Towards a Mobile Ecogenomic sensor: the Third Generation Environmental Sample Processor (3G-ESP).

Researchers are increasingly using one or more autonomous platforms to characterize ocean processes that change in both space and time. Conceptually, studying processes that change quickly both spatially and temporally seems relatively straightforward. One needs to sample in many locations synoptically over time, or follow a coherent water mass and sample it repeatedly. However, implementing either approach presents many challenges. For example, acquiring samples over days to weeks far from shore, without human intervention, requires multiple systems to work together seamlessly, and the level of autonomy, navigation and communications needed to conduct the work exposes the complexity of these requirements.

We are addressing these challenges by developing a new generation of robotic systems that are primarily aimed at studies of microbial-mediated processes. As a step towards realizing this new capability, we have taken lessons learned from our second-generation Environmental Sample Processor (2G-ESP), a robotic microbiology “lab-in-a-can” and have re-engineered the system for use on a Tethys-class Long Range AUV (LRAUV). The new instrument is called the third-generation ESP (3G-ESP), and its integration with the LRAUV provides mobility and a persistent presence not seen before in microbial oceanography.

The 3G-ESP autonomously filters a water sample and then either preserves that material for eventual return to a laboratory, or processes the sample in real-time for further downstream molecular analytical analyses. The 3G ESP modularizes hardware needed for the collection and preparation of a sample from subsequent molecular analyses by the use of self-contained “cartridges”. Cartridges currently come in two forms: one for the preservation of a sample, and the other for onboard homogenization and handoff for downstream processing via one or more analytical devices. The 3G-ESP is designed as a stand-alone instrument, and thus could be deployed on a variety of platforms.

This presentation will focus on results from early deployments of the prototype 3G-ESP/LRAUV, the challenges encountered in cartridge design, ESP/LRAUV integration, and operational capabilities that show the potential of mobile, ecogenomic sensors in the ocean sciences.