A multiple input fibre optic fluorometer for a coastal cost-effective AUV

This paper describes an approach to the identification of the main features of marine plants growing on the sea bottom, by means of a fluorometric device. Seabed vegetation plays a fundamental role in every ecosystem, and innovative/low cost investigation methods to investigate and characterize the sea flora extents in coastal water are required. The equipment has been designed to be carried on a small underwater vehicle, where limited amount of space and power is available. The general concept of the full system are described and the sensor architecture is designed, pointing out the specific envisaged application and the possible extension in the application of this very flexible fluorometric equipment