UNOLS Observatory Working Group
Meeting
Holiday Inn - Logan Airport Hotel
Embassy IV Room
February 26, 2003
MEETING MINUTES
To download a pdf copy of these
minutes, click here <200302owgmi.pdf>
II.
Participant List
III.
Working Group
Task Statement
IV.
H2O Observatory (Alan Chave)
V.
NEPTUNE and Cable Installation Tools (Gene Massion)
VI.
Deck Handling and Mooring Deployment/Recovery Needs
(Worcester/Wooding)
VII.
ROV and AUV Requirements (Dana Yoerger)
VIII.
Mapping Requirements (Larry Mayer)
IX.
Coastal Observatory Requirements – West Coast (Mike
Kosro)
X.
Coastal Observatory Requirements – East Coast (Scott
Glenn)
Introductions, charge to the working group and meeting
goals – Alan Chave opened the meeting
at 0830. Meeting participants introduced
themselves. The meeting agenda is
included as Appendix I and the participant list is included
as Appendix II.
Alan provided the group with background information about why the working
group had been formed. There are a variety of major ocean observatory
development efforts underway on global, regional and local scales.
Some of these observatories have already been established and are operational.
The Ocean Studies
Board has established a committee to study “Implementation of a Seafloor Observatory
Network for Oceanographic Research.” Bob
Detrick (WHOI) is chair of this committee. Their study will develop an implementation plan to establish a network
of seafloor-based observatories to support multidisciplinary research. This
network would include both cabled seafloor nodes and moored buoys, located
in both coastal and open-ocean areas. The committee has been tasked to provide
advice on the design, construction, management, operation, and maintenance
of the network, including the need for scientific oversight and planning,
appropriately phased implementation, data management, and education and outreach
activities of the observatories. Additionally,
they have been asked to examine the impacts on the UNOLS fleet and current
submersible and ROV/AUV assets in the research community.
Bob Detrick, in turn, has asked UNOLS for input regarding observatory
facility needs and the impact these needs will have on the UNOLS fleet.
In response, the UNOLS Council recommended the formation of a working
group with individuals familiar with the establishment and operation of ocean
observatories. The tasking for the
working group is contained in Appendix III.
Deep ocean observatory requirements for UNOLS vessels:
H2O Experience
- Alan Chave provided a report on the H2O experiment. His viewgraphs are included as Appendix IV.
The viewgraphs include pictures of the installation and cable handling
operations. H2O was the first deep water installation of
an observatory by a UNOLS vessel, R/V THOMPSON. The observatory has been in operation for five years. ROV Jason was used for the installation and
worked well.
A summary of Alan’s comments, observations and recommendations
follow:
·
The deck
gear on UNOLS ships is not adequate for installation and servicing of deep
ocean observatories. Deck equipment
with the ability to handle heavier loads than those currently installed on
UNOLS vessels is needed for installation and service of observatories like
H2O.
·
Synthetic
cable is needed.
·
Experienced
personnel, including a cable handler, are needed. An experienced cable handler assisted the H2O installation.
·
A
well-designed cable grabber tool is needed.
·
A fantail
“chute” is needed for cable handling.
·
A cable
spicing capability is needed on UNOLS vessels.
This does not currently exist in UNOLS.
There is industry expertise in this area.
·
There are
safety concerns that will need to be addressed. Heavier gear and work with heavier loads will require experienced
support.
·
User-friendly
ROVs are needed.
·
Below deck
winches (fiber optic) would be beneficial.
The best scenario would be to have two below deck traction winches (not
just two spools).
·
The ships
will require a large, clear aft deck.
Alan described the H2O junction box deployment operations. The ROV work vehicle (Jason) support was
very adequate during these operations.
Jason could do everything that was planned. Pre-cruise planning and knowing the vehicle’s capabilities were
instrumental. There needs to be a
strong interactive relationship between the user and vehicle operator for
successful operation. Prior to the H2O
cruise, trial runs with Jason were carried out at the pier. In the future, as the servicing and
installation procedures are well established, these sorts of cable operations
might be able to be done with commercially available ROVs.
NEPTUNE and Cable Installation Tools - Gene Massion continued with
a report on NEPTUNE installation and servicing facility requirements. His viewgraphs are included as Appendix V.
The NEPTUNE observatory is designed as a regional network of cabled
seafloor nodes. There will be 30 nodes.
Gene’s observations, comments and recommendations are included
below:
·
NEPTUNE
facility requirements are estimated to require three months of ROV and UNOLS
Class I ship time for servicing of nodes.
A typical academic ROV would be adequate. The three months includes the time needed to service the 30
nodes.
–Node weight - app 2000 lbf, 2.5m x 1.5m x 1m
–Cable weight – 3300 lbf for 4000m
·
UNOLS Class
I vessels as they are currently configured are too small to meet the NEPTUNE
support requirements. More deck space
is needed. Much of the required handling
equipment can be cross-decked to a UNOLS vessel, but added deck space and deck
strengthening would be needed.
·
Procedures
for safe handling of the heavy loads associated with observatory work are
needed. This is a major safety concern.
Gene reviewed the handling equipment possibilities for NEPTUNE support:
-
Aft
chute for cable handling
-
20000
lbf safe working load (swl) winch
-
2
capstans (10000 lbf swl each for handling soft line) and stoppers applied on deck.
-
The minimum requirements
plus…
-
20000
lbf swl (while rotating) a-frame.
-
All
of the above plus…
-
Either
2 LCEs or 2 cable drums (2-3m diameter, 3m required for routine passage of a
joint).
-
Capstans/tuggers,
-
Grappling
gear,
-
Hard/soft
stoppers,
-
Cable
splicing gear (several transportainers),
-
Added
deck space
As part of the Neptune process, they will look at various ship
support options. These include:
·
Leasing
Commercial vessels
·
Buying a
commercial vessel
·
Building a
new UNOLS vessel designed for support of observatory.
In closing, Gene showed slides of a typical cable repair ship.
Deck handling and mooring deployment/recovery needs – Peter Worcester reported on the DEOS facility needs. His viewgraphs are included as Appendix VI.
He reviewed the design constraints for moored-buoy observatories.
There are three types of buoys:
- No power to the seafloor - low bandwidth, acoustically-linked discus buoy
- Powered to the seafloor - Low-bandwidth, cable-linked discus buoy
- Powered to the seafloor - High-bandwidth, cable-linked spar buoy
Peter showed a map with locations of moored-buoy locations. The map provided locations of the sites that are currently operating or funded, as well as those sites to be implemented during the pilot phase of DEOS.
Some of the sites are in
high latitudes where high sea state conditions can be expected. This map is a good graphic for future
reference.
UNOLS vessels currently have the capabilities needed to service
discus type buoys. No added handling
gear is needed. In terms of ship time,
however, there will be much higher demand.
Peter reviewed the DEOS spar buoy conceptual drawing features and service requir