Meeting Report
National Deep Submergence Facility Vehicles
Science and Operations Training Sessions
January 25, 2004
Oregon Convention
Center - Room C124
777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland OR 97232
To download a pdf
version of this report click <200401desmi.pdf>
Executive Summary:
The DEep Submergence Science Committee (DESSC) held their winter meeting on Sunday, January 25, 2004, the day before the start of the AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting (26-30 January) in Portland, Oregon. This was the first time that the DESSC community meeting was held at a forum other than the fall AGU conference. The change in venue was made in an effort to better reach the non-G&G deep submergence community.
The meeting began with presentations by the Principle Investigators who used submergence vehicles in 2003. A variety of reports were made by the National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF) operator to summarize facility operations and planned activities, system upgrades, and vehicle design efforts. Funding agency representatives provided budget information as well as agency priorities. DESSC activities, future plans and issues were reported, including discussions of long-range and expeditionary planning, public outreach and educational activities.
The second half of the meeting
included a training session on National Deep Submergence Facility vehicles
science and operations. This training session was the first of its kind
and was offered to provide detailed information on both the capabilities of the
NDSF vehicles (primarily Alvin, Jason2 ROV, and the DSL-120A sidescan sonar)
and sensor suites, and their at-sea operations procedures. The session also provided insightful
information on the effective operating procedures for these systems. The latest upgrades to the facilities were
presented as well as planned improvements. Information was also provided
on autonomous vehicle operations and how ABE has been used effectively with the
NDSF vehicle systems in recent surveys.
Recommendations / Endorsements: None from this meeting.
Action Items / Tasks:
New
Actions: None
Open
Actions From Previous Meetings:
|
Task |
Status |
Assignment |
|
Inventory of Vehicles and Equipment Develop a
web page that will provide an inventory of deep submergence vehicles and
equipment. NDSF, as well as, PI owned
equipment/tools should be included |
Ongoing |
Annette, Patty, Dan, and DESSC |
Index of Appendices
|
I. |
||
|
II. |
||
|
III. |
Science
Reports: |
|
|
|
a. |
ALVIN
Programs (6.8 MB) |
|
|
b. |
NDSF
ROV Programs (2.1 MB) |
|
|
c. |
Other
Vehicle Programs (2.7 MB) |
|
IV. |
NDSF
Operators Reports |
|
|
|
a. |
2003
Vehicle Operations (3.5 MB) |
|
|
b. |
|
|
|
c. |
|
|
|
d. |
|
|
|
e. |
|
|
V. |
NOAA
Report (4.9 MB) |
|
|
VI. |
NSF Report: |
|
|
|
a. |
|
|
|
b. |
|
|
VII. |
||
|
VIII. |
UNOLS
Working Group on Ocean Observatory Facility Needs (15.4 MB) |
|
|
IX. |
||
|
X. |
||
|
XI. |
||
|
XII. |
||
|
XIII. |
Other Facility
Operator Reports: |
|
|
|
a. |
|
|
|
b. |
|
|
|
c. |
|
|
|
d. |
|
|
|
e. |
|
|
|
f. |
|
|
|
g. |
|
Meeting
Report:
Morning: DEep Submergence Science Committee Planning
Meeting
Introduction The annual Deep
Submergence Science Committee (DESSC) community meeting was held on January 25,
2004 at the Oregon Convention Center.
Patty Fryer, DESSC Chair, opened the meeting at 0830. She introduced the members of DESSC and reported that a few
committee positions will open this year, including the position of DESSC
Chair. The positions will be advertised
in EOS.
Patty explained the purpose
of this meeting is to bring together the members of the community to report on
the latest activities and future plans for the National Deep Submergence
Facility (NDSF). The meeting is a forum
to obtain direct community feedback on their future needs, both in terms of
research geographic areas and system upgrades. This is the first time that the
DESSC is holding their winter meeting away from the Fall AGU meeting. The move was made to better engage the
non-G&G community. DESSC will
return to the Fall AGU meeting in December 2004.
Also, for the first time, a
NDSF training session will be held in the afternoon of the meeting. The training session will provide useful
information to both the new users and experienced users of the NDSF vehicles.
The minutes of June 2003
DESSC meeting were approved with the comments provided by Patty Fryer.
The
meeting agenda was followed in the order as reported herein. The agenda is included as Appendix I
and the participant list is included as Appendix
II of this report.
2003 Science Reports Principal
Investigators (PIs) who used the NDSF in 2003 were invited to give a brief
report on their project. Debbie Kelley moderated this session and
provided reports from PIs who could not attend. Science presentations that were made at the meeting are included
in Appendix III. Appendix
IIIa includes the ALVIN reports.
Appendix
IIIb includes the NDSF ROV reports and Appendix
IIIc includes reports for non-NDSF vehicles.
ALVIN Science Reports (Appendix
IIIa):
Debbie Kelly began the science reports with a presentation on her cruise to the Mid Atlantic Ridge at Lost City on April 21- May 22, 2003
. During this cruise, Pat Hickey celebrated
his 500th dive as an ALVIN pilot.
The main objective of the cruise was to characterize the Lost City
Hydrothermal Field. Debbies cruise
included 19
ALVIN dives averaging 5.7 hours in length.
This was the first cruise using ALVIN after its overhaul. They
focused on the 2km x 1km top of Lost City.
During the ALVIN dives vents were sampled for fluid, microbes, and
chimney material. Thirteen
students participated in the cruise and 11 went to the seafloor in the
vehicle. ABE was used to characterize the bathymetry and water column
around the field and for exploration of possible fields less than 80 km away.
