology to build an autonomous robotic rover to learn more about the seabed and monitor the effects of climate change on the ocean.

Benthic Rover II is the autonomous robotic rover that has revealed fresh perspectives of life in the abyss of the seabed. The machine reached 4,000 meters deep into the sea to reveal the role of the deep sea in carbon cycling.

The role of deep-sea in carbon cycling

The deep sea plays an important role in the Earth's carbon cycle and climate, yet it is still entirely unknown about the small processes that are happening thousands of meters below the surface, leading up to the climate changes. Many engineering obstacles like extreme pressure and the corrosive nature of the seawater made it difficult to send equipment in the depths of the water to study and monitor the ebb and flow of carbon.

The creation of the Benthic Rover has made this long-term development and operation, a success. The data collected by this rover are fundamental to understanding the impacts of climate change on the ocean. The success of this operation will facilitate scientists for the long-term monitoring and coupling between the water column and the seafloor. Understanding these theories is crucial for predicting the health and productivity of our planet, based on the changing weather.

This success is the result of the collaboration and hard work by the team of MBARI engineers and scientists, led by Smith and Sherman. They designed this rover to operate in cold, corrosive, and high-pressure environments in the sea, to yield the best possible results without any hindrances.