High tech maps aid Puerto Rican coral reefs

From an Associated Press article posted on the Web site of the International Herald Tribune:

ABOARD THE NANCY FOSTER: Whirring over a sun-streaked patch of tropical sea floor, a submersible equipped with cameras is helping scientists map the struggling coral reefs off this U.S. Caribbean territory, a step toward preserving them.

The small machine, tethered to a 187-foot (57-meter) survey ship, was remotely steered over coral hills, sending a fisheye view back to scientists who hope the images will help them learn how to restore the weakened reefs.

The video and multi-beam sonar imagery taken this week provided the most exact charts ever of coral contours and sea floors in the area.

"It's neat getting the images because some of these spots are where Captain Cook's ships were once dropping lead lines to get an idea of what was down there," said researcher Mike Stecher, referring to the centuries-old practice of lowering weighted lines to map depth.

Scientists and observers in a control room on the Nancy Foster, a boat operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, oohed and aahed as grouper and squirrel fish darted behind coral or sponges before the lens of the submersible.

The maps generated by the expedition along Puerto Rico's coast will help gauge the health of dwindling coral habitats, some of which have been "bleached" and killed by climate change, according to the mission's chief investigator, Tim Battista.