Exploring Offshore Hydrothermal Venting Using Low-Cost ROV and Photogrammetric Techniques: A Case Study from Milos Island, Greece

Abstract

The use of low-cost, Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and underwater photogrammetry techniques for 3D reconstruction of shallow hydrothermal vent sites around Paleochori Bay, Milos Island, Greece. Characterising venting fields through interactive bathymetry models produced from still images taken from camera onboard ROV flown over areas of interest in double raster pattern.First time the shallow venting fields on Milos have been actively surveyed using ROV. Areas were successfully surveyed and the bathymetry was reconstructed using SfM photogrammetry with a ~10 cm scale resolution. A diverse range of benthic habitats were surveyed and the resulting topographic models will act as a baseline, providing further characterisation of the vent systems and any evolving seafloor morphology associated with mineral deposition.

Self-Assembled Rov and Photogrammetric Surveys With Low Cost Techniques

“…'A primary interest of the archaeological investigation is to extract, in a non-invasive way, as much information as possible with minimal expenditure of time and of expensive resources' (Scaradozzi et al, 2013). Traditionally, ROVs are high value devices and therefore of limited access for small researchers groups, but, recently, many industries are producing low-cost ROVs that could be afforded by a great public (Teague et al, 2017). Between many possibilities, the Laboratorio di Fotogrammetria has decided to buy the OpenRov, an opensource and a very low-cost ROV that could be assembled independently and could be freely modified for custom uses (Heisinger et al, 2017) .…”

“…These technologies have been utilized for mapping and monitoring the cultural and natural heritage or to document the phases of the work of the archaeologist during the excavation, but the principal application of the ROVs is related to photogrammetric survey for the documentation of underwater environments (Drap et al, 2015;Sedlazeck et al, 2009, Teague et al, 2017.…”