9318399 Widder The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution will develop and test a three dimensional, laser imaging and tracking electro-optical system (3-D LITES) for applications in biological oceanography. This laser-scanning system will provide precise 3-D data in near real time while combining high resolution (1.25 mm) with a large field of view (0.5 m) and a long working distance (1 m). The system will be for use both in the laboratory and in situ. 3-D LITES is a modification of a system developed for the the Navy for high resolution mapping of surfaces underwater. The image closely resembles a video image with 200 to 800 lines of resolution, but each frame is a 3-D data file where the "pixels" comprising the image have a "Z" component in addition to an X,Y coordinate, thus providing true three-dimensional imaging within the sensor's field of view. The work proposed is to adapt this design for mapping real time movements and microscale distribution patterns of marine organisms. The principal application is the measurement of spatial distributions and swimming patterns of motile organisms in the open ocean. This represents one of the greatest challenges in biological oceanography and holds the key to understanding zooplankton behavioral ecology by answering such basic ecological questions as how co-occurring species distribute themselves in space relative to each other and relative to the physical variables in their environment. Dr. Edith Widder Harbor Branch Oceanographic Inst. 5600 U.S. 1 North Ft. Pierce, FL 34946
