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SCUBA diver-operated low-light-level video system for use in underwater research and survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

G. W. Potts
Affiliation:
The Laboratory, Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB
J. W. Wood
Affiliation:
The Laboratory, Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB
J. M. Edwards
Affiliation:
The Laboratory, Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB

Extract

Television cameras and video equipment are well established as tools in many areas of marine research and have been reviewed by Barnes (1963), Myrberg (1973), Harris (1980), and Holme (1984, 1985). The TV camera is usually mounted on a remote sledge (Machan & Fedra, 1975; Holme & Barrett, 1977) or submersible, often with arrays of lights, and lacks the manoeuvrability that is necessary for many types of detailed survey and behavioural recording. Commercial and industrial uses also demand high-resolution equipment that is often contained in bulky underwater cases capable of operating at great depths and well below that possible by the conventional SCUBA diver. It is not unusual for the equipment to be used in conjunction with external lighting units where natural light levels are too low for the use of ambient light, and is dependent on an external power supply normally situated in the surface support vessel or within a submersible (Sisman, 1982).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1987

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