Field assistant for photography and underwater archeological work with NPS on the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor. Sunk on December 7, 1941 by Japanese warplanes—during a surprise attack that plunged the United States into World War II and altered world history—the 608-foot-long battleship is one of the most studied shipwrecks in the world. In the 1980s, it was initially mapped; in the early 2000s, its condition and lifespan were analyzed. Yet exploration of the ship’s interior has long been limited, in large part by the available technology.

Dec 13: NPS Divers Brett Seymour & Naomi Blinick dove at #USSArizona w/@NatGeo photographers to create new imagery: http://goo.gl/eFfUfQ

Imagine taking a snapshot of any object and then creating an exact, physical copy. Even if it’s underwater? Thanks to Reality Computing, that’s what startup The Hydrous is doing to help better understand endangered coral. One recent five-day underwater expedition garnered more than 27,000 photos, 2 TB of data, and photo captures of more than 100 corals. These will then be used to create exact, interactive 3D-model replicas for scientists and educators to study and preserve the reefs.

This week we ramped up our efforts and conducted a project further investigating Autodesk's software, ReCap, and its viability to make high resolution 3D coral models (The more accurate technical term is 3D textured geometry).  We are very interested in the novel ability to measure coral surface area. This has the potential to revolutionize coral reef research and outreach.

William Lange (right), director of the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory at WHOI, Dave Conlin (center), chief of the National Parks Service's Submerged Resources Center, and James Delgado (left), director of maritime heritage at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration discuss images of the wreck of RMS Titanic. Photo by Naomi Blinick, WHOI.

Contributed to the creation of photo-mosaics of R.M.S. Titanic wreck site produced by the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for National Geographic.

Cover and lead article imagery in Oceanus, the magazine of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), May 2012. Contributed to the creation of photo-mosaics of RMS Titanic wreck site produced by the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab at WHOI. All photo mosaics ©2012 RMS Titanic, Inc. Produced by AIVL, WHOI.

A blog chronicling my three-month internship with the National Park Service's Submerged Resources Center through the Our World - Underwater Scholarship Society in 2011.

Photographs of filming Mantas in 3D in Kona, HI

While teaching assistant for a Marine Studies course at the College’s Kino Bay Center, Naomi Blinick ’09 participated in ongoing sampling of bycatch from shrimp trawlers in the region. Now the Mexican government is overhauling policy on fisheries in the region, and findings from Naomi’s Senior Project research will be included in recommendations for management of the trawl shrimp industry in the region. “In the beginning Lorayne Meltzer mentioned the possibility of writing a paper to publish o