ABE operations were carried out at night.
Seventeen
ABE missions were carried out for a total of 127 hours. Approximately 200 km of seafloor was
surveyed. The entire field was mapped in detail. ABE worked
incredible well and they were able to image very small features.
The
chimneys at the study area were the size of a 15-story building. Approximately 30,000 images were collected
using Dan Fornaris cameras.
Approximately 25,000 frame grabs were taken with ALVIN. The new frame grabbing system provides
images immediately after a dive. This
was very useful for planning the next dives.
Debbie
reported on some of the problems that were experienced during her cruise. There were some navigation issues related to
transponder set-up. Also, there were
problems with ALVINs computers resulting in blank monitors. There were also condensation problems with
the pan and tilts. The sonar was not
available until the last ALVIN dive.
Fortunately this did not impact the program since they could use the ABE
survey data. One ALVIN dive was lost
because of a variable ballast problem.
There were navigation data problems and as a result, Dana Yoerger
reprocessed the data at the end of the cruise.
All
in all, Debbie reported that it was a successful cruise.
Jess Adkins reported on his ALVIN cruise at the NE
Seamounts in May/June 2003. The cruise
was named Medusa and it was the first use of ALVIN for paleoclimate work. The
goals
of the program were to collect depth transects of fossil and modern
deep-sea corals, figure out how to better collect them in the future, and to
characterize the living community at seamounts. A nested approach to use of the systems was applied.
Fifteen dives were
funded, but 10 dives were carried out do to weather conditions. ALVIN had more than 45 hours of bottom
time. Alvin operations were at
1,000-3,000 meters. There were eight
ABE dives, 3 Tow Cams, one dredge, 13 CTD casts, and two MITESS casts. Six seamounts were mapped and photo-mosaics
have been created. Approximately 10,000
photos were taken using ABE and the towed camera sled. A lot of species were collected.
Outreach
activities included a web link to Dive and Discover #7, as well as, a radio
interview and web link with the Museum of Science.
The cruise was very successful.
Jesse
provided some suggestions for system upgrades and operations improvements:
Debbie summarized Carolyn Ruppel (Georgia Tech) and Cindy Lee Van Dover (William & Mary) program, Windows to the Deep. The program conducted biological sampling and high-resolution mapping at methane seeps on the Blake Ridge and Carolina Rise. The cruise dates were
July 22 August 3, 2003. The science party of 20 members included 16 graduate, undergraduate, or just graduated students, and a Master teacher from Southeast COSEE office. There was a broad range of disciplinary expertise. The NOAA Ocean Exploration Program sponsored the program. ALVIN successfully completed 7 out of 7 scheduled dives. Water depths were 2000 to 3500 m in three primary locations. Eleven of the 16 students visited the seafloor.
Accomplishments
included:
Sampled sulfate - and methane-dependent
seep organisms
Acquired sediment push cores
Sampled bacterial mats and free-living
bacteria
Retrieved geological samples
Overnight operations: Mapping and
subbottom imaging
The most complete map ever of the Cape Fear submarine slide (associated with gas hydrate deposits) was produced. Details of the program can be found at <
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03windows/welcome.html
>.
Barbara Moore reported on Ivar Babbs ALVIN
program, Mountains in the Sea: Exploring the New England Seamount Chain. This is a two-year
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration funded project. Year-one utilized ATLANTIS and ALVIN to conduct some of the first
exploration of these 100 million year old seafloor features. The program took place on July 11-19, 2003 and included a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, research and education
team. The viewgraphs include the list
of principal
expedition members, collaborators and roles.
The cruise objectives
were to:
ATLANTIS
conducted hundreds of miles of seafloor mapping with its multibeam sonar. These images were used for selecting ALVIN
dive sites based upon the steepness or irregularity of the seafloor, areas
believed to be most favorable to deep coral settlement. ALVIN was used to collect specimens and
document biodiversity with video and digital still imagery. Twenty-four deep-water coral species were
collected. Hundreds of Desmophyllum
fossil corals were collected as part of the collaboration with Jess Adkins who
is using these samples for paleooceanographic research. A number of fishes and invertebrates were
encountered; the total biodiversity is currently being assessed by video and
image analysis.
Chuck Fisher reported on
his ALVIN cruise with Janet Voight and Karen Von Damm. The program was on 31 October to 24
November 2003 to EPR 8° 37N to 13°N and included 11 ALVIN dives. Biological collections were made from five vent
habitats. Sea-Beam surveys
and towed camera runs were made. Chuck reported that it was an excellent cruise but there
was one major problem, the bow thruster failed after nine dives, but the impact
was minimal. Six of the ALVIN dives were funded for Karen
and Chucks program. Nine species were
collected by elevator. Full reports will
be in the RIDGE event newsletter.
Out-reach efforts for the program can be found at
<http://www.fmnh.org/expeditions/janet2_expedition/about.html>.
NDSF ROV Science Reports (Appendix
IIIb):
During the
cruise the ISEA was deployed twice, once in survey mode on the DSV ALVIN and
another time on the bottom for a period of five days. The four electrodes were
run
continuously including electrochemical conditioning between each scan to
maintain electrode integrity. Dissolved O2, free sulfide (H2S/HS-) and Mn2+ data were
obtained at 4 separate Riftia tubeworms during the 5-day deployment.
