Re: Do oceanographers ever use image intensifiers?

Hi Nelson:

Yes, I remember reading an article a short time ago in an oceanography newsletter about how the light receptors in shrimp eyes could be damaged by high intensity lights on submersibles (click here for a short article on the phenomenon).

The problem with using image intensifiers is that water is extremely good at absorbing light. At the depths that a lot of these submersibles work at (hydrothermal vents are 4 to 5 kilometres down), there is effectively no light to intensify.

This is, however, a newly discovered problem (in the last year or so) and I expect that those researchers who use submersibles are working on solutions.

Hope that helps!
Rob Campbell, MAD Scientist