Bioluminescence Flow Visualization in the Ocean: An Initial Strategy Based on Laboratory Experiments

摘要

Observations of flow-stimulated bioluminescence have been recorded for centuries throughout the world's oceans. The present study explores, within a laboratory context, the use of naturally occurring bioluminescence as a strategy towards visualizing oceanic flow fields. The response of luminescent plankton to quantifiable levels of flow agitation was investigated in fully developed pipe flow. With two different pipe flow apparatus and freshly collected mixed plankton samples obtained over a year at two separate locations, several repeatable response patterns.