The manned submersible as an effective sampling and imaging platform

Liberatore, D.; Askew, T.; Tusting, R. F.; Olson, S.

doi:10.1109/oceans.1997.634335

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…This coordinated perception and response enables the most selective and finely controlled assimilation of data and enhances comprehension of the phenomena observed. As noted by Liberatore et al (1997), "The effectiveness of an in situ operator, rather than one remotely located from the sampling or measurement platform, is primarily due to two factors: intelligent vision and adaptive decision making." For example, after investigating several axial areas each some tens of kilometers square of the southern East Pacific Rise using deep-towed side-scan sonar (DSlr 120 system), an AUV (Autonomous Benthic Explorer ABE; Yoerger et al, 1995), and Alvin, Sinton et al (1999) comment, "Although the submersible Alvin has received relatively little use by geologists in recent years, it is an ideal tool for geological mapping, sampling, and observations.…”

Section: Role Of Deep-dmng Human Occupied Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep-Diving Manned Research Submersibles

Rona¹

1999

mar technol soc j

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The globalfleet ofdeep-diving manned research submersibles comprises thirteen human occupied vehicles (HOV), eleven of which are presently operational, managed by different agencies in France, Japan, Russia and the United States. The basic components of these submersibles are similar, but significant differences exist in capabilities and operational styles. The most efficient and effective use of deepdiving HOV's is as the final tool after the dive target has been located by a systematic search procedure of closing range using ships and unmanned vehicles (towed, ROV, or AUV) as platforms for various measurement, imaging and sampling methods. A key role continues to exist for deep-diving HOV's as the ultimate tool to investigate the deep ocean when judiciously used by the trained observer in coordination with other shipboard and unmanned deep submergence methods. The scientific value of the human presence within the deep ocean is irreplaceable by other methods.

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Section: Role Of Deep-dmng Human Occupied Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep-Diving Manned Research Submersibles

Rona¹

1999

mar technol soc j

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“…While early submersible-based exploration included midwater observations (e.g., Barham, 1966), the focus of deep submergence studies soon largely shifted to seafloor environments. The greatest exception to this was the Johnson Sea-Link program, based at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, which supported significant midwater exploration from the 1970s through the early 2000s (Greene et al, 1988;Widder et al, 1992;Frank and Widder, 1997;Liberatore et al, 1997). In 2016, the humanoccupied vehicle (HOV) Alvin was used for the first time in decades to survey the pelagic environment in a study of the distribution of water column organisms at Hydrographer Canyon in the northwest Atlantic Ocean (Netburn et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributions of the Pelagic Holothurian Pelagothuria in the Central Pacific Ocean as Observed by Remotely-Operated Vehicle Surveys

2019

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Pelagothuria is the only known genus of holothurian that is considered to be holopelagic. There is thought to be only one species, Pelagothuria natatrix, and little is known about its abundance and distribution throughout the global ocean. Most documented observations of Pelagothuria are in tropical regions with many in or near water masses with low dissolved oxygen concentrations, suggesting that Pelagothuria may be associated with oxygen minimum zone regions. During the spring 2017 NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Mountains in the Deep Expedition, scientists onboard the ship and participating through telepresence noted seeing an exceptional number of Pelagothuria during ROV dives conducted at sites along a transit from Pago Pago, American Samoa to Honolulu, Hawaii. Video from all dives was later reviewed using the video replay and annotation tool SeaTube and Pelagothuria were seen at 9 of the 12 ROV dive sites explored. A total of 97 Pelagothuria were observed in depths ranging from 196 to 4,440 m, temperatures of 1.3-15.4 • C, salinities of 34.5-35.2, and oxygen concentrations of 0.17-3.77 mg L −1. The vertical distribution of Pelagothuria averaged 865 m depth, and their observations occurred at means of 5.24 • C, 34.56, 1.71 mg L −1 for temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen, respectively. In 30 percent (n = 27) of the occurrences of Pelagothuria, the organism was observed at or within site of the seafloor, suggesting that the species may not actually be entirely holopelagic. A literature review was also conducted to look at the biogeography of the taxon. Results suggest that the horizontal distributions of Pelagothuria may extend to the Equatorial Pacific region, and the relatively high occurrence of Pelagothuria in oxygen minimum zones indicates they may be particularly hypoxia-tolerant. There is some indication that Pelagothuria may also be associated with areas of high particle flux. The strong El Niño event that occurred shortly before the expedition and anomalously warm conditions throughout much of the Pacific could have provided conditions favorable to a Pelagothuria bloom, however the high abundances of the organism seen on a nearby 2015 expedition and a later 2019 expedition suggest that this may be a persistent feature. The water column in this region has never before been explored with ROVs, and this study demonstrated use of an archived and publicly-accessible exploratory dataset to make novel discoveries.

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The manned submersible as an effective sampling and imaging platform

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

Deep-Diving Manned Research Submersibles

Deep-Diving Manned Research Submersibles

Distributions of the Pelagic Holothurian Pelagothuria in the Central Pacific Ocean as Observed by Remotely-Operated Vehicle Surveys

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