Charlotte Garmann-Johnsen | September 9th, 2021 | Stories

What has SeaBee been up to in 2021?

In March, two SeaBee members ventured into the bitter cold to conduct the first survey of the year, near Danmarksbukta. For more information about the survey it’s findings, check out this article on the SeaBee Website: https://url.grida.no/3A44H1O

Later on, in April, SeaBee was highlighted by the Norwegian research council as a pioneer for drone based services in the country. SeaBee’s aim to establish a centre for drone based research services in Norway, with a range of uses in studying marine ecosystems, cartography, the impact of humans on the environment, and many other topics.

This summer has been an exciting and busy time for the SeaBee team. In June, SeaBee introduced a new drone to the fleet, RobOtto. RobOtto is a water surface drone that allows the SeaBee team to gather data on various properties of the water, including the concentration of microalgae and phytoplankton (Chlorophyll a), the concentration of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and total suspended matter (TSM). In conjunction with SeaBee’s aerial drones, RobOtto is an important tool for mapping Norway’s coastlines and conducting drone based research. For a more in depth story about RobOtto’s first outing, a news story will be published soon on GRID-Arendal’s website.

In August, the SeaBee team partnered with the Arctic University of Norway to study the health of seagrasses in the Oslofjord as part of the MASSIMAL Project. Using a M600 Aerial Drone, the team was able to use hyperspectral imaging to gather data on the local seagrass. For more information on the project, check out this project description on the Artic University of Norway website: https://url.grida.no/3DWMCVL