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ARMS Deployment from a Submarine

Submarine pilot Bruce Brandt secures ARMS to the outside of the submersible Curasub so it can deploy ARMS on the seafloor.
(Trish Mace, Smithsonian Institution)

Submarine pilot Bruce Brandt secures ARMS (Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures) to the submersible Curasub off the coast of Curacao. In shallow water, SCUBA divers can place these biodiversity-measuring structures on the seafloor by hand -- but in the deep, DROP (Deep Reef Observation Project) researchers had to devise new ways to deploy ARMS using creativity and adaptations to the tools of the submersible. The first step is attaching the ARMS to the exterior of the sub within reach of the Curasub's hydraulic arm.