Sea animals must solve many problems. How to survive crushing pressures? How to keep moving in freezing temperatures? How to stay afloat? As land dwellers, we can appreciate these problems. But one sea-dweller problem might escape our notice: how to hide? Our terrestrial world is full of large and small objects. The open ocean, however, is generally empty and featureless. All it takes is one scuba dive to realize how extremely exposed oceanic animals are.

One solution that many sea animals have found is to be invisible. Using special modifications of their forms and tissues, many oceanic animals are clear as glass. Many are so transparent that we cannot see them, even at two inches away, which makes them very frustrating to catch. Their muscles and tendons, however, have a special optical quality called "birefringence." This means they alter the light that passes through them.

Normally, we cannot see birefringence; but with a little work we can duplicate the experience on land. The easiest way to do it is to put on a pair of polaroid sunglasses and hit the highway. The rear windshields of many cars will appear to have fuzzy spots. This is birefringence, caused, in this case, by the process that makes curved glass. The LCD monitors of gas pumps also will be covered with colored fringes, due to the same effect.

Back in the ocean, many animals, especially shrimp and squid, have the living equivalent of polaroid sunglasses over their eyes. This means that they can see the birefringent muscles and tendons in animals that are otherwise invisible. In other words, they can "break the camouflage," and then have their meal or hide from a predator.

We study birefringence by scuba diving in the open ocean (attached to lines so we don't drift away) and filming the animals through cameras fitted with polaroid filters. We catch some of the animals in glass jars, and then take close-up shots using the same filters. We were very excited to discover that these animals are much more visible when viewed through these filters. In fact, they are spectacularly beautiful. The whole process is a wonderful mix of adventure, science, art and discovery.

The relationship between birefringence and polarization may explain how animals find their invisible meals. It also enables us to see further into the ocean than we have before. The biggest problem in oceanography is that, even with the brightest light, we can see only about 100 ft (and usually much less).

Imagine how your home town would look in a permanent fog. We never get to see the big picture. We are hopeful that by combining these images and polarization measurements with a special algorithm (a calculation process), designed for removing haze in terrestrial pictures, we will get a bigger picture and a better understanding of this marine world.

As often happens, underwater archeologists, fishermen, and others are finding relevance in our basic research. It has also turned out to be very useful to doctors studying cataracts. While I am personally driven by curiosity and the excitement of discovery, I am happy to know that my work may be relevant to all sorts of people -- some who want to see farther underwater, and others who just want to see.

Sönke Johnsen
Assistant Professor
Duke University
Ocean Explorer