Unmanned Craft Monitors Dead Ocean Zones

November 20, 2009

Dead ocean zones, are areas in the oceans having very poor or no oxygen at all. The coasts of Oregon and Washington have been observed, that oxygen levels were depleting. These phenomenon threatens virtually all fishing areas in the U.S. and is greatly expanding to cover neighboring oceans.

Jack Barth, an oceanographer, have been studying these "dead" ocean zones for three years. In 2006, the areas that were classified as dead have not yet reached a critical level, however, in recent observations, these dead ocean zones are expanding and new ones are appearing.

In order to collect evidences, Jack Barth, funded by the National Science Foundation, launched an unmanned craft equipped with high-powered cameras to capture images in the dead ocean depths. The objective is to get actual data, such as pictures, measurements of salinity levels, oxygen levels and the amount of marine life affected. In addition, this unmanned craft collects information that will determine the causes and effects of these problem.

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