What are ROVs and how do they explore the deep sea?
Robot submarines controlled by joystick from the surface have revealed more of the deep ocean than all crewed dives combined.
The answer
Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are uncrewed, tethered robots controlled from a surface ship through an umbilical cable that provides power, video, and data connections. They are equipped with cameras, manipulator arms, sampling tools, and sensors, and can operate at depths beyond 6,000 meters for days at a time without risking human life. The ROV Jason, operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, has made over 800 dives and has been instrumental in exploring hydrothermal vents, shipwrecks, and deep coral ecosystems. ROVs discovered the Titanic wreck site in 1985 and continue to be the workhorses of deep-sea research, industry, and underwater archaeology.
Source: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- ROVs
- deep sea exploration
- underwater robots
More from Ocean & Deep Sea
- How much of the ocean has actually been explored?
- What are hydrothermal vents and how do they support life?
- How do whales communicate across entire ocean basins?
- What are brine pools on the ocean floor?
- What is at the very bottom of the Mariana Trench?
- How do ocean currents regulate global climate?