In collaboration with the Ocean Perception Laboratory at the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) at the University of Tokyo, we organised a marine imaging workshop at JAMSTEC on March 12th, 2015. The main aim of the workshop was to talk about the scientific rationale and the data collected during two cruises completed in 2014 in Japanese coastal waters. These cruises resulted in large scale, 3D visual maps of the seafloor to help interpret the distribution of seafloor habitats in the Tōhoku region, and in hydrothermal vent fields in the Okinawa trough. Talks focused the interpretation of the data and the distribution of various benthic organisms.
This trip is part of of the project ‘Understanding Marine Habitats off Tōhoku Using Underwater Robots’ and is supported by the Commonwealth through the Australia-Japan Foundation, which is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.