Engineer at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, AG Marine Measurement Technology
Studied offshore plant engineering (Kiel University of Applied Sciences) and environmental engineering (University of Rostock) | Master's thesis on the use of underwater drones for waste monitoring (IOW AG Coastal and Marine Management) | since January 2022 staff member at IOW in the OTC-DaTA project and in the AG Marine Measurement Technology.
An essential part of underwater operations is to collect data, e.g. about the seafloor or underwater structures. This generates huge amounts of separately collected sensor data. The challenge is to fuse and interpret them. In the OTC-DaTA project, I am looking at what data streams are generated on remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and how we can intercept and provide them. We want to make the video recordings of the ROV usable for others. The ROV pilots use a graphical user interface, but we are looking behind it into the data processing of the system and want to capture all metadata at the same time.
I record exercise data sets with the ROV. Sensors sometimes deliver erroneous values and, over time, the measurement accuracy decreases, especially underwater. I validate the measurement results through comparative measurements, prepare data sets and document this data processing. From time to time, I go out on the IOW research ship for our marine metrology working group. Then I am responsible for profile measurements in the water column - from the deployment of the CTD probe and the water ring bailer to the collection of the measured values and the finished data sets.
I always wanted to combine the sea, technology and sustainability. That's why I studied offshore plant engineering. What's exciting about technology for me is how I can approach problem solving in a functional and logical way. I think my work at the research institute is great because I learn a lot and gain insight into a wide variety of exciting research topics. At the same time, it's not primarily about growth and sales like in the private sector. My great motivation is that existing resources can be used better and by more people and projects, i.e. more sustainably.
We take an open-source approach: we want to store and document the data collected with ROVs in a way that makes them easily accessible. Not everyone should have to have an ROV to get underwater images. This is where we can contribute to greater sustainability through efficiency.
It is also important to raise the collective awareness of ocean protection and to prove environmental changes with measurement series and hard facts. The willingness to protect the oceans exists primarily when we know and understand them.
