A luminescing bamboo coral. Click image for larger view and
credits. The Eye-in-the-Sea (EITS) in position at around 549
meters (1,800 feet) in the Gulf of Mexico. Click image for
larger view and credits. To observe bioluminescence
unobtrusively in different benthic (sea-bottom) habitats we will
be deploying the Ocean Research & Conservation Association
(ORCA) camera system, called Eye-in-the-Sea (EITS). This unique
deep-sea observatory is an autonomous, battery-powered, video-
capture and illumination system that uses far red light (which
has the longest wavelength in the infra-red region), in
combination with a highly sensitive camera that can record
bioluminescence. To observe nocturnal (nighttime) animals on
land, investigators use invisible infra-red light and infra-red
sensitive cameras. It's not so easy in the ocean. Infra-red
light is absorbed too rapidly in sea water; it provides
inadequate illumination of large animals, when used with
standard infra-red sensitive cameras. To compensate for this,
the