Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
June 13-14, 2005
Executive Summary:
The Deep Submergence Science Committee (DESSC) met on June 13-14, 2005 at
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
The meeting included agency reports from NSF and NOAA. Representatives of the National Deep
Submergence Facility (NDSF) provided reports on:
·
Vehicle operation summaries
·
Status of WHOI archives
·
Ship and vehicle improvement and upgrade plans.
·
Navigation improvements
·
Slurp Guns
·
Rock drill transfer
·
Deep submergence scheduling in 2006 and beyond
The meeting included status reports on new vehicle design efforts at
WHOI. The replacement deep diving Human
Occupied Vehicle (HOV) is moving forward and if all goes on schedule the
replacement HOV would be ready for service in 2009. Karen Von Damm provided a report from the Replacement HOV
Oversight Committee. The Hybrid ROV project is also progressing and the vehicle
should be ready for service in 2007. An
update on the status of AUV development efforts at WHOI was provided along with
a summary of ABE operations.
A new task item was assigned to DESSC. NSF and NOAA have requested that the DESSC
establish safety standards for HOVs.
The Navy will not inspect the replacement HOV.
There will be one vacancy on the DESSC in September.
Recommendations:
·
Copyright Issues
DESSC recommends that WHOI include the credits from source for images/photos
that are included in their archive and on their website.
·
Access
to Data Recommend that
WHOI provide clear guidance to incoming cruise participants on how the contents
of the ships computer hard drive will be used post-cruise
· Shallow Submergence Science Committee DESSC recommends that the Shallow Submergence Science Committee is no longer needed. Access to non-NDSF issues is being addressed. Safety concerns regarding use of non-Navy inspected HOVs will be addressed by a soon to be formed subcommittee.
Action
Items:
·
Establishing Criteria
for bringing New Assets into the NDSF
DESSC will review and comment on the latest revision of the criteria. Once the draft has been finalized, it will
be circulated to the agencies, then the NDSF operator for comment. Pending revision, the draft criteria will be
sent to the UNOLS Council for approval.
·
Liaison
to RHOC Identify a
DESSC member who is willing to serve as a liaison to the Replacement HOV
Oversight Committee. Provide the
recommendation to Dolly Dieter
·
Establishing Safety Standards for the use of Human Occupied
Vehicles - NSF will send a letter to DESSC with a charge to establish
safety standards for HOVs. At the summer Council Debbie and Peter will inform the Council
about the charge. The safety standards
will address certification of the vehicle, certification of the ship, and
training (vehicle and ship crew). In
response to NSFs charge a subcommittee will be formed. Potential members include RVOC Safety
Committee representative, HOV operators from WHOI, HBOI, and HURL, and science
users (DESSC). Input from the Navy and
legal counsel would likely be required.
This effort might span 2 years.
·
DESSC Membership - Dave
Mindell completes his 2nd term in 9/05. Nominations are needed to fill his position. Individuals associated with Margins or
Archeology research are desired. Annette
will send Deb Kelley the list of past nominees. Hedy Edmonds completes her first term in 9/05 and has expressed a
willingness to continue for a second term.
·
Replacement
HOV Sensors/equipment
DESSC will poll the community on scientific equipment requirements for the
replacement HOV. Input on new and
emerging technologies is needed. This
input is needed so that it can be included in WHOIs RFP for the new
vehicle. The deadline for sending
information is needed from WHOI.
·
Navigation DESSC will consider to what level navigation data should be
the responsibility of the NDSF Operator.
·
Equipment
Proposal - WHOI will
request DESSC endorsement of their 2006 shipboard scientific equipment
proposal. The proposal is likely to
include a request for a New Kongsberg DP system, a new isotope van, and winch
slip rings.
Appendices
|
I. |
||
|
II. |
||
|
III. |
||
|
IV. |
||
|
|
a. |
|
|
|
b. |
|
|
|
c. |
|
|
V. |
Upgrades to NDSF: |
|
|
|
a. |
|
|
|
b. |
|
|
|
c. |
|
|
|
d. |
|
|
VI. |
||
|
VII. |
||
|
VIII. |
||
|
IX |
||
|
X. |
ABE and
Sentry Report (2.8 MB) |
|
|
XI. |
Hybrid
ROV Status Report (3 MB) |
|
|
XII. |
Ocean
Observatories Report (8.7 MB) |
|
|
XIII |
||
|
XIV |
||
|
XV |
MBARI
Report (1 MB) |
|
|
XVI |
||
|
XVII |
||
|
XVIII |
SeaBed
AUV (1 MB) |
|
Meeting
Minutes
Day One: Monday, June 13, 2005
Introductory Remarks,
Meeting Logistics, Introductions Deb Kelley, Deep Submergence Science Committee
(DESSC) Chair, called the meeting to order at 0830 on Monday, June 13,
2005. The meeting was held at Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Carriage House. The agenda for the meeting is included as Appendix
I. The items of the agenda are
reported in the order addressed.
Meeting participants introduced themselves. The list of attendees is included as Appendix II.
A motion was made and approved to accept the minutes
of the December
2004 - DESSC Annual Community Meeting and the May
2004 - DESSC Meeting.
National Science Foundation (NSF) - Dolly Dieter provided the
report for NSF. The NSF budget is grim
and will likely be so for the next few years.