Maurice
Tivey (WHOI) provided
slides on a DSL-120/THOMPSON program he co-PIed with Will Sager (Texas A&M)
and Sang Mook Lee (KORDI). NSF supported the program titled, Deeptow
Magnetic Survey of the Jurassic Quiet Zone. The science objectives were to extend marine
timescale to the oldest possible crust and to determine character of JQZ: is it
a period of constant polarity or is it a period of rapid reversals? The specific goals of the program included:
The
cruise had DSL-120A sidescan operations, including 3-component magnetometer and
towing KORDI absolute field magnetometer system. The cruise statistics included:
The
DSL-120A sidescan and magnetometer sensors worked well. The phase bathymetry was still an issue and
required customized processing. The
navigation sensors (Doppler, LBL, acoustic range) all worked, but there needs
to be better integration of navigation data.
Maurices report included a
cruise assessment of the support ship.
The ship worked well and within the new IMS regulations. One issue was that they could not survey
with the ships sea surface magnetometer faster than 6 kts. They were given
permission to operate at 8 kts but it was still too slow for the transit speed
of 10-12 kts. The sub-bottom 3.5 khz
profiler worked well but no digital output in a usable form was available. Problems with Hydrosweep bathymetry resulted
in poor quality and essentially unusable data. Basically, the water depth was
too deep for the EM300 system.
Patty
Fryer used Jason2 and
DLS-120A from R/V THOMPSON in a cruise that began on 17 March and ran through 4
May. Operations were at the South
Mariana Arc to study deep-sourced mud volcanism. The cruise included a visit to an ODP site to support Geoffrey
Wheats borehole instrument recovery.
Patty
reported that they were able to obtain detailed imaging using DSL-120A and
EM300. Patty presented the images on
the screen and meeting participants could view the images using 3-D
glasses. The surveys were done in very
high relief areas.
Jason2
performed well throughout the cruise.
This was the first cruise that the vehicle was operated at its full
depth capability of 6500 km. The dive
was due south of Guam. Transit to the
bottom was approximately 4 hours long and the dive was one day.
Patty provided a few
suggestions and comments. Towing of DSL
in rough terrain was very difficult.
Launch and recovery of Jason2 could be improved by operating from a
starboard side A-frame. Patty also
commented that it would it be better to have more Butterfield samplers?
Dan Fornari commented that NDSF is trying to get community input on what type of samplers need to be included with the facility. Tim Shank has been taking the lead on this effort and it will be addressed later in the meeting.
Debbie Kelley wrapped up the NDSF ROV science reports by discussing her Jason2/THOMPSON cruise to Endeavor segment Middle Valley, and Flanks on June 18 to 1 July. The program was for Field testing of an in-situ incubator to explore the limits of life in submarine hydrothermal systems: Active sulfide deposits as natural laboratories. This was the first time the MBARI drill was used with Jason2 and the sled was switched while out at sea. Jason2 worked exceedingly well, with 11 lowerings and ~139 hours bottom time. The vehicle successfully and efficiently drilled clean sulfide (45 min) and basalt holes (2 hr). The
Mothra field was
mapped with SM2000 (300 x 700 m). Three
sulfide-microbial incubators were installed. The cruise included participation in the education outreach
program, REVEL. The program
included three K6-12 teachers from the states of Wisconsin, California, and New
York.
The
cruise included work for Kier Becker for data recovery at Northeast Pacific
CORKs. Debbie reported that all but one
dive went well.
Non-NDSF Vehicle Science Reports (Appendix
IIIc)
Fred Spiess reported on the Scripps Institution of Oceanographys (SIO) MPL Control Vehicle operations. The Control Vehicle (CV) was used to install four precision acoustic ranging units within the axial valley at the South Cleft segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge during a REVELLE cruise in September 2003.
The
water depth at the work area was approximately 2300 meters. Details of the
operation can be found in the cruise plan at <http://shipsked.ucsd.edu/schedules/2003/rr_2003/chadwell_1/cp.pdf>.
The CV was also used
to replace seafloor transponders and conduct a precision vertical deformation
survey on the continental shelf offshore Lima Peru as part of seafloor geodetic
study of subduction zone deformation.
These operations were conducted during a REVELLE cruise in December
2003. Details of the cruise plan can be
found at <http://shipsked.ucsd.edu/schedules/2003/rr_2003/chadwell_2/cp.pdf>. David Chadwell was the Chief Scientist
during both cruises.
Jaye
Cable reported on her
Johnson Sea Link cruise program, Artificial Seeps and Radioactive Brine, in
September 2003. NOAA-NURP and NOAA Ocean Explorations
supported the cruise. There were many
cruise objectives including deployment of 72 Sulfide biogenerators and
characterizing radon and radium content of brine pool. The sulfide biogenerators used the same
rabbit food devices that were described earlier by Bob Carney. Twelve were deployed at six sites, three
known seep sites (~ 500 - 600m) and three non-seep sites (~ 500 600m). They will begin sampling these sites in
2005. Jaye provided information on the
radioactive brine findings.
John
Delaney reported that a
5-year $5M Keck foundation proposal has been funded for installation of a
prototype regional observatory.
THOMPSON and ROPOS are being used to start the observatory installation
at the Endeavour Segment. John
presented a map of where instruments have been deployed and the next site of
interest. He commented that the REVEL
education program has been a big success.
The observatories will include an educational component. John remarked that navigation is a serious
issue that requires attention. There
needs to be ways that navigation systems can be compatible with all systems. We need to standardize the routine access to
navigation for all of the vehicles (WHOI, MBARI, ROPOs, etc).
