Application of digital holography for marine science

These projects are open to students worldwide, but have no funding attached. Therefore, the successful applicant will be expected to fund tuition fees at the relevant level (home or international) and any applicable additional research costs. Please consider this before applying.

Underwater digital holography is a powerful technique to study marine organisms and marine pollution (e.g. micro-plastics), marine evolution, etc. at the microscopic level, in 3D with instantaneous recordings of fluid volumes [1]. At Aberdeen University we have designed and manufactured subsea holocameras since the 1990s; initially in classical analogue form using photographic emulsions, and, latterly, using digital recording of the holograms on electronic sensors with subsequent replay and extraction of data by computer [2,3]. Many of the advantages of classical holography are retained such as 3D (although limited in in-line mode), freedom from parallax and perspective effects, large depth-of-field and high-resolution (down to less than 10 mm depending on optical configuration and sensor parameters). Additionally, and crucially, adopting digital recording allows holographic videos to be captured thereby adding the all-important fourth dimension; allowing evaluation in space and time.

One of the most significant and important features of holography, is the ability to replay and focus the holographic image, at high resolution, at any spatial plane within the entire volume of the sample. Such “optical sectioning” allows particle identification to be made at species level, and dimensional measurement, relative location and particle distributions to be extracted and mapped.

The advantages of digital holography for subsea imaging, inspection and mensuration include:

·     Non-destructive and in situ observations of living species in the size range of about ten micrometres to several millimetres, in their natural habitat

·     High image resolution (down to less than 10 mm – depending on configuration)

·     Recording and sampling volumes between 1 cm³ and 50 cm³, depending on configuration

·     Ability to capture images in 3D-space together with the time-dimension in holographic videos

·     3D viewing and freedom from parallax and perspective effects (but limited in in-line recording)

·     Wide range of target sizes from a few micrometres to millimetres and above (depending on configuration and optical parameters)

·     The ability to record phase objects such as air bubbles or jellyfish larvae.

In this PhD project, new techniques to improve the current state of the art on subsea digital holography will be considered. This could involve one or more of the following:

·        Develop software/hardware methods to improve the hologram processing (data extraction) time [4].

·        Investigate hologram recording & processing methods to improve the resolution of extracted images.

·        Develop image processing algorithms to automatically classify plankton images.

·        Investigate the application of digital holography for imaging and identification of micro-plastics.

Informal enquiries are encouraged. Please contact Dr T Thevar (t.thevar@abdn.ac.uk) or further information.

Essential Background:

Decisions will be based on academic merit. The successful applicant should have, or expect to obtain, a UK Honours Degree at 2.1 (or equivalent) in Electrical/Electronic Engineering; Physics; or Software Engineering.

Sufficient research background and previous experience would be preferred

Application Procedure:

Formal applications can be completed online: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pgap/login.php.

You should apply for Engineering (PhD) to ensure your application is passed to the correct team for processing.

Please clearly note the name of the lead supervisor and project title on the application form. If you do not include these details, it may not be considered for the studentship.

Your application must include: A personal statement, an up-to-date copy of your academic CV, and clear copies of your educational certificates and transcripts.

Please note: you DO NOT need to provide a research proposal with this application.

If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at pgrs-admissions@abdn.ac.uk