Robots hunt for wonder of the world

Susan Pepperell -

Underwater robots searching for the long-submerged Pink and White Terraces under Lake Rotomahana have discovered holes emitting streams of gas bubbles, confirming a large geothermal system below the lake.

On loan from the United States, the robots – known as AUVs, or autonomous underwater vehicles – are equipped with sensors to detect geothermal activity.

The Pink and White Terraces, a popular 19th-century tourist destination and regarded as the eighth wonder of the natural world, were buried in the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886.

After some final testing in a Rotorua hotel swimming pool on Sunday, the AUVs started work on Monday, one travelling at 15 metres above the lake floor and the other at 10m.

One AUV collided with what was described as an "underwater pinnacle" but was undamaged.

The AUVs are battery powered and if there is a malfunction, they float to the surface and are located by GPS.

John Callan, of GNS Science, the organisation leading the project, said the mapping was going well and the discovery of the gas vents reinforced that there was a large geothermal system under the lake.

Scientists from Waikato University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US are also involved.

At the end of each day, information gathered by the AUVs is downloaded and processed into detailed three-dimensional topographical maps.

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