We used our BlueROV2 this summer and fall for marine ecology research in Boston Harbor with the Byrnes Lab at UMass Boston and the Stone Living Lab. We use the ROV to conduct subtidal transects around several Boston Harbor Islands and establish a baseline of the biological communities present in this area. These data will be used to evaluate the impact of a nature-based coastal protection structure to be constructed on one of the islands in the coming years. More ROV surveys will be done once the structure is constructed to determine if the marine communities around the island have changed. It’s been great getting to know our BlueROV2 and we have learned so much from it!
Here is a playlist with most of our video transects from this year.