Additional budget reductions can be expected next year. It is unlikely that NSF will be able to
support anything beyond the essentials.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -Barbara Moore reported that
NOAAs 2005 budget is not as bad and in 2005 they will continue to support at
past levels. NOAA will have 29 Alvin
days in 2005 and 46 are planned in 2006.
In 2006, the Presidents budget request for NOAA is less than in
2005. The future will likely be either
level or down.
UNOLS Report -Peter Wiebe, UNOLS Chair, provided the UNOLS report. His slides are included as Appendix
III. He reviewed the following
topics:
Regional Class UNOLS has provided feedback to NSF regarding IPT
representation, operational capabilities and performance requirements. Money is available at NSF to begin the design/build
process and an RFP will likely be announced later this year.
Ocean Class UNOLS provided a recommendation on the
Ocean Class hull form in February 2005.
The recommended hull is a monohull.
The availability of funds and timeline is still unclear, but ONR
continues include funds to support ship construction in their budget request.
General Purpose Global Vessel SMR - A Steering Committee was formed to update the Global Vessel General Purpose SMRs. A community on-line survey form regarding science needs is coming soon.
Other Ship News - In other ship news, the Langseth should
be available for operations in 2006.
Gyre will retire this summer, and BBSR plans to acquire Seward
Johnson II and retire Weatherbird II. The Hugh R. Sharp will replace Cape Henlopen in
2006.
Dolly Dieter added that NSFs Major
Research Equipment (MRE) queue has been reordered and the Alaska Region
Research Vessel has moved up to the top of the list. It is now planned for 2007.
Ocean Observatories is now third in the queue.
UNOLS Fleet
Improvement Plan The Fleet Improvement Committee is updating the 1995
Fleet Improvement Plan. They hope to
have a draft
in September 2005.
The Polar
Sea engines were condemned and there was no money to fix them. NSF now has Congressional authorization to
charter for a second vessel for McMurdo
Peter
reviewed the Science Committee for Oceanographic Aircraft Research (SCOAR)
activities and plans-
SCOAR is
developing procedures and criteria for broader use and accessibility of
aircraft
Interact
with NCAR-OFAP and ICCAGRA
Set up
procedures for designating new National Oceanographic Aircraft Facilities
Define
basic instrument suite for UNOLS ocean science aircraft
Set up
web-based CIRPAS request system
Determine operational guidelines and safety standards for UNOLS NOAF aircraft
National Facility
Operators Report
NDSF
Vehicle Operations Summary Rick Chandler summarized vehicle operations and
highlights. His slides are included as Appendix
IVa. Alvin highlights include:
Engineering dive
during Karson cruise in February. The new engineering dive paradigm is to conduct the dive during a
science cruise
There have been
four science cruises so far: Karson, Vrijenhoek/Van Dover, Vetriani et al., Shank.
48 dives have been
completed
2 dives lost to
weather, 3 for medical emergency
240 hours bottom
time
3 more science
cruises scheduled this year
New pilot: Gavin
Eppard
Overhaul coming up in November
Rick
continued with a summary of ROV operations in 2005:
Three science
cruises so far:
-
Karson / Atlantis
Pito Deep Jason and DSL-120
-
Meg Tivey / Melville
Lau Basin Jason
-
Vrijenhoek / Melville
Lau Basin Jason
Jason: 36 lowerings, 589 hours of data
DSL-120: 1 lowering, 95 hours of data
Four more Jason
cruises and one with DSL-120 scheduled later this year
Status report on the archiving of all deep submergence
data in the WHOI archives - Maurice Tivey reviewed the WHOI archiving
activities (Appendix Vb).
He began with the framegrabber
for Alvin and Jason and showed examples of real-time and
archiving basis for digital data collected by the NDSF vehicles. All of the Jason cruises are
on-line since 2000. The archiving effort extends real-time data
collection. The framegrabber website
can be viewed at:
<http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/alvin/alvin_framegrabber.html>
Discussion/Questions and
Answers:
-
Debbie
Kelley How do you bring in updated Navigation into the archives? Maurice This hasnt been done yet. There should be a warning that this is the
real data, it is not the processed navigation.
-
Discussion
on data Barrie Walden indicated that after two years a message is sent to the
PI letting her/hem know that their data will be made public, unless they get an
extension.
Experimental Ship-grabber Maurice
explained that this would provide data from the ships.
<http://4dgeo.whoi.edu/shipdata/index.html>.
Maurice
provided a Summary of income from NDSF vehicles imagery/data. For the first half of 2005, the income is
$23,884.
Lastly, Maurice reviewed the Legacy Data. It contains 736 Alvin and Jason images. The images are mostly Alvin shots from 2002 <http://www.whoi.edu/ims/>. Jeff Karson asked what are the plans to advertise this? It would be good to get the word out to COSEE and other outreach programs.
Catalina
Martinez expressed surprised at seeing her photos on the WHOI website with
their copyright. Barrie if the images
are on the hard drive on the ship it will be dumped into the photo library
on-line. DESSC recommended that WHOI
provide the appropriate credits the photos.
WHOI will take this recommendation and address it.