Bob Embley reported on the
THOMPSON/ROPOS cruise on 27 August to 8 September to support the New Millennium
Observatory (NeMO). Bill Chadwick was
the PI. A new NeMO Net system was deployed to record temperature and pressure
changes in near real-time as well as provide the ability for scientists on
shore to signal the taking of chemical samples at any time. ROPOS Operations were at Axial Volcano and
included:
1. Biologic/chemical sampling at hydrothermal
vents
2. Deployment and recovery of instruments with
ROPOS and the elevator mooring,
3. Seafloor pressure measurements with ROPOS,
Shirley Pomponi reported on the science
programs that used HBOIs JOHNSON SEA LINK (JSL) submersible in 2003. She commented that more than half the operations
conducted were by non-HBOI users.
Eighty-four dives were carried out in the Gulf of Mexico. Marsh Youngbluth used the sub for mid-water
work to study tropic interactions on jellies.
Benthic research was conducted by Tammy Frank and Eddie Widder to determine what wavelengths of light are the benthic species most sensitive.
Benthic traps, deployed and retrieved with
JSL, allowed for collection of live animals with intact eyes.
Amy Wright had a program to study the effects of lasonolides on human pancreatic cancer cell lines using a number of assays, including DNA microarrays, to determine MOA.
Selective, non-destructive collections
were made using JSL.
Chuck
Fisher remarked that he also had a very successful cruise. They used the vehicle with a bushmaster
installed.
National Deep Submergence
Facility (NDSF) Operators Report - Dick
Pittenger provided the introduction for the NDSF report. He began by apologizing for the hydro-winch
failure. The failure was due to a
voltage regulator failure. The problem
wasnt discovered until they were getting ready for Jess Adkins cruise. Maintaining winches is very important.
ALVIN
and ATLANTIS have had a very busy past year.
It started with the ATLANTIS INSURV and ALVINs overhaul period. The ATLANTIS bowthruster failure rippled
through the first half of the ships schedule.
The
NDSF group devoted a lot of time to supporting the OSB study by Dan Walker and
John Armstrong.
The
new ALVIN design study is well underway.
Barrie
Walden, who normally attends the DESSC meeting, could not attend so that he
could oversee ALVINs engineering dive that is scheduled to immediately follow
this meeting off San Diego.
2003 Operations Summary Rick Chandler provided a summary of
2003 NDSF vehicle operations. His
slides are contained in Appendix
IVa. ROV operations
scanned half the globe with seven cruises.
Rick cautioned that if the vehicles are going to continue to operate at
this level, scheduled down time for maintenance is needed.
ALVIN
operations were successful with 100 dives and 224 operating days over eight science legs. The average dive depth was 2138 meters with
an average dive duration of 7.5
hours. The average bottom time was 5 hours.
Dives were normally terminated due to daylight or work completion, as
opposed to battery power limitations.
Four dives were lost due to weather.
ALVIN operations were at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, New England Seamounts,
Blake Ridge, Gulf of Mexico and East Pacific Rise. Four technicians are currently in pilot training. Rick presented the annual cost breakdown for
ALVIN operations. Salaries represent 66
% of the operating costs and supplies were 11 %.
Some
of the ROV highlights included:
Six
ROV cruises are planned in 2005. Five
of these cruises will use Jason2 and two will use DSL 120A. Work areas include Easter Is, MAR, Gulf of
Alaska, and off Hawaii.
Jon
commented that the 2005 vehicle requests are coming in and already there are
many.
NDSF Website
Rick Chandler reported on new features of the WHOI NDSF website, <http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/index.html>. The ATLANTIS web page includes updated ship
layout drawings. These are now
available in pdf format, which shows more detail. The ATLANTIS shipboard
computing web page has also been updated to inform users that everyone must
scan their computers before coming aboard. The following statement has been
added, Because of recent virus and worm problems with
(primarily) Windows computers, all science computers brought onboard should
have the latest service packs and up to date virus scanning software installed.
Prior to connecting to the ship network, all computers will be scanned for
viruses. Any Windows or Macintosh machine that does not have scanning software
installed and does not pass the scan will not be allowed to connect to the
network.
The
ALVIN web page includes a useful Frame-Grabber site <http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/alvin/alvin_framegrabber.html>. The Alvin Frame-Grabber system
provides the NDSF community with online access to Alvin's video imagery
co-registered with vehicle navigation and attitude data for shipboard analysis,
planning of deep submergence research cruises and synoptic review of data
post-cruise. The system is built on methodology and technology developed for
the Jason2 Virtual Control Van and a prototype system that was deployed on
ALVIN dives at the East Pacific Rise and the Galapagos (Cruises AT7-12 and
AT7-13). The deployed prototype system was valuable in facilitating real-time
dive planning, review, and shipboard analysis.
The ALVIN website also included a New ALVIN page <http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/newalvin/index.html>
that provides an update on the New ALVIN design process.
The
Jason2 website has been updated to include virtual control van information,
<http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/jason/van_main.html>.
The
WHOI Cruise Planning Document has been updated with new features that will help
prepare for future cruises. The website
also provides safety guidelines and ISM information that potential ship users
need to be aware of.
John
Delaney suggested that a page similar to the WHOI page should be available for
all UNOLS facilities, not just WHOI.
NDSF Archive Update Dan Fornari provided a status report on NDSF archives. His viewgraphs are included as Appendix IVd. A new shipboard data archiving/sign-off sheet is available and can be obtained from the WHOI. There is now a frame-grabber website for ALVIN and Jason2. The site provides examples and a practical approach to providing useful data and metadata on a real-time and archiving basis as well as a template for migration of legacy data, <
http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/alvin/alvin_framegrabber.html
>
Dan reported that archiving and data distribution to PIs for NDSF vehicle operations is complete for all programs through the end of 2003.
