Researchers are aiming to help us gain a better understanding of creatures and habitats that reside in the “twilight zone”.

The twilight zone is an area in the ocean, otherwise known as the mesopelagic zone, that lays approximately 200 to 1,000m below sea level.  

To achieve this better understanding, according to an article on whoi.edu, a team of scientists and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) and Stanford University have utilised a robot to perform the capturing of footage and images within this region of the ocean – the Mesobot. 

This robot contains a number of sensors and can follow its target habitat or creature in depths as deep as 1,000 metres with minimal disturbance. The aim amongst the team is to understand the extent of how fisheries are affecting marine ecosystems in the twilight zone, plus analysing the role that creatures such as zooplankton play in transferring carbon dioxide to the deep sea from the atmosphere. This is a process known as ‘the biological pump’.

“Mesobot was conceived to complement and fill important gaps not served by existing technologies and platforms,” said Dana Yoerger, who is a senior scientist at WHOI.

“We expect that Mesobot will emerge as a vital tool for observing midwater organisms for extended periods, as well as rapidly identifying species observed from vessel biosonars. Because Mesobot can survey, track, and record compelling imagery, we hope to reveal previously unknown behaviors, species interactions, morphological structures, and the use of bioluminescence.”