Update of
NDSF-related WHOI Activities
- Bob Detrick provided the status of the internal WHOI Access to the Sea Task
Force (as related to NDSF) (Appendix Vc). WHOI formed an internal Deep Submergence
Advisory Committee (DSAC). Members
include Tivey (chair), Forrester, Mullineaux, Owens, Reves-Sohn, Seewald, and
Singh. They have regular meetings of
the Deep Submergence Operations Group (DSOG) (Alvin + Jason groups). The Chief Scientist of the NDSF (Maurice)
now regularly contacts PIs following legs using NDSF assets to obtain candid
feedback and suggestions on improving operations. They continue to promote cross-vehicle innovations. Maurice and Dan Fornari submitted a proposal
and received funding to transfer the MBARI rock drill to WHOI and operate it as
a 3rd party tool for use with NDSF vehicles.
They also submitted a proposal and received funding (with SIO) through
the NSF Digital Archive program to develop a multi-institution, scalable
digital archiving testbed to provide improved on-line access to data from WHOI
ships and vehicles (especially photographs, video imagery). WHOI has continued with development of HROV,
construction of HOV replacement for Alvin, and dockside testing of Sentry. They held a project management course
for WHOI PIs and engineers WHOI has established an Access to the Sea endowment to provide
seed money for the development and testing of new tools, vehicles and sensors,
or the enhancement of existing systems.
Upgrades to National Deep Submergence Facility:
Atlantis Improvements
status - Al Suchy discussed Atlantis improvements (Appendix
Va). From Dec 2004 to January 2005
the ship was in San Diego and the following improvements were made:
Installed High Seas Net
Completed repairs to # 1 Generator
Overhauled a big diesel engine
Moved radar antenna to eliminate blind spot aft of the mast
Installed components of the Alvin Rescue System
WHOI will request DESSC support for their 2006
shipboard scientific support equipment proposal. It is likely to include:
1. New Kongsberg DP system for Atlantis
2. New isotope van for Atlantis
3. Winch
slip ring system for Atlantis
There is need for a DP system upgrade. The existing Robertson system, used extensively for Alvin,
Jason and DSL-120 operations, is vintage 1980s design and is
becoming obsolete and unsupportable.
Science demands better station keeping and track follow accuracies in
far more challenging sea conditions than what the existing Robertson DP system
can deliver. The existing Robertson
System has a variety of limitations. WHOI will
propose the Robertson unit be replaced with Kongsberg system similar to
Knorr/Thompson. The cost is
approximately $300K/$250.
A new isotope van is needed because the current van
is structurally deteriorating past the point of repair. The van was constructed in the 1980s. Dolly asked if they are taking advantage of
the pooled vans. Barrie replied that
their cruises are typically too long in duration to consider using the pooled
vans.
Al continued by summarizing the issues to be addressed in 2005/2006. These include an effort to overhaul the bow
thruster in drydock in 2006. May need DESSC support to ensure Atlantis is
drydocked in 2006. Additional Plans:
Modify engine voltage regulator system in Dec 2005
Replace HMSS systems in Seattle, July 2005
Clean propulsion motors in Seattle, July 2005
Continue making incremental HVAC mods
Continue supporting lab drain modifications
ROV Control Van Upgrades - Andy Bowen
reviewed the planned tethered vehicle upgrades (Appendix Vb):
Replacement control vans
Medea upgrades
Surface location beacon (GPS/Iridium) - Still testing. If lost vehicle can phone home.
Slurp pump test and evaluation
3-chip science video camera There are space issues on Jason. They are trying to find a camera with good
resolution that doesnt compromise space.
Homer probes -- in hand and tested
300 kHz Doppler for DSL120A and Jason (spare to 1200 KHz)
New bio boxes for use with elevator
Summer/Fall maintenance periods
Pixelfly mosaicing camera with strobes
Continued work on Jason to Medea navigation
Improved video annotation
Insite digital still documentation
camera added
Meg Tivey commented that a tilt capability would be
useful.
Slurp Gun fabrication update Andy
continued with an update on the slurp gun.
He showed a diagram of the new DSG Multi-chamber slurp that was funded
by NSF (Sandy Shor). It has a carousel
arrangement. The suction pump has been
designed and installed on Jason.
New ROV Control vans were received in fall 2004 and
conversion is planned for late 2005.
The vans will offer:
-
Improved ergonomics for the data station
-
Lower maintenance HVAC
-
UNOLS/USCG compliant
-
Significant upgrade to monitors and displays
Medea Modifications Andy
reviewed the Medea mods:
Pixelfly
(color/B&W) and Insite digital still cameras with strobes
Scanning sonar
Color video camera
Thrusters for heading control
Additional science payload interface
Stand-alone power and surface control
Modifications during August maintenance period
Alvin
Upgrades, Operational Issues, and Overhaul - Dudley Foster provided the update on Alvins
overhaul plans (Appendix Vc). He began
with by reporting on a personnel
change. Noel was recalled to active
duty in Afghanistan and has retired.
The Alvin overhaul will
be a routine overhaul and is scheduled to begin in November 2005. No major system changes or significant new
fabrication requiring engineering design changes are planned. This will not be an abbreviated overhaul.
