Cellula Robotics is pleased to announce a contract with the University of Waikato to design and build an underwater bio-sampler, known as the Hauwai 20. To be deployed on the seafloor under sea ice, the Hauwai 20 will collect and store up to 150 pumped filter samples per deployment. Able to run on autonomously on batteries for a year, or via a shore cable, the system is designed for long deployments in the harsh Antarctic environment.

Dr. Stephen Craig Cary, Professor in Environmental Genetics at the University of Waikato says: “Antarctic sea ice plays an essential role in sustaining the intricate food web by providing substrate for algal growth and a refuge for larvae. Climate change models are predicting a significant change in sea ice dynamics which will dramatically cadge the ecosystem. Current studies are severely limited by being able to only sample during the summer months. The Hauwai 20 will provide that critically year round monitoring and sampling capability. Physical, chemical, and biological monitoring of the underside of the sea ice and the water column will be carried out though out the year right off the beach near Scott Base, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. After a 2 year deployment, the Hauwai 20 will be moved to another location to the north, Terra Nova Bay, for a second 2 year deployment.”

The University of Waikato is funding the development of the instrument. The science is being supported by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE).