WormCam

WormCam Ashore The WormCam ashore, showing the clear plexiglass window through which images are taken. The window is positioned to straddle the sediment-water interface. Photo by Todd Nelson.

WormCam Buoy The WormCam is tethered beneath this buoy at Clay Bank in the York River. Photo by Todd Nelson.

WormCam Still A still image from the WormCam shows the sediment-water interface. Note the many small worm burrows, the large burrow in the lower left, and the blanket of organic detritus on the surface. Photo by Todd Nelson.

WormCam is an underwater camera developed at VIMS with funding from the National Science Foundation. A pair of WormCams currently provide sediment-level images of the York River seafloor at two locations. Still images and time-lapse movies from WormCam help scientists better understand the important role that burrowing animals play in mixing seafloor sediments, and the physical forces that control erosion, deposition, and transport of seafloor sediments, nutrients, and contaminants.

Real-Time Still Images

View real-time, cross-sectional images of the seafloor from a pair of underwater cameras deployed in the York River at Gloucester Point and Clay Bank.

WormCam Time-Lapse

Watch a video of Sturdivant's "Wormcam" in action as it tracks the important role burrowing animals play in mixing seafloor sediments, and the physical forces that control erosion, deposition, and transport of seafloor sediments, nutrients, and contamination.