The present Alvin is expected to be in service for a full service
interval (3-5 years) before another overhaul would be due. The new HOV is expected to be placed in
service by the next overhaul window (early 2009). If required, Alvin could be overhauled in the future and
continue with the present capabilities and configuration. Scientific instrumentation upgrades over the
next several years are generally not limited by the vehicle infrastructure and
could be added as required. New lead-acid batteries were installed Mar/Apr 2005. They
expect those to remain in service for another year after the overhaul. Another
new set may be required prior to another overhaul window (or new HOV delivery
in 2008/9). Sea trials and
certification dives for Alvin are planned in April 2006
Major changes planned during the
overhaul include:
New motor controller for evaluation (upper aft only)
Develop inertial navigation system (PHINS DVLNAV
enhancement)
Fiber optic penetrator certification and test
Build and install new VB seawater valve
Schilling Titan 4 if suitable and funded (replaces Kraft)
Evaluate SM2000 installation (may require structural change)
Being considered: Frangibolt releases, hull window stud
repairs, increased hydraulic power
Dudley reviewed the 2005 Alvin
bottom time and depth (to June). A
chart is included with his slides.
Status of Third Party Tools - Rock Drill Proposal to
transfer drill from MBARI to 3rd Party Tool - Maurice Tivey
reviewed the status of the rock drill transfer (Appendix Vd). The drill has been transferred to WHOI from
MBARI as a third party tool. The first
field program is scheduled for September 2005 during Deb Kelleys cruise. The drill will be sent from MBARI to Seattle
to meet Jason2 for its maintenance period. After Debs cruise the drill will go to WHOI and the frame will
be rebuilt. Maurice reviewed the
estimated cost breakdown for drill use on a cruise. The total per cruise
estimated cost is $22,400 and covers technician salary and travel, insurance,
expendables, and shipping/logistics.
Discussion/Questions followed:
Question - Can the drill only drill horizontally? Maurice right now it drills best horizontally. It would take some doing (but is possible)
for it to go vertically.
Marc
Chaffey commented that if the frame is going to be heavily modified, serious
considerations should be made to configuring it for both vertical and
horizontal drilling.
The
weight of the drill is 450 lbs in water.
It
takes about 5 hours to obtain a core.
Navigation
Discussion: Deb raised the topic of navigation when
using the three different NDSF vehicles.
Dana commented that when continuity between cruises is needed, arrangements
should be made prior to the cruise. Meg
Tivey remarked that transponders installed during previous cruises arent
always in place when the location is revisited. This problem needs to be addressed in areas that are frequently
visited. Deb stated that there would be
an increasing need for site revisits.
Deb suggested that this should perhaps be an area that is addressed by
DESSC. They should consider whether or
not navigation should be the responsibility of the NDSF.
Deep Submergence Scheduling
and Related Issues: 2006 and Beyond
Straw
man schedule for 2006 and beyond
- Liz Caporelli reviewed the draft 2006 schedule for Alvin and the ROVs
and emphasized that they are very draft and everything could change once the
funding decisions become firmer. Lizs
slides are contained in Appendix VI. Alvin will be in overhaul
during the first four months of 2006.
Operating areas currently include the Gulf of Mexico, EPR, Juan de Fuca,
and Northern California. The ROV schedule
has many pending programs.
In
summary for 2006:
Alvin - 228 days requested
Alvin or ROVs - 150 days
requested
ROVs - 497 days requested
DSL-120 only - 34 days
Review
of facility requests and identification of funded programs for 2006 and beyond - Annette DeSilva continued by showing
maps of the geographic vehicle request areas.
Her slides are contained in Appendix VII.
Replacement
HOV Update:
Design
Status Bob Brown
reviewed the project status of the replacement HOV. His slides are included as Appendix VIII.
The personnel sphere design and
fabrication Request for Proposal (RFP) has been submitted to the Oversight
Committee and NSF for review. The
personnel sphere RFP has been submitted to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)
and the proposal is currently being completed by SwRI. The contract has been let with Phoenix Int.
for a Lithium battery study. Emerson
& Cuming developed a 33 lb/cu.ft syntactic foam and development is continuing
for a lighter foam. The RFP for vehicle
design and fabrication is under development.
The Syntactic foam evaluation is
continuing. SwRI is recalculating
weight and balance to determine weight margins for different density
foams. If a sufficient margin exists for
33 lbs./cu. ft. foam, than they will pursue ABS approval and first article
testing. As a first fallback they will
determine if a depth limitation based on a 31 lbs./cu. ft. foam would be
acceptable. As a second fallback, they
will explore the possibility of conducting the R&D necessary to qualify
ceramic sphere/syntactic foam matrix material.
To address areas of higher risk the
project has been broken into two phases:
Phase One:
Feasibility
testing for prospective energy system
Qualification
testing for syntactic buoyancy foam
Preliminary
vehicle design for sphere attachments
Design and forging
of personnel sphere
Phase Two
Completion of
personnel sphere
Complete design
and fabrication of remaining vehicle
Bob
showed the RHOV construction schedule.
If all goes on schedule, science operations can begin in February 2009.
Replacement HOV Oversight Committee (RHOC) Report - Karen Von Damm,
Chair of the RHOC, provided a committee report. Her viewgraphs are included as Appendix IX. Karen reviewed the committee membership and
their charge. WHOI provides the
committee with monthly and quarterly reports.
Over the past year they have had a series of meetings.
RHOC
Continuing Concerns:
1. Hull
2. Syntactic
Buoyancy Foam - will 30 lb/cu. ft. be available
3. Batteries
- Will Li
available in time?
