Seeing the small: Heidi Sosik and Rob Olson on their underwater camera
February 20th, 2009 by Ari Daniel Shapiro | Filed in Ocean Gazing Podcast
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5, rated)
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Rob Olson and Heidi Sosik developed an automated underwater microscopic camera that takes photographs of phytoplankton in the ocean. Credit: Tom Kleindinst, WHOI.
Hello! This is the second episode of Ocean Gazing, the podcast where we observe and explore the oceans on our planet.
This time we’ll hear about a special underwater camera that takes pictures of tiny cells in the ocean. Heidi Sosik and Rob Olson, biologists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will describe how a shared frustration led them to develop a tool that has revolutionized how the ecology of the ocean is studied.
Sosik recalls, “We literally had millions of cell images. We were just absolutely overwhelmed with the amount of data that we got. It was exciting, but kind of intimidating.”
In addition, we’ll tell you the answer to our last sonic stumper, give you a new one, and answer some of your questions. Stay tuned!
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Script for Episode 2 (pdf)
To submit a question to Heidi and Rob or to send in your guess for the Sonic Stumper, you can:
- leave a voicemail at (508) 289-3926
- drop us a voice message via Skype (username cosee.now)
- or simply email us at podcast@coseenow.net
Photographs
 Rob Olson prepares the camera system for testing in the sea. |
 Schematic of the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory. Credit: Jayne Doucette, WHOI. |
Web Resources
Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory
Press release: Underwater Microscope Helps Prevent Shellfish Poisoning Along Gulf Coast of Texas
Hear more from Rob Olson and Heidi Sosik on:
The toxic bloom off the coast of Texas that closed the shellfishery
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The oscillation between small and big phytoplankton in the ocean
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Video
Tags: automated underwater camera, MVCO, olson, phytoplankton, sosik, WHOI
This site was developed with the support of the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE-0730719. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Thank you for the great story! After spending all-nighters sorting samples in a small ship’s lab, rocking and rolling, yet trying to stay focused, I can certainly appreciate automation!!