The scientific method serves as a standard for research, guiding analytical and investigative projects. Though taught to generations of students, its steps are far from ancient, as technological advancements help researchers to
The scientific method serves as a standard for research, guiding analytical and investigative projects. Though taught to generations of students, its steps are far from ancient, as technological advancements help researchers to develop and modernize each of its steps, saving time, money and even lives. Data collection, the middle step of the scientific method, is no exception. Many projects require robust datasets, often collected from extreme environments or over lengthy periods of time. The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), with the help of SeaTrac Systems, has turned to autonomous solutions while conducting hypoxia research in the Gulf of Mexico.
The partnership, which includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), maps potential hypoxia in the Gulf and how it impacts local fisheries and fish populations. Hypoxic zones, also known as dead zones, are areas of water in which oxygen levels are decreased due to nutrient pollution, often significantly impacting aquatic life. The collaboration recently completed a successful phase two of the project, building on an earlier phase and moving beyond proof-of-concept to deploy multiple SP-48 uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs). "It's a very labor-intensive, crude operation with a large research vessel," said James Thompson at USM. "We approached that from an uncrewed
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