- If not
compromises as to dive duration/depth
- Available later?
4. Variable
ballast
5. Risk assessment
and management
6. What will be the required trade-offs?
A project website is maintained on
the UNOLS page:
<www.unols.org/committees/dessc/replacement_HOV/replacement_hov.html>.
Dolly
encouraged DESSC to look over the website.
Debbie
asked that as this process moves forward, should DESSC be reactive or
proactive? Karen They have to wait
hear from WHOI to find out the areas where tradeoff decisions may be
needed. DESSC would probably be
reactive.
Dudley
asked that given the extended timeline, would the committee stay through to the
end. Dolly explained that the committee was formed with it in mind that
initially technical people would be needed.
The membership can be adjusted to meet the project needs. Karen added that the private RHOC site has
extensive documentation and a tracking spreadsheet. Everything is well documented and tracked.
Deb
in the current timeline, when would the sensors be decided? This is an area when DESSC would like to
provide input. Bob replied that fall
2006 would likely be the timing for the sensors. It would be part of the vehicle RFP.
Maurice
How will DESSC fit into the selection of the sensors? Deb would they like input from the
community on the new emerging instruments, size? Bob Detrick replied that this would be useful. Bob Brown added that it would also be useful
to identify which equipment would have to on the vehicle and what equipment
could be used with the vehicle, without having to be installed. WHOI will need
to let DESSC know when input is needed.
Establishing
Safety Standards for the use of Human Occupied Vehicles (HOV) - Dolly Dieter and Barbara Moore lead a
discussion on the need for establishing safety standards for the use of
HOVs. Dolly
indicated that the NSB report indicated that increased access to deep
submergence vehicles is needed. Jim
Yoder indicated that at some time money would be set aside for this increased
access. Although the money isnt
available yet, it is time to think about this.
NSF has had always indicated that they would only fund work on Navy
inspected vehicles. The Navy inspects Alvin;
bit not other vehicles like HURL and HBOI vehicles. The HURL and HBOI vehicles are ABS inspected. Alvins inspection is very thorough
and includes man rating. Navy has been
assisting ABS to become familiar with their inspection criteria. Barbara added that NOAA has safety protocols
for vehicles and ships, but they are not the same as the ones that NSF is
comfortable with. NSF is asking for
something more stringent.
Discussion
followed:
Peter Wiebe
reported that earlier in the year a Delta vehicle was delivered to R/V Cape
Hatteras for a research cruise. The
cruise was not carried out because NSF does not support work on non man-rating
handling systems.
Jennifer Reynolds
commented that NURP has chartered Delta with the past.
Craig Young He
has worked on ABS inspected HBOI cruises and other operations and feels that
they are very thorough.
Barbara there
are different levels of the certification, based on the types of vehicles.
Bob Brown ABS
does not certify the operation, the pilots, etc.
Peter
Wiebe stated that UNOLS would need a coherent charge to define the task as a
first step. We can establish a
subcommittee. We need to define the
problem and suggest a course of action to address the problem.
Mid-Afternoon Break
AUV
Status - Dana Yoerger
provided a status report on ABE and reviewed ABE cruises from June 2004 to
March 2005. His slides are included as Appendix
X. He showed a map of the world
with completed and proposed cruises.
Operations have been conducted in the Atlantic and Pacific. They included:
SeaBreeze Cruise
(June-July 2004) R. McDuff, F.
Stahr, R. Thompson - Vertical heat flux, bathymetry, magnetics, mapping
non-buoyant plume layer
Lau Basin Cruise
(Sept- Oct 2004) C. Langmuir, T.
Shank, C. German, D. Fornari - 3-Phase vent localization, bathymetry,
magnetics, photomosaics
Kane Fracture Zone
(Nov- Dec 2004) M. Tivey, B. Tucholke, H. Dick -
Bathymetry, magnetics, subbottom profiler, Jason synergy
SMAR Cruise (March
2005) C. German, T. Shank, L. Parsons -
3-Phase vent localization, bathymetry, magnetics, photomosaic
On
the Kane Fracture Zone cruise they were able to recover ABE, and process
multibeam bathymetry before Jason2 reached the seafloor bottom. Dana showed examples of some of the data
collected with ABE. He showed subbottom
profiler results, locating and mapping plume sites in 3 phases, and vent site
survey using 3-phase approach. During
the Southern Ocean operations over a course of a few weeks they went from
knowing very little about the area to finding two vents in Phase 2 and animals
(shrimp) during Phase 3. The Lau cruise
and the Southern Ocean cruise relied on the ABE results for follow-on work.
Dana
next discussed the status of AUV Sentry. Trials were conducted in March 2005. Control system/dynamic testing is planned for August 2005. The vehicle has four fins and there are
thrusters on each fin. Dana showed a
movie of Sentry.
Peter
Wiebe asked if ABE would still be used once Sentry comes on-line. Dana - Yes.
The vehicles are complementary, but have some differences.
The
dive duration for Sentry is about 30 hours max. It is 8-feet long and fits in a 20-ft
van. It has the same sensory suite as
ABE.
Establishing
Criteria for bringing New Assets into the NDSF including day rate
considerations - Deb Kelley opened the discussion by first
saying that we would first start by hearing from the
agencies. Dolly Dieter said that this
topic first came up at AGU in December when the question was asked if ABE
should come into NDSF. If so, how would
it be supported? How would other
vehicles be brought into the NDSF?
