Abstract
Fluid Lensing, a novel remote sensing technology for imaging shallow benthic systems, has recently been used on a quadcopter-based UAS to create the first dataset of a biosphere with unprecedented sub-cm-level imagery in 3D over areas as large as 15 square km. Two ESTO-funded CubeSat-based Fluid Lensing imagers are currently in production with an airborne deployment scheduled for November 2014. Fluid Lensing is a theoretical model and algorithm I present for fluid-optical interactions in turbulent flows as well as two-fluid surface boundaries that, when coupled with an unique computer vision and image-processing pipeline, may be used to significantly enhance the angular resolution of a remote sensing optical system with applicability to high-resolution stereographic imaging of subaqueous regions and through turbulent fluid flows. Perturbed two-fluid boundaries with different refractive indices, such as the surface between the ocean and air, may be used exploited for use as lensing elements for imaging targets on either side of the interface with enhanced angular resolution. Encouraging theoretical developments behind Fluid Lensing and experimental results from its recent implementation for the Reactive Reefs project on a quadcopter-based UAS aerial platform have resulted in the first dataset of a reef system with sub-cm-level imagery in 3D. Results from an aerial survey effort in American Samoa and Hamelin Pool show applicability to large-scale automated biosphere assessment, species identification, morphology studies and reef ecosystem characterization for shallow marine environments using this technology.