Page 8. MAINE COASTAL NEWS May 2016 N U JASON; B B A major, $2.4 million upgrade funded
by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has made the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason more capable than ever. This 12-month-long project, conducted by engi- neers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu- tion (WHOI), which designed and built the vehicle, has increased the vehicle payload and range of activities and streamlined the vehicle operation. This is Jason’s fi rst upgrade of this mag-
nitude since its second-generation launch in 2002. The original Jason was launched in 1988. The ROV is operated by WHOI for the nation’s ocean scientists as part of the National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF). “This upgrade enabled us to increase
the system’s lift capability from 400 pounds to 2 tons of scientifi c samples and instru- ments from the seafl oor, and to eliminate its companion vehicle, Medea, for these oper- ations,” said Matt Heintz, a WHOI senior engineer and Jason program manager. Until this latest upgrade, Jason has been
operated as a two-body system in concert with Medea, a smaller ROV that buff ered Jason from the movement of the surface ship while providing lighting for its seafl oor activities. Now, Jason can be de-coupled from Medea and operated as a single-body system, streamlining its launch and recovery and making the vehicle more versatile. During a Jason mission, the ROV pilot,
navigator and engineer operate the vehicle from a control van on the ship’s deck while Jason sends HD video in real time from the seafl oor through its cable tether. Scientists in the control van observe and direct biolog- ical and geological sampling to ensure their scientifi c mission is accomplished. A key reason behind the upgrade was to
enable Jason to perform maintenance to seafl oor infrastructure related to the NSF-funded Ocean Observatories Initia- tive and Ocean Networks Canada’s cabled observatories effi ciently and with reduced need for deck space. “NSF is pleased to support innovative
enhancements to Jason that will increase the ability to service major infrastructure in the oceans, as well as improve the already impressive support Jason provides as the ‘workhorse’ ROV for the oceanographic research community,” said NSF Ocean Sci- ences Division Director Rick Murray. But the upgrade has other added benefi ts as well. The heavy lift capability will be used at seafl oor sites where several-hundred-me- ters-long sensor strings are routinely de- ployed into and recovered from seafl oor bore holes. It also will deploy and recover trawl resistant instrument packages. “Traditionally we lift these under Me-
dea – a time consuming technique, which also subjects the vehicle packages to vessel motion,” said Heintz. “With our Active Heave Compensated (AHC) winch and cable direct to Jason, these operations will be far less challenging and much faster.” Medea will still be used for scientifi c
missions requiring depths greater than 4500 meters, and on vessels equipped with cable strong enough to eliminate the need to install the new larger winch and cable system. While the upgrade was specifi cally intended to increase Jason’s ability to deploy and recover scientifi c packages, it was also an opportunity for engineers to redesign nu- merous systems to increase general scientif- ic capabilities and to improve maintenance capabilities, which will result in less down time.
The core components of the upgrade Marketing Workshop
include: New bigger and stronger cable tether with break strength (BS) of 70,000 lb. compared to the traditional cable tether with a BS of 42,000 lb. A modifi ed Active Heave Compensated winch to accommodate the new cable. A new Launch and Recovery Sys- tem (LARS) to accommodate the increased payload rated to 15,000 lb. A new vehicle frame capable of withstanding the increased loads. A new swappable heavy lift tool skid that will be used for these lift operations. New science tool skid with increased space and payload for scientifi c equipment. Addi- tional fl otation to accommodate the increase in weight of the new frame. The engineering eff ort began in April
2015, and culminated in a complete over- haul, stripping the ROV down to its base, replacing the vehicle frame and improving system functions, which required three months.
Since its original launch in 1988, ROV
WHOI to Assist in NTSB Search for EL FARO Data Recorder
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti-
tution will assist the National Transportation Safety Board as it undertakes its second search April 18, 2016, for the vessel data recorder (VDR) of the sunken El Faro cargo ship.
The U.S. fl agged El Faro sank during
Hurricane Joaquin on Oct. 1, 2015. All 33 of the El Faro’s crew perished in the accident. The two primary objectives of the
mission are to locate the ship’s VDR and to provide a more extensive and detailed survey of the shipwreck. Both will help in- vestigators determine exactly why and how the ship sank. The team of investigators along with
WHOI scientists and engineers will work from the research vessel Atlantis, which is owned by the US Navy and operated by WHOI. The ship is scheduled to depart Charleston, South Carolina, April 18, and will search the accident site for 10 days before returning to Woods Hole, Massachu- setts, approximately May 5. The search team will use the autono- mous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry to
search for the VDR and map the seafl oor around the El Faro, which sank to a depth of approximately 4600 meters (15,000 feet) be- tween Florida and the Bahamas. The VDR is contained within a watertight container and is roughly the size of a large suitcase. Sentry was designed and built at WHOI
with funds from the National Science Foun- dation for use in oceanographic research. The vehicle, which is capable of operating in depths of 6,000 meters (~20,000 feet), carries a variety of scientifi c sensors and uses sidescan and other sonar to create de- tailed maps of the seafl oor. It is frequently used to search for hydrothermal vent sites on the seafl oor around the world. In 2010, it was used in the Gulf of Mexico by scien- tists to map and characterize the sub-surface plume of hydrocarbons fl owing from the Deepwater Horizon well blowout. Sentry is also equipped with cameras to capture high-resolution still imagery. In addition to Sentry, the team will use
a towed camera system to collect video imagery around the site.
Jason has spent countless hours exploring the Earth’s oceans, taking samples and imag- ing the sea fl oor. Perhaps nothing was quite as dramatic as the 2009 observation of the West Mata volcano erupting at 1,100 meters’ depth in the Pacifi c. Through its fi ber optic tether, Jason was able to transmit HD video of the explosive erupting volcano and its molten lava in real-time to stunned scientists and crew onboard the ship. With signifi cant enhancements to its
design and capabilities complete, Jason will expand its range of operations to meet the changing needs of the ocean science com- munity, which increasingly involves sea- fl oor-based ocean observing infrastructure. Jason begins its fi rst post-upgrade science mission in June 2016 aboard the SIKULI- AQ, a ship owned by NSF and operated by the Univ. of Alaska, and has a full science schedule into 2017.
1:30 PM - Websites
2:30 PM - How to Keep a Potential Customer 3:30 PM - How to Spend Your Advertising Dollars
$15 28 April
Ellsworth City Hall 1 City Hall Plaza Ellsworth, Maine
For information call (207) 899-7570
The cargo ship EL FARO. Tiny Barge Transport, Inc.
Making affordable delivery & pick-ups to/from
Muscongus Bay area. If it fits...we can deliver it to your island. Up to 16,000 lbs.
(207) 380-0006
www.tinybargetransport.com Friendship, Maine
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32