Should it be set up as a separate facility?
Discussion
followed:
Craig Young What is the
disadvantage of not putting ABE into the facility? Dana By not including ABE in the facility, users would need to
put ABE in their science proposal and its cost is in the proposal. There is no budget for maintenance. Including ABE in the NDSF streamlines the
proposal process and provides continuity.
Dolly explained the funding
scenario. Now all ALVIN, Jason2,
DSL-120 costs are added up and then split evenly among the vehicles. The costs arent as well as known for each
individual vehicle with them all being lumped together.
Dan stated that the synergy
between the vehicles is an important issue and it is important scientifically.
Dolly indicated that the
committee should think about if all vehicles should be in the National facility
and if they should they all be rolled together with one cost?
Most
of the session addressed the criteria for bringing new assets into the
NDSF. They reviewed their draft
document. Deb will revise the document to
reflect the committee suggestions.
The day rates for NDSF Vehicles were discussed and additional information about the differences in vehicle costs is needed. Depending on the costs, DESSC may recommend that the NDSF assets each have their own separate day rate that reflects the cost of their operation. As an alternative, there can be one day rate for Alvin and Jason2 and separate day rates for the other assets (DSL-120a, Argo II)
Adjourn Day 1
Day 2 -Opening Comments - Deb Kelley opened day two of the meeting by
reviewing the action items from day 1:
Establish
HOV Safety Standards: DESSC will wait for additional guidance/task statement
from NSF and NOAA.
Revise
the draft Criteria for bringing new assets into the NDSF
RHOC
liaison Provide Dolly with a DESSC liaison to the Replacement HOV Oversight
Committee.
Recommendations:
1)
Archiving
Photo credit needs to be given to sources.
WHOI should provide clear guidance to incoming cruise participants on
what is on the hard drive and how it will be used post-cruise
HROV
Status Report - Andy Bowen provided the
HROV status report. His slides are
included as Appendix XI.
Project
milestones include:
11KM Floatation on
order
Work Space
analysis underway
Manipulator
development underway
Main processor
selection/evaluation
Telemetry
specification and selection
Battery pack
prototype in design
LED elements
selected and pressure tolerant forward looking array design underway
Microfiber tether
development:
Deployment
modeling ongoing
Initial field
tests (vehicle maneuvering and deep elevator deployment)
Conceptual vehicle
development complete and now being evaluated for stability/control
Main pressure
cases in NDT
The Science
Mission Requirement for the HROV are:
Push coring
Heat-flow probe (1
to 1.5 M long)
Hi/Lo temperature
probes
Geotechnical/Geochemical
Rock
sampling/drilling
Flexible science
sensor payload interface
Biological
sampling (grabs/boxes)
Water Sampling
(hot/cold)
Water column
sensing (e.g. methane)
High resolution
bathymetry
Andy showed a graphic of the manipulator and storage
baskets.
Workspace summary
Payload of 75 lb
Total Sampling
System Weight 300 lb
1 cubic meter
volume for sample storage
Manipulation
Integrated into Workspace
Andy reviewed the scientific sensors and proposed
scientific interface. He showed a
graphic of the HROV in AUV mode. There
are 1500 spheres in the AUV and the vehicle is about 10 ft long. The vehicle configuration (ROV or AUV) would
be selected on deck before the vehicle dive.
A typical scenario would be to do AUV ops first, then bring the vehicle
back. Redock it as the tethered vehicle
on board then redeploy as the ROV.
Andy reviewed the video equipment summary. He discussed the ceramic housing
manufacture, the utility housings, and the fiber tether design. The candidate tether is inexpensive enough
that they dont have to think about reprocessing, just retrieval. Retrieval would be by surface winch.
The vehicle would require a special dedicated
cable. It might be better to have a
dedicated, portable CTD winch that can hold 5 k wire.
The project goals for CY2005 are:
Complete
conceptual development of both vehicle
Complete
manipulator design and have both hardware and software components in test
Complete
fabrication and test of main and auxiliary
pressure housings
Make final choices
on propulsion and have fabrication underway
Design and
assemble prototype battery subassembly
Purchase of vendor
supplied components
Further tests of
microfiber (deep elevator and shallowAUV maneuvering)
Discussion Followed:
Dolly when the HROV was proposed it was suggested
that the fiber could be tested on Alvin so that it could be used as a
way to send data up from Alvin.
When would this happen? Andy
said that they are taking the case of least resistance low risk. They have chosen the least risk path. Dolly indicated that this would be done on
the Alvin.
Craig Young How do you keep from running over the
cable? Andy you maintain sufficient
tension on the cable. There is a guide
tube from the vehicle.
Jeff Karson Where is the scientific pressure for
this? Andy The most significant
aspect of this project is the ability to get to 11,000m for low cost. There is the potential to work under the
ice. OPP is supporting this
project. The technologies developing under
this project will apply to other projects.
Shallow Submergence Science Committee -Future Plans - Craig Young explained that
the issue of shallow submergence science facilities was originally raised
during the DESCEND workshop. There were
two issues associated with the shallow submergence facilities, safety and
access. Both of these issues are now
being addressed in other efforts. Craig
recommends that a shallow submergence science subcommittee is no longer
needed. The DESSC agreed to disband the
subcommittee.