To
date, WHOI has supported the routine maintenance and proper storage of NDSF
archival material through use of overhead and endowment or private funds, as
part of its responsibility as NDSF operator.
This has included construction of climate controlled storage facilities,
purchase of specialized equipment for processing and duplicating film, and
personnel salaries to assist in the overall effort.
Dan
reported that several archive related improvement issues have become evident
over the past few years. The most
critical ones are:
Proposed
archiving improvements include:
1)
Complete
selection of best hits of Alvin 35mm and Jason 35mm images, digitize and
place on line with key meta-data (time, location [geographic and lat/lon],
altitude, heading, depth).
2)
Migrate,
clean, or duplicate any older ALVIN or Jason 35mm films, and get estimates for
digitization of large quantities of spooled film and assess how much would need
to be done, either in terms of specific geographic areas of importance for
future work or representative seafloor settings.
3)
Transfer
video footage currently on Hi-8 and VHS tape to digital media. At the same time as this is being done,
frame grab imagery at reasonable resolution (640x480) at 30 sec. Intervals and
compile the images within a web-browser format, such as has already been done
for the recent Jason and Alvin frame grabbed imagery. These images would be tagged with time, thereby permitting
integration of vehicle attitude and navigation data once that is available.
Dan reviewed the archiving related
outreach activities:
·
Distributed
about 700 press kits or information packages in hard copy and another 500
electronic packages as part of our on-going media relations activities this
year.
·
Organized
a press conference at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco December 9 on deep
submergence
·
Supported
journalists making cruises on R/V ATLANTIS, and helped organize several web
casts from sea for various organizations.
·
Provided
images and information for a number of activities related to the ALVIN
replacement study and Ocean Studies Board report, and for continuing Ocean
Commission activities.
Provided materials for many exhibits and special presentations at such locations as The Exploratorium in San Francisco, Harvard Museum of Natural History, American Museum of Natural History in New York, Museum of Science and New England Aquarium in Boston, the Carnegie Academy for Science Education in Washington, DC, the Mart Museum in Italy, and the Royal Society Christmas Lectures in London.
·
·
Responded
to dozens of educators around the country sharing information with their
classrooms separate from the many web sites and other educational activities we
support with images and information.
Dozens of articles appeared in print in the U.S. and abroad, and dozens of radio and television programs and web sites featured the National Deep Submergence Facility.
Lastly Dan summarized the income from NDSF vehicle imagery/data and WHOI outreach activities. Imagery requests logged 358 NDSF-related requests in 2003, compared to 400 in 2002, 342 in 2001, 234 in 2000 and 214 in 1999. NDSF-related licensing revenue total $27,838.
Income was received from video from the National Deep Submergence Facility Archive or of the NDSF vehicles amounts to $14,125.75. Of that total $1,100 comes from the 1985/86 TITANIC expeditions, with the remainder (about $13,000) from hydrothermal vent cruises (underwater footage and footage of NDSF vehicles). Income received in 2003 from still images related to the NDSF amounts to $13,707.26 of this total hydrothermal vents accounted for $7,679.32, TITANIC images from the 1985/86 cruises for $2,793.00, and images of the vehicles themselves (on deck, being launched, etc.) for $3,234.94 of the total.
WHOIs contribution to managing licensing and distribution of imagery for UNOLS/NDSF amounts to ~0.5-.75 FTE in the Media Relations Dept. at WHOI.
Bob
Embley asked a question regarding legacy data and if there is a template that
users can use to submit their data so that it is included in the archives. Dan replied that WHOI would be interested in
any NDSF data that can be included in the archives. Dan indicated that he would discuss this issue further
internally.
WHOI NDSF Chief Scientist
Position Progress - Dick Pittenger reported that Dan Fornari has agreed to stay through
the summer. Bob Gagosian has asked Bob
Detrick to chair an internal committee, WHOI Access to the Sea Task
Force. They will study marine
operations at the institution, future facility demands, and future impacts on
requirements. They will also study how
to better integrate the HOV and ROV, as well as, how to better integrate new
technology. This effort will address
the functionality of the NDSF chief scientist position. The committee report is scheduled to be
complete by July. WHOI plans to conduct
a National search for a chief scientist.
New
ALVIN Design Study Status
- Bob Brown reviewed the status of WHOIs New ALVIN concept design study. His slides are included as Appendix
IVe. The sphere concept
design calls for five viewports. The
two smaller viewports are for PIs, but these are bigger than what is currently
on ALVIN. They have started to build
the mock-up of the sphere. It has been
decided that the new sub will be a new construction effort and will not use an
existing sphere. The planned
construction method will weld forged hemispheres into a sphere. Two US and one foreign forger have been
located and quotes are pending. The
vehicle concept design calls for variable ballast and trim using seawater. The energy source for the vehicle will be Li
polymer. Future work includes
preparation of a Request for Proposal, titanium materials properties
investigations, and a finite element analysis of SEA CLIFF to establish creep
design criteria. The cost estimate is
about $20M for construction of a new sub.
Agency and UNOLS Reports:
NOAA, Navy, and NSF fund the NDSF through an MOU. Barbara presented a chart showing
NOAAs annual ALVIN support from 1998 through 2004. In 2003 the funding level was $1.97M and in 2004 it is expected
to be $1.59M. In 2003 there were three
programs. The Mountains in the Sea
program took place on July 11-19 and included PIs: S. France, L. Watling, P. Auster, I. Babb,
and J. Moore. They conducted seven ALVIN Dives.
The objectives were to map,
explore, and characterize deep-sea coral habitats found in association with
seamounts. The cruise track included
three New England Seamounts. The
second program, Windows to the Deep, took place on August 1-14 and included PIs C. Ruppel, C. Van Dover, and W.S. Holbrook.
