Black Sea 2007, Day 10
We received word, and it’s official: We’re going to the Ukraine!
After many conference calls and paperwork traveling all across the globe, the Ukrainian Government has convinced NATO (and consequently our Captain) that the retired mine field we will be entering has been cleared and is safe for undersea operations.
Today is our last day on the bottom of the Sea of Crete. We’ve seen more rocks and mud than anyone should be allowed. It can get very boring during this time, especially if nothing comes into view. So, what tends to happen is people tell stories. Most of which I can’t tell to ANYONE, especially on this blog. So......
For those that are new to our blogs, or haven’t read about or seen an ROV launch and recover I will describe it to you now.
The system the Institute For Exploration (IFE) uses is two vehicles. There’s Argus and Hercules. Argus is the depressor vehicle. It is lowered from a very long wire and is a smart dead weight. It has very little control of where it can move. To move Argus you have to move the entire ship. While it’s dangling at the end of the wire, it can move left or right around the wire. There are two large lights that act as street lamps for Hercules below it, and there’s a large HD camera to view the position of Hercules. This typically gets the scientists excited, because it gives a large overview of where Hercules is.
Hercules is the big man himself. This vehicle (shown in the picture above) is connected to Argus with a 30 meter (about 100 feet) kevlar tether. This allows Hercules to move anywhere within a 30 meter radius of wherever Argus is. And, with slack on the tether, it allows whatever rough seas are above to not affect Hercules operations. Hercules also has an HD camera, that gets stunning footage from under water. There are two manipulators on Hercules that can use tools and pick up samples from the sea floor.
posted by DaveandBrian @ 6:19 AM
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