DESSC 3-Year Agenda Deb Kelley reviewed the items that DESSC identified during
their Spring 2004 meeting <200405desap06.pdf>. It was noted that the DESSC does not include
a rep from the Margins community. As
they consider a new member, a Margins should be considered.
Future global deep submergence initiatives:
RIDGE2000 - Deb Kelley reported that interest in Lau Basin
continues. NEPTUNE will be in the water
by 2008. Vehicles and funding needed to
support NEPTUNE.
Margins - Jeff Karson reported that there are four areas of
interest for Margins: source sinks,
sedimentary, subduction processes, seismic component, and rupture of
lithosphere. It is very much focused on
active areas. They are not looking at
mature systems. There is also interest
in pretrology. Specific geographic
areas of interest include Costa Rica, Nankai, New Zealand, and the Mariannas.
Ocean
Observatories Initiative -
Ocean Research Interactive Observatories Network (ORION) - Bob Detrick provided a report on the
Ocean Observatories. His slides are
included as Appendix XII.
The initiative is to provide the infrastructure
for making sustained observations and providing real time access to data for
research in the oceans. It builds on recommendations from a lot of
studies. There are three primary components:
Global-scale
moored buoy observatories
Regional-scale
seafloor fiber optic cabled observatory
Coastal
observatories
The
coastal arrays include two types:
Endurance Arrays
Fixed, permanent observing array arranged as cross-shelf lines and individual
moorings
Pioneer Arrays
Relocatable arrays for process-oriented studies.
The
Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI) is the infrastructure component of
ORION. The OOI cost is included in
NSF's Major Research Equipment account (MRE).
ORION is the science that utilizes the structure. Bob explained what the MRE account is and
provided a breakdown of items in the account.
The
Alaska Region Research Vessel recently moved ahead of OOI in the MRE. NEON was moved down to pending behind ARRV,
but before OOI. They are still trying
to determine what all this means. The
National Science Board rearranged the items.
Bob
reviewed the timetable:
OOI Science Plan
(OSP) - published in May 2005
OOI Science
Advisory Structure - Committees in place by August 2005
OOI Request for
Assistance (RFA)
-
Request for
Assistance issued: 1st week of Feb. 2005
-
Letter of Intent
due: Mar. 14th, 2005
-
Submission deadline:
May 23rd, 2005
-
Panel meeting(s):
August, 2005
OOI Project Execution Plan (PEP)
-
Preliminary PEP
due: Nov. 2005
-
Approval of
Preliminary PEP: Jan. 2006
-
Refined
Preliminary PEP due: July 2006
-
Baseline external
review of PEP: Sept. 2006
Rick
Janhke and a couple of staff members make up the ORION office.
Close
to 50 proposals were submitted in response to the RFA and included 526 unique
PIs. Half of the proposals were
coastal, 29% were for regional observatories, and 17% were global.
The
earliest timeframe for observatory nodes going onto the seafloor is
2008/2009. They want the node locations
to be driven by science. The operations
and maintenance cost estimate is to cover ship time, deep submergence time, and
equipment. The estimates will likely be
scaled down from original projections.
Debbie
pointed out that Canada is moving forward with their component of NETUNE, they
have money. US scientists can apply for
the Canada effort.
The
question was asked if in terms of support ships, would it be UNOLS or industry
ships. Bob indicated that it would
depend on the task, but UNOLS vessels could do a lot of the activities. Bob sees an advisory structure like ODP. There would have to be a close link between
the observatory operators and UNOLS.
Winter
Meeting Strategies The
DESSC members discussed forums for better engaging the non-MG&G
community. The Ocean
Sciences meeting isnt the best meeting for accomplishing this. Benthic biologists often do not attend the
Ocean Sciences meeting. The Benthic
Ecology meeting might be a better meeting.
Jeff Karson pointed out that DESSC has to hold a meeting for their
business. Maybe we should have posters
at other meetings. The DESSC meeting at
a Benthic Ecology meeting doesnt have to be patterned after the traditional
DESSC meeting. Deb asked the committee
biologists to come up with strategies for reaching the non-MG&G. The group of Craig Young, Jennifer Reynolds,
and KT Scott were tasked with this.
Fall AGU - 5-9 Dec 2005, San Francisco, CA The current plan is
to not hold the DESSC
Meeting at the 2005 Fall AGU. RIDGE2K will hold a special session for NDSF vehicle
posters. The suggestion was made to
have a UNOLS/NDSF booth. WHOI offered to contribute graphics for a
booth. The booth could have flyers with
upcoming events. Annette will check
with Mike Prince to see if a booth could be supported by the budget. It would also need approval from the agencies.
Archeology -
Dave Mindell reported that there has not been a lot of recent deep ocean
archeology activity. There is work
planned in Greece and three or four private supporters will support it.
RIDGE Lectureship Program
-Deb Kelley reported on the RIDGE Lectureship program. The program provides RIDGE scientist
speakers to some of the smaller colleges.
Most lecturers visited about five colleges. It is in the second year of the project and it is a great to
interact with a lot of students. There
is a lot of interest among the students.
