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U-166 Project Field Updates
Monday, October 6, 2003
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The Research Vessel
Ronald H. Brown, flagship of the NOAA fleet. |
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Project members from
C&C Technologies and the
PAST Foundation arrived on the
NOAA vessel
Ronald H. Brown which was docked at Gulfport, Mississippi, on
Friday, October 3, 2003. Several members of the science team took part in an
open house for media and local school groups. During this open house
students from local Gulfport area schools had the opportunity to learn about
the ship and the different scientific research that is being conducted from
the vessel, including the U-166 Project.
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Gulfport-area students tour one of the
research labs aboard the NOAA research vessel Ron Brown. Public
education is a key feature of the U-166 Project. |
On October 4, 2003 the remaining members of the
science team, including rusticle expert Lori Johnston from
Droycon Bioconcepts, Dave Ball of the
U.S. Minerals Management
Service, and Robert Dixon of
Sonardyne, boarded the Ronald H. Brown. A video production team
from New York-based KPI Productions,
which is filming an episode of the
History Channel Series Deep Sea Detectives, also came onboard.
Members of the SonSub ROV and C&C Positioning crews used the day to prepare
their equipment for the U-166 cruise, checking systems, calibrating
cameras, and preparing the location beacons.
At 10:00 AM on October 5, 2003 the Ron Brown
sailed from Gulfport, Mississippi, for the U-166 wreck site. The cruise to
the site was uneventful with everyone enjoying the calm seas and beautiful
weather. We arrived at the wreck site location at 9:30 p.m. The
remotely-operated vehicle, or
ROV, was launched at 10:15 pm and began its slow descent to the bottom
to deploy the computing telemetry transponders, or "compatts," that make up
the acoustic positioning array. The ROV arrived on bottom a little after
11:00 p.m.
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Laying down a "compatt,"
short for computing telemetry transponder, with the Innovator ROV. The
compatts are crucial to fixing the precise position of the wreck, the
ROV and the Ron Brown during the course of the project. |
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The bottom visibility was excellent with the ROV
lights illuminating the bottom out to 10 to 15 feet. The ROV placed the
first of the compatts then returned to a basket that had been lowered from
the Ron Brown containing the remainder of the compatts. The ROV crew
retrieved each of the remaining compatts and set at a predetermined
location on the seafloor. The process took until 6:30 a.m. on the morning of
October 6 to complete. The ROV then made the hour- long ascent to the
surface and back into its launch and recovery System (LARS) on the Ron
Brown. As soon as the ROV was on deck, C&C and Sonardyne positioning
experts began to calibrate the position of the compatt array. The
calibration of the array will take until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. Monday to
complete. Once the calibration is complete the ROV will descend again to the
seafloor and begin work documenting the U-166 site. The first mission
objective that is planned is to make a photomosaic of the bow and stern
areas and place biological test platforms on the wreck site.
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The remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) being
used on the U-166 Project, the Sonsub Innovator, is about the size of a
small automobile. |
During the day of the 6th, while the compatts units
were being calibrated, members of the science team, including Chief
Scientist Dan Warren and Marine Archaeologist Rob Church, both of C&C
Technologies, prepared for the next ROV dive. Dan and Rob went over the
details of the survey plan, log details, and shift schedules.
Montana State
University professor Dennis Aig, representing the
PAST Foundation, and John
Mcdonough (NOAA Executive officer) set up the digital video systems that
will be used to make a video record of the site. Lori Johnston readied her
experiments that will be placed on the wreck site to measure microbiological
activity. The KPI film crew busied themselves with filming and interviewing
members of the science team and ship's crew.
Everyone is excited about the opportunity to view the
wreck of the U- 166 later today. Both the science team and the ship's crew
are looking forward to viewing this historic vessel.
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