Researchers will leave Hobart on Friday aboard the CSIRO's RV Investigator as part of a joint project with the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) and several universities.

They'll deploy automated probes to study dead algae and carbon-rich organic particles that sink from upper waters to the deep ocean.

It is the first voyage of its kind to combine ship-board observations, deep-diving robots, automated ocean gliders and satellite measurements.

"The microscopic algae in the ocean are responsible for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as much as the forests on land are," chief scientist, professor Philip Boyd, said.

"When they die, these tiny carbon-rich particles fall slowly to the ocean floor like a scene from a snow globe.

"We are excited about how this combination of new imaging sensors will allow us to get a larger and much clearer picture of how ocean life helps to store carbon.

"It's a bit like an astronomer who has only been able to study one star at a time suddenly being able to observe the galaxy in three dimensions."

The robots and gliders will use bio-optical sensors to "photograph" the density of algae at different depths.

When the robots resurface, they immediately transmit data to scientists, something Professor Boyd says is a major step forward.

Researchers will be live-blogging their journey on the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership website.

Australian Associated Press