Eight ALVIN dives were conducted. The objectives were focused on mapping and exploring
chemosynthetic communities found on the Blake Ridge and South Atlantic
Bight. The discovered a new species of nautiliniellid worm that lives inside a
deep-sea clam. The third cruise, Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Slope Habitats,
took place on October 14-16 with PIs R. Carney and C. Fisher. Five ALVIN dives were conducted. The objectives were to revisit two known cold seep sites in the GOM
and to investigate some potential cold seep sites. They collected samples from mussel communities and tubeworm
communities. The overall ecology of the
deep gulf was determined to consist of a lot of mud and few organisms.
National Science Foundation (NSF) Jim Yoder
provided the NSF report. This written
report is provided below and as Appendix
VIa. His slides are included as Appendix
VIb.
Presentation
to DESSC
Jim
Yoder
25
January, 2004
Background:
This
response was discussed within OCE and with NOAA and ONR representatives.
Important
to distinguish between OCE science/facility operations accounts and those funds
we are required to set aside within OCE budget to fund midsize infrastructure
projects (loosely defined as projects costing on order of $20-25M).
Comparatively
small infrastructure projects such as Jason-2 and HROV are funded through
science/facility accounts.
Report
points out that NSF and other NDSF sponsors will need to increase funding for
deep submergence operations at 10-15 percent over the next 3 years Not likely
NRC Deep Submergence Report Recommendations:
1. NSF should
establish a small pool of funds on the order of 10% of the annual NDSF budget
that could be specifically used to support the use of non-NDSF vehicles for
funded research when legitimate barriers to the use of NDSF assets can be
demonstrated.
We accept this recommendation and with
the following caveats:
Emphasis
on the phrase on the order of 10% of annual NDSF budget
Emphasis
on the phrase when legitimate barriers can be demonstrated
When
operated on a UNOLS vessel.
When OCE
and other agency budgets are back in a growth mode, i.e. not this year and
possibly not next year.
For
human-occupied vehicles, when inspection/safety requirements are developed
(Dolly will discuss).
2. NSF/OCE should
construct an additional scientific ROV system dedicated to expeditionary
research.
Not in the near future (next couple of
years), because
We
cannot yet afford to operate a second vehicle.
Surge
capability (up to 60 days per year) is available through ISIS barter, and this
should handle short-term needs
We want
to determine what type of ROVs will be required for ORION, as there may be cost
savings if NSF purchased and then operated more than 1 new vehicle.
We are
also evaluating options to enhance Jason II, along the lines recommended by the
report.
3. NSF/OCE should
consider basing a second ROV system at a second location [probably on the West
Coast].
Reasonable
recommendation and we will consider this at the appropriate time.
4. NSF/OCE should
construct a new, more capable HOV (with improved visibility, neutral buoyancy
capability, increased payload, extended time at working depth, and other design
features).
5. Thus, constructing an HOV capable of
operating at significantly greater depths (6000+ meters) should only be
undertaken if additional design studies demonstrate that this capability can be
delivered for a relatively small increase in cost and risk.
Accept these
recommendations with the following caveats
New HOV is a replacement for ALVIN, not an addition
to the fleet.
Owing to the risks discussed in the report (and to
take advantage of funds OCE sets aside for midsize infrastructure projects) NSF
may start sphere development before we make a decision on a new ROV.
UNOLS
Report - Tim Cowles,
UNOLS Chair, provided the report and addressed the major areas of concern
facing the academic fleet. He began by
discussing the recent budget shortfalls and its impact of ship schedules. Demand for ship time has been going up over
the years, yet there is only a finite amount of funds to support both science
and ship operations. Unexpected budget
decisions have resulted in 2004 scheduled programs being deferred or
modified. There will be increased
challenges in sharing facilities. The
ship scheduling committee, operators and agencies are working together to
address the recent scheduling/budget issues.
Another
major problem in the past year has been associated with marine mammal and
acoustic permit issues. There have been
increasing conflicts do to planned seismic work and acoustic permits. Programs on both the EWING and NEW HORIZON
had to be postponed due to these issues.
UNOLS is working with the agencies to address these problems.
In
UNOLS committee news, Margo Edwards, is the new AICC Chair. One of their major activities will be to
address the aging Polar Class issues.
The USCG Polar Class icebreakers equipment has a life expectancy of 0 to
7 years. It will require $200M/ship for
a service life extension Program (SLEP).
The USCG is addressing this and AICC is providing input on their plans. Due to the repeated Polar Class failures,
HEALY has had to go to Antarctic during the Austral summer months and will
likely continue to support these missions in the future.
SCOAR,
UNOLS new aircraft committee has met.
The chair is John Bane. Tim
Askew is the new chair of the RVOC.
Lastly
Tim reported that there are important documents on the UNOLS website that need
community input. These are the report
on Ocean Observatory Facility Needs (Chave Report) and the Next Generation Wire
performance specifications.
DESSC
Activities, Plans and Issues:
Patty Fryer introduced the discussion on DESSC
activities and plans. Her presentation
is included as Appendix
IX and is supplemented with slides presented by input from key individuals.
Long-Range and Expeditionary
Planning Discussion Annette DeSilva reviewed future facility requests
for the NDSF. Requested days are
plotted on world maps. The maps are
included as Appendix
VII. There is already a lot of
funded work for 2005. Work
areas of interest include Off Hawaii, NEPR, Costa Rica, Galapagos, JdF,
Vancouver Island, California Coast, Western Pacific, Lau Basin, Fiji, Pito
Deep, and Easter Is. Funded science
days include 70 ALVIN, 174 Jason2 and 45 DSL-120A. There are also funded and pending days for 2006 and beyond.