NeMO Bill Chadwick
reported on the NeMO project (his slides are in Appendix
XIII). NeMO has
an interactive dive website, Dive <http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/nemo/>. This web site lets you dive with a remotely
operated vehicle to the seafloor and back at Axial Seamount. It uses video and
computer animation that allows you explore black smoker vents, life forms, and
lava flows. The site requires Microsoft Internet
Explorer web browser and Macromedia Shockwave or Apple QuickTime. Choose a dive. The dives centered on ROPOS.
Operational
Summary and Collaborations with Other Deep Submergence Activities:
ROPOS A status report on
ROPOS was provided and slides are included as Appendix XIV. The first slide shows a ROPOS
deployment. The vehicle is contained in
a big cage with the winch above it.
ROPOS
Upgrade includes:
Launch and Recovery is via a knuckle boom crane and
the umbilical cable feeds through crane.
This greatly simplifies launch and recovery. It can operate from more ships, with fewer crew, and with an increased
operating weather window. There will be
a new telemetry system with more science channels. Navigation improvements are also planned. Sea trials are scheduled for late June 20, 2005.
MBARI - Marc Chaffey
provided a report on MBARI vehicle operations.
His slides are contained at Appendix XV.
The Western Flyer / Tiburon
system specifications are:
-
4000 m
-
15 kW
-
1500/450 lb payloads
Planned upgrades for the system include:
-
HDTV camera system
-
Increase power to 25kW
-
2007 vehicle overhaul or replacement. They are
looking at building a vehicle out of kits or off the shelf. They would like to have increased number of
ports and plug in capability.
In 2004 Tiburon spent 169 days
away from homeport and 126 dives were completed. Fourteen days were lost to ship overheating problems. In 2005 the vehicle was away from homeport
for 164 days with 136 project days. No
days were lost due to ROV problems in either year, to date. NURP supported 20 Tiburon days in 2004 and
21 ROV days in 2005.
The Pt Lobos/Ventana system is
rated to 1850m. In 2004 the vehicle had
154 at sea days scheduled and completed 134 dives. Three days were lost to ship problems, three to ROV problems, and
six days to weather. In 2005 there are
166 ship sea days scheduled/
Marc reviewed the Zephyr and AUV
operations. Zephyr operations
included 141 days in 2004 and 135 days in 2005. The AUV CTD operations in 2005 to date include 67 AUV missions,
with one day lost. Total kilometers
traversed for the AUV is 452 km in 2005 so far.
MBARIs observatory development programs
included the MARS program. This is an
NSF funded project and participants include U of W, JPL, WHOI, and MBARI. It includes a 62 km sea cable with a single
instrument node in approximately 900 meters depth. Subsystem testing is underway.
Installation is planned for 2005-2006.
The observatory includes a portable mooring system. They are working to improve cable
survivability.
China Ocean Minerals and R&D
Association (COMRA) - Maurice Tivey reported on the COMRA
activities (see Appendix XVI). In March 2006 they expect completion of
their 7000-meter submersible. They have
bought time on Alvin to gain experience. COMRA lost their 3500m
ROV Sea Dragon on their 2nd
sea trial in the S. China Sea. The
tether failed.
COMRAs cruise list in 2005 and 2006
includes work at the Southern EPR, MAR, SW Indian Ridge, and JdF.
Other AUVs at WHOI:
REMUS AUVs - Chris Van Alt reported on the Remus AUVs (see Appendix
XVII). They are developing a
series of vehicles. Systems include a
camera/strobe system and a sidescan system.
A vehicle was used for aqueduct inspections in New York.
SeaBED AUV - Hanu Singh reported on the SeaBED AUV (see Appendix
XVIII). He showed a world map with
locations of funded and completed SeaBED cruises. They have been funded by NASA to look under the ice. Work areas have included the deep corals off
Puerto Rico, archeology in the Mediterranean, multiple AUVs in the Southern
MAR, microbial mats off Chile, and work in the Pacific. The vehicle is small
and very portable. FedEx can ship it.
They have been funded from NASA/OPP to use AUVs to look for
venting under the ice. U of Maryland
has funded to put a manipulator on the vehicle. It has a 5000m capability.
The new AUVs are cheaper and easier to build.
HBOI In 2005 the Johnson SeaLink has approximately 117 operating
days planned.
Ocean Exploration - The Ocean Exploration
ship has been named and it will be a NOAA ship. The ship was the former Navy USNS Capable and is being
converted to support exploration. Steve
Hammond and John McDonough can replace Craig McLean on the UNOLS lists.
NURP Barbara reported that a 2300m depth AUV is being
purchased. It will be operated out of
UNC Wilmington and will be owned by University of Southern Mississippi.
DESSC Membership - Dave Mindell completes his 2nd
term in 9/05 and Hedy Edmonds completes her first term in 9/05. Hedy is willing to stay on for a second
term. A replacement for Dave is
needed. Someone with a background in
either Margins
or archeology is desirable.
Action Items The
meeting action items were reviewed (listed at the beginning of these minutes).
The Meeting
Adjourned at 1130 am.
AUV
Sentry Visit
Following
the DESSC meeting, participants were invited to visit WHOI's AUV Sentry
system.
A DESSC Executive session followed the DESSC Meeting to further
discuss the task to establish Safety Standards for HOVs. DESSC will wait for a draft charge from
NSF. The subcommittee doesnt have to
have just DESSC members and it should include a representative from the RVOC
Safety Committee. The project can take
time and may take a couple years to complete.