3D colour reconstruction of a hydrothermally active area using an underwater robot

This paper extends the method introduced in [1] to generate 3D colour reconstructions of the seafloor, to account for the attenuation of light for each individual point in the reconstruction and so improve the colour accuracy of the reconstructed seafloor. The method is applied to data obtained using an AUV during the survey of a hydrothermally active area in Kagoshima Bay, Japan. The generated 3D reconstruction is compared to a 2D photomosaic taken at the same time. The results are discussed in terms of accuracy of dimensions and colour and a method to extract scientifically useful information from the 3D data is demonstrated.