New Zealand scientists hope to unlock some of the secrets of the deep with a pair of advanced glass balls which will plunge 6km beneath the waves before rising to the surface to beam their data to satellites.
The two plastic-encased balls, called Deep Argo floats, measuring 35cm in diameter, will be dropped into the waters east of the Pacific Ocean's Kermadec Trench by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) research vessel Tangaroa in the coming month.
It will be a scientific first aimed at adding to understanding of global climate change, NIWA says.
They will measure temperature and salinity between the surface and about 6000m deep - along with devices to transmit the data to satellites.
It is the first time these measuring instruments will be tested at such depths.
There are more than 3000 Argo floats already working in the world's oceans, but the current models only measure the top 2000m.
They first sink down to about 1000m and every nine days they sink to 2000m before coming back up to the ocean surface, where the balls' position and recorded data are transmitted to a satellite.
NIWA oceanographer Phil Sutton says the deep ocean could play a crucial role in shaping the earth's climate.
"This is really leading-edge emerging technology that will, for the first time, allow us to fill in the gap in data between 2000m and the sea floor."
Seattle company Sea-bird Electronics has developed the sensors for Deep Argo floats.
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