Image

Chemical-sniffing bloodhound

WHOI engineers and scientists (from left to right) Andy Billings, Rod Catanach, Chris German, and Al Deuster test the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry off the dock in 2008. With a high-tech “nose” —an underwater mass spectrometer developed by WHOI scientist Rich Camilli— Sentry can detect and identify minute quantities of chemicals in seawater. This robotic vehicle was recently deployed to the Gulf of Mexico to characterize subsurface oil plumes extending from the Deepwater Horizon well head. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)