Scientists have developed a new microscope that allows them to get up close and personal with corals in their natural environment without having to remove them from the reef. The high-powered digital microscope was developed by a team at UC San Diego and unveiled in Nature Communications the other day.
水下世界仍然是一个谜,这样的工具将对科学界在海底进行密切研究生活有所帮助,同时为我们提供了各种海洋生物的一些非常酷的图像。
So how does it work? The microscope can capture images to a resolution of nearly one micrometer thanks to a combination of a camera to record images and video and a computer to focus the lens and store the images. To make sure the camera can see what it’s pointed at, there is a ring of LEDs to provide illumination.
Both are contained in separate submersible aluminum containers and the unit is mounted to a tripod to allow the team to position it on the ocean floor. In fact, you can see each image that is taken, giving you immediate feedback on the quality of each shot.
尽管我们通过在水族馆中观察到珊瑚了解了很多关于珊瑚的知识,但在他们的自然环境中仔细观察是非常有价值的。研究负责人安德鲁·穆伦(Andrew Mullen)说:“如果您将珊瑚带回实验室,可以精确地研究它,但您可以完全将其从自然条件中删除。”
According to the LA Times, Mullen and his colleagues used the new microscope to observe corals on reefs off the coast of Maui and the Israeli city of Eilat. Where traditional microscopes require you to get pretty close to the subject, this digital benthic microscope is positioned about 2 inches above the coral and the computer goes to work to bring the coral into focus.