By Charlotte Tonkin
An underwater robot has been exploring the waters of Tasman Bay near Nelson, to try and solve a marine mystery.
Shellfish had disappeared from the area, but no one knows why.
One theory is that run off from the land is affecting the coastal eco-system but scientists are hoping the undersea explorer will provide some answers.
The only thing the marine robot is aiming for, is to collect vital information about the make up of the water in Tasman Bay's Motueka River Plume.
Marine scientist, Chris Cornelisen says the research is very important.
“The information that comes out of research such as this is fundamental to understanding how not only the land use affects this marine environment but also how larger processes in the ocean interact with those land uses.”
The $800,000 piece of equipment, nicknamed Dora, is the ultimate tool in scientific research under the sea.
“The amount of information that we've collected in two days would take a good year to collect with conventional equipment and ten years ago it would have taken us many years,” says Mr Cornelisen.
Dora is on loan from the University of Delaware and is one of only 13 in the world.
Cawthron Institute chief exective, Gillian Wratt says this is a unique experience.
“It's really exciting opportunity for us to bring in a piece of equipment we wouldn't have access to normally.”
It's hoped Dora will give scientists some answers about the coastal ecosystem.
Tasman Bay used to boast a thriving scallop population, but since 2005 no scallops have been harvested in the area
The eighty kilogram machine has been surveying the murky sediment near the bottom of the bay, measuring the amount of phytoplankton, which is food for shellfish. It is thought the sediment may be suffocating scallop spat.
Scientists hope to buy our own version Dora when the price tag comes down.
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