W O O D S H O L E, Mass., Nov. 4 — Roger Stokey throttles back on the twin Evinrudes that have sent the pontoon boat and its four occupants skimming out of Woods Hole harbor. The bow gently settles into the water, allowing Greg Packard to take a seat in front of a small TV monitor.

"Is this the only channel we get?" Packard asks with mock dismay.

"It's all Remus, all day," Stokey replies.

Remus, a torpedo-shaped underwater vehicle, is out on maneuvers this afternoon. The researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) here on Cape Cod are trying to get this mechanical mini-Shamu to glide through an underwater hoop, using sonar. Their ultimate goal: a self-docking robotic explorer.

The trial represents one small step toward a new approach to teasing secrets out of the briny deep. Scientists worldwide are laying plans to knit together existing observatories and build new ones in an unprecedented effort to uncover the intricate facets of one of the solar system's least understood realms — Earth's oceans.

Using the latest in remote sensing, power delivery, robotics, and telecommunications technologies, marine scientists are pushing to make long-term measurements of everything from water chemistry, currents, and sea-floor hydrothermal activity to the rise and fall of plankton populations.

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