Core Needs - Patty continued by reporting on other core facility needs from programs such as RIDGE 2000 and Margins. The R2K Integrated Studies Sites will all require HOV and ROV/AUV. These sites include the
Endeavor Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge, 8 - 11° N, East Pacific Rise, and the Lau Basin Spreading Center.
The Margins Science Plans that will all require HOV and ROV/AUV and include:
1.Source
to Sink (continental slope and abyssal distribution),
2. Subduction Factory (trench and deep forearc/backarc), and
3. SEIZE (trench and deep forearc).
Future Submergence Facility
Needs Patty reported that over the past year there have been a variety of Ocean
Study Board reports addressing facility needs.
Patty briefly summarized the findings and
recommendations as they pertain to deep submergence science/facilities:
·
Exploration
of the Seas <http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10844.html>
- Recognizes the need for establishing seafloor observatories
·
Seafloor
Observatory Network <http://www.nap.edu/books/0309089905/html/>
- NSF will establish the OOI to facilitate creation of a global ocean observing
system.
·
Future
Needs in Deep Submergence Science: <http://books.nap.edu/books/0309091144/html/53.html#pagetop>
- The need exists for greater access both to assets and for geographic
diversity. Recommends a new deep-water
ROV and an improved HOV. NSFs response is given under Jim Yoders response
during the NSF report.
Sea
Floor Observatories Facility Needs
- Dana Yoerger provided a summary of the draft report from the UNOLS Working Group on Ocean Observatory Facility
needs. His viewgraphs are available as Appendix
VIII. The full report is available on the UNOLS
website at <http://www.unols.org/committees/fic/observatory/observrpt.pdf>
The
UNOLS Council formed the working group in early 2003. The group membership and full task statement is included in
Appendix VIII. The group was asked to
identify facility support needs for ocean observatories in terms of both ships
and submergence vehicles. They studied:
·
Deep
ocean seafloor observatories
·
Deck
handling and mooring deployment/recovery needs
·
ROV
and AUV requirements
·
Mapping
requirements
·
Coastal
observatory requirements (including aircraft)
Vessel characteristics, possible improvements, and recommendations for new vessel designs.
Improvements to UNOLS vessels are needed to support
the observatories. These include:
UNOLS
should also consider the acquisition or long-term lease of a heavy lift
vessel. The submarine
telecommunications marketplace collapsed in 2001 just as major cable ship
deliveries took place. As a result,
cable maintenance vessels can be purchased for approximately 10% of
construction cost. This is a short-term
opportunity that will not last.
The
working group stresses the major safety issues regarding ocean observatory
operations. These operations will
require specially trained crew with expertise in heavy lifting work.
Routine
access to ROVs will be required for all observatory operations. One additional vehicle will be required when
the OOI is implemented (2-3 years from now).
One more vehicle will be required when OOI facilities are fully
operational (5-7 years from now).
Commercial ROVs are not suitable for most science operations but may be
usable for routine maintenance tasks.
Inventory of facilities, tools and sensors Patty Fryer presented slides (Appendix IX) listing a variety of submergence vehicles. The list is sorted by HOVs, ROVs, and AUVs. The list will be placed on the UNOLS/DESSC web site. We would like to compile a similar inventory for deep submergence tools and sensors. We hope to create a site on the UNOLS DESSC web pages where users can go to find this compilation. For this effort we will need community input. It was suggested that a column be added to the vehicle chart showing how many days the vehicle supported science and how many days are available for collaboration.
Archeology Programs Dave Mindell provided a brief report on
ocean archeology activities. Plans are
in the works to upgrade Bob Ballards Hercules from 4,000 m to 6,000 m. He is establishing an Institute for
Exploration at the University of Rhode Island.
There may be a major titanic expedition planned for next year.
Public outreach and
education activities: Patty reviewed
a list of outreach and education programs that are associated with deep
submergence activities. She invited
individuals who participated in these programs to provide additional details:
·
Dive and
Discover: <http://science.whoi.edu/DiveDiscover/>
- Cruises have taken place this year and can be visited on the web.
·
REVEL: <http://www.ocean.washington.edu/outreach/revel/>
Veronique Robigou provided a status report on the
REVEL Project. The program is for
research and education of volcanoes, exploration and life. It is supported in part by the
National Science Foundation and facilitated by the University of Washington,
School of Oceanography. REVEL is now a National
program. Eight new teachers
participated in 2003 (2 from the Midwest).
There were two programs on THOMPSON in the past year that used Jason2
and ROPOS. There is now a REVEL
collaboration with R2K E&0. A
collaborative workshop was held and included 8 REVEL teachers, 6 R2K-SEAS
teachers, and 7 past REVELers.
The 2004 REVEL program will focus on Ocean Observatory science and concepts (technology, real-time data analysis, and data visualization) to enrich inquiry-based teaching. REVEL will continue its partnership with R2K E&O. REVEL applications are now on-line.
·
Mud
Volcanoes from the Mantle: <http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/expeditions/mariana>
- Patty reported that this was an education/outreach program
carried out during her Jason2 cruise.
It worked well.
·
Extreme
<http://www.extremescience.com/>
·
NOAA
Explorations <http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/>
·
IMAX movie
on ALVIN explorations of Ridges released in 2003
·
NeMO
·
MATE: ROV
competition <http://www.marinetech.org/>
- The MATE Office provided a written report prior to the meeting. It is included as Appendix
XII.
