LAPIS: Development of a Large Area Plankton Imaging System

本提案要求支持设计、建造和测试一种拖曳式视频仪器，用于调查和识别水柱中的大型浮游动物和微浮游动物。该装置被称为大面积浮游生物成像系统（LAPIS），它将填补现有的为小颗粒和浮游动物设计的光学仪器（如浮游生物视频记录仪）和声学系统之间的规模空白，声学系统具有更大的范围，但目前缺乏识别不同生物分类群的分辨率。我们打算制造一种设备，可以在2到4平方米的视野范围内照亮和成像0.5到100厘米大小的物体。LAPIS以1-2节的速度拖曳，将测量接近中水拖网过滤的水的体积。电力、操作数据和视频信号将通过标准的光电电缆在地面和LAPIS之间传输。该仪器将使用一组高效率的led来产生强烈的红光场，由一台高分辨率（400万像素）的数码相机以8帧每秒的速度进行成像。红光对大多数海洋生物是不可见的，再加上流体动力学上安静的轮廓，将使仪器对目标生物不明显。我们将利用WHOI其他小组现有或正在开发的几项技术，包括为“海之星”建造的控制和数据遥测电子设备，以及正在为下一代“浮游生物视频记录仪”开发的视频处理和遥测技术。现有的绞车、电线和滑环是WHOI将可用于LAPIS的评估和使用。我们相信该设备将填补光学测量仪器的重要空白，允许对大型生物进行快速和广泛的量化，包括胶状浮游生物，大型甲壳类动物和中水鱼类。虽然现在建议作为拖曳仪器，但基本配置可以适用于rov，与声学仪器一起包装，或用于剖面或固定系泊。在不久的将来，预计应用包括调查salp群，在缅因湾的胶状捕食者，以及未来与海洋生物普查相关的中水勘探和量化。

This proposal requests support for the design, construction and testing of a towed video instrument for surveying and identifying macrozooplankton and micronekton in the water column. Called the Large Area Plankton Imaging System (LAPIS), the device would fill a scale gap between existing optical instruments designed for small particles and zooplankton, such as the Video Plankton Recorder, and acoustic systems that have a greater range but currently lack the resolution to identify different taxa of organisms. We intend to build a device that would illuminate and image objects ranging from 0.5 to 100 cm in size, within a field of view ranging from 2 to 4 m2. Towed at 1-2 knots, LAPIS would survey volumes of water approaching those filtered by Midwater trawls. Power, operational data and video signals would be transmitted between the surface and LAPIS via standard electro-optical cable.The instrument would use an array of high efficiency LEDs to create a field of intense red light, imaged by a high resolution (4 Mpixel) digital camera operating at 8 frames s-1. Red light is invisible to most marine organisms, and together with a hydrodynamically quiet profile, will render the instrument inconspicuous to target organisms. We will take advantage of several technologies that are either existent or in development by other groups at WHOI, including the control and data telemetry electronics built for the SeaSoar, and the video processing and Telemetry being developed for the next generation Video Plankton Recorder. Existing winches, wire and slip rings are WHOI will be available for evaluation and use of LAPIS. We believe this device will fill an important niche in optical survey instruments, allowing rapid and extensive quantification of larger organisms, including gelatinous plankton, larger crustaceans and midwater fishes. Although proposed now as a towed instrument, the basic configuration could be adapted for use on ROVs, packaged with acoustics instruments, or on profiling or fixed moorings. Expected applications in the near future include survey of salp swarms, of gelatinous predators in the Gulf of Maine, and future midwater exploration and quantification in connection with the Census of Marine Life.