1 post tagged “sponges”
Diving in the submarines is limited by several factors. Fog, rough water and high winds have singly or collectively curtailed diving several times already. But re-powering requirements can also lead to "down time" for the subs. Batteries must be recharged through the ship's power supply for 3 to 5 hours between dives. During these intervals, we used the ROV to explore deeper habitats within the canyons.
The hightech Remotely Operated Vehicle is owned and operated by Matthew Cook, President of SeaViewSystems.com. In launching the equipment, ship's crew and ROV technical crew carefully synchronize cranes and cable reels to deploy and then monitor the vehicle from deck (for the entire dive!).
Meanwhile, Matt and Nuytco's chief navigator drive and track the ROV's position from the bridge deck. Ship's officers continuously adjust twin props and thrusters to manuever the 220 foot Esperanza over the tethered vehicle and then gently tow the apparatus to each station along the survey route.
A cadre of our scientific team and ship's crew then gather around the live video screen to discover, observe and record marine life along the survey routes. NMFS's sponge expert, "SpongeBob" was keen to point out exotic to cryptic sponges observed, while Greenpeace's John Hocevar, Clive, Timo, Kenneth, David, myself and others maintained records on invertebrate, fish and coral sightings.
Tooled with four dynamic thrusters and a powerful vertical thruster, the "DR", or "deep-rated" SeaView Falcon ROV was able to navigate in even high current areas for this work. Laser beams with a 20 cm spread were used to scale the underwater video images. We used a custom manipulator arm to collect selected specimens for further taxonomic analysis when possible. Once captured by video and deftly collected by manipulator arm, precious specimens were transported across the seafloor to a specimen bin attached to the ROV's undersea "garage".
The SeaView Falcon DR ROV was an excellent tool for extending our probing into the depths of Alaska's Zhemchug and Pribilof Canyons! When it was "down time" for the subs and pilots, it was "show time" for the ROV to explore these marine habitats in an intimate manner that allowed for everyone onboard to collaborate in the research program.
