Upcoming presentation on REX II at NOAA Conference

MIT Sea Grant summer intern and Hollings Scholar Collin Perkinson is scheduled to make a presentation at an upcoming NOAA conference on three-dimensional underwater imagery research. Perkinson, a Reed College student, will discuss the MIT Sea Grant study he is participating in this summer that is employing the autonomous underwater vehicle Reef Explorer II (REX II) to capture 3D underwater photos and video footage to survey conservation mooring systems and water quality along the coast of Massachusetts. REX II will search for the presence of a non-native sea squirt, Didemnum vexillum, and will examine the damage to eelgrass caused by ship mooring. REX II will also monitor new eelgrass beds planted in recent years by the state of Massachusetts, which are important for fish habitats.