·
RIDGE2000
Lecture Series The series is underway.
Other Facility Operator Reports:
HBOI Shirley Pomponi reported on Johnson
Sea Link I and II operations in 2003. Her slides are included in Appendix
XIIIa. The vehicles made
198 dives in 2003. A lot of time was
spent in Gulf of Mexico operations (83 dives).
Other dive areas included the South Atlantic Bight, off Florida, Gulf of
Maine and the Bahamas. The vehicles
supported a lots of biology work (73 divers).
There was no NSF funded submersible time. HBOI, NURP and OE supported sub dives. NSF provided funds for ship operations.
In
2004, 125 days are currently scheduled.
Sub time is being funded by NOAA/OE, NURP and HBOI. HBOI was recently received Center of
Excellence funding from the state of Florida.
Work areas in 2004 include the Gulf of Maine, South Atlantic Bight,
Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.
MBARI Mark Chaffey reported that it has been
a busy year for TIBURON with 162 at-sea days.
MBARI operated several scientific research expeditions outside of
Monterey Bay in 2003.
Operations included
work in the Sea of Cortez. In 2004, 136
TIBURON project days are planned. The
schedule includes NURP funded days.
VENTANA had 175 at-sea days in 2003 and 154 days are planned in 2004. MBARI is operating an AUV. In 2004 the AUV tender, ZEPHYR, has 141
at-sea days planned. MBARI ship
schedules are posted at: <http://www.mbari.org/dmo/schedules/ship_schedules.htm>.
A major project at MBARI is the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) observatory project. MARS is a cabled observatory system with benthic instrument nodes, AUVs, and various benthic and moored instrumentation. MARS will enable the community to test arrays of sensors and data handling for future observatory needs.
It
is scheduled to be installed in 2005.
The permitting process has begun and is necessary since it will be
installed in the sanctuary. The
observatory will have a major ROV operation.
MPL Fred Spiess provided slides on the
status of the Advanced Tether Vehicle (ATV).
His viewgraphs are included as Appendix XIIId. ATV was a US Navy asset, designed and built by NOSC. It has a depth rating of 6100 m with a 200+ lb nominal payload. ATV was transferred from the Navy to SIO in 2000. With ONR support, SIO reactivated and evaluated the ATV.
Sea trials were conducted in May
2003. Operations were in an area west of San Diego. Three dives conducted over two days were
carried out at a maximum depth of 1100m.
ATV was used to collect 35 kg of rock samples. A lost acoustic transponder was recovered. They were able to stream real-time video to
the Internet, via RoadNet.
HURL Patty summarized 2003 HURL operations
for PISCES IV and V (see Appendix
XIIIe). Operations were
carried out at the NW Hawaiian islands, on flanks of Nihoa, Maro, Pearl and
Hermes Reefs, Midway, Kure Atoll, NE Oahu, LOIHI and the west coast of the Big
Island. Simultaneous two-sub dives
(P-IV & -V) were conducted in the marine sanctuaries sites.
ROPOS Patty also summarized 2004 ROPOS planned operations (see Appendix XIIIf). The vehicle has an ambitious 2004 schedule. Operations are planned off Guam, the West Coast of North America, and Strait of Georgia. Details of the schedule can be found at <
http://www.ropos.com/calendar/itin.htm
>.
JAMSTEC Patty reported that the JAMSTEC vehicle, Kaiko, the 11000 m ROV was lost at sea in May 2003)
. Plans are underway to replace the ROV. Additional details about JAMSTEC operations
are available at <www.jamstec.go.jp/jamstec-e/index-e.html>.
Southampton Oceanographic Center Chris German reported on their new ROV, ISIS. It is a Jason2 clone. The vehicle went through sea trials in March 2003. Chris highlighted the differences between the Jason2 and ISIS. To start, Jason2 is blue and ISIS is red. Science tools include a c
oring system, suction samplers, fluid/gas samplers, gas tight syringes, a water sampler, butterfly nets, and a basket recovery for rock sample.
The vehicle was acquired with a Dynacon
launch system. The system only requires
one person for launch and recovery.
Chris reported that they are a bit behind schedule in building a support
ship with dynamic positioning. The ISIS
system is completely flyaway. Chris
ended his report with a description of planned operations for 2004. His slides are included as Appendix
XIIIc.
DESSC Membership Patty wrapped up the regular meeting by reporting that the she will be rotating off DESSC this year. We will be recruiting a new committee Chair. An advertisement for a replacement will be placed soon.
Three other DESSC members will also rotate off and nominations for new committee members will be entertained at the spring DESSC meeting.
Interested individuals should contact
Annette DeSilva at office@unols.org with a one-page CV and one-page statement
of interest.
Immediately
following the regular DESSC meeting a NDSF training session was held. This training session was the first of its
kind and was offered to provide detailed information on both the capabilities
of the National Deep Submergence Facility vehicles (primarily Alvin, Jason2
ROV, and the DSL-120A sidescan sonar) and sensor suites, and their at-sea
operations procedures. The session also
provided information on the effective operating procedures for these
systems. The latest upgrades to the
facilities were presented as well as planned improvements. Handouts with key information, contacts and
URL links were provided.
The
training session outline included:
NDSF Training Session Presentations: (Presentations not linked to the list below can be obtained by contacting WHOI).
The
meeting adjourned at 1730 hours.
We
thank all individuals who attended the DESSC meeting and NDSF Training
Session. Your feedback regarding the training session is requested.
This information will be useful in planning for future training
opportunities. Please take a few minutes and provide your comments to the
survey at the URL: http://www.unols.org/meetings/2004/200401des/survey.asp