RV Southern Surveyor, image courtesy Nautilus Minerals

(University of Sydney)  In the remote waters of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, scientists have just discovered two sunken islands, almost the size of Tasmania, which were once part of the supercontinent Gondwana.

“The data collected on the voyage could significantly change our understanding of the way in which India, Australia and Antarctica broke off from Gondwana,” said Dr Joanne Whittaker, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Sydney’s School of Geosciences.

Researchers from the University of Sydney, Macquarie University and the University of Tasmania led an international team of scientists on the voyage to map the seafloor of the Perth Abyssal Plain. The expedition returned to Perth last week after a three-week cruise.

Traveling on the CSIRO vessel Southern Surveyor the scientists discovered the islands through detailed seafloor mapping and by dredging rock samples from the steep slopes of the two islands, now in water depths of over 1.5km.

“The sunken islands charted during the expedition have flat tops, which indicates they were once at sea level before being gradually submerged,” said Dr Whittaker.

Rocks from the abyss more than 1.5 km below the surface, image courtesy University of Sydney

Collecting rocks from the abyss more than 1.5km below the surface was not easy, but the geologists managed to retrieve hundreds of kilograms and unexpectedly found rocks that showed the islands had not always been underwater.

The University of Sydney’s Dr Simon Williams, the chief scientist on the expedition said: “We expected to see common oceanic rocks such as basalt in the dredge, but were surprised to see continental rocks such as granite, gneiss and sandstone containing fossils.”

In the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs roamed the Earth (more than 130 million years ago), India was adjacent to Western Australia. When India began to break away from Australia, the islands formed part of the last link between the two continents.

Eventually these islands, referred to as ‘micro-continents’ by scientists, were separated from both landmasses and stranded in the Indian Ocean, thousands of kilometres from the Australian and Indian coasts.

Dr Williams commented: “A detailed analysis of the rocks dredged up during the voyage will tell us about their age and how they fit into the Gondwana jigsaw.”

- University of Sydney

Sophisticated instruments were put to use…

Helping the scientists to acquire this data was the suite of Kongsberg Maritime hydroacoustic sensors and systems aboard the RV Southern Surveyor, which included:

• Simrad EK60 scientific echo sounder
• Simrad EK500 scientific echo sounder
• KONGSBERG EA 500 hydrographic echo sounder
• KONGSBERG EM 300 multibeam hydrographic echo sounder
• KONGSBERG PS 018 Sub-bottom profiler

Travelling on RV Southern Surveyor the scientists discovered the islands through detailed seafloor mapping using the EM 300 multibeam system and by the challenging collection of rocks from the abyss more than 1.5 km below the surface.

What is a multibeam hydrographic echo sounder you ask?  Check out this video from Kongsberg…

Click here to view the embedded video.

You would have thought a disaster like this would have made the national news. But no one was hurt, and there is no legal requirement for shipping companies to report such losses. No government officials knew about this debacle except perhaps a few customs inspectors.

Following up on MBARI’s discovery, sanctuary staff investigated the potential for recovering the other missing 14 containers. However, they soon discovered that it was unlikely that the additional containers would ever be located, and the cost and time involved in recovering them would have been prohibitive. On July 26, 2006, after a significant legal effort, the shipping company agreed to pay the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $3.25 million to settle claims relating to the lost containers. Money from this settlement is being used to fund the upcoming research dives.

Leading the dives are Andrew DeVogelaere, research coordinator at the MBNMS, and James Barry, a senior scientist at MBARI. Using MBARI’s research vessel Western Flyer and the remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts, the team will take a close look at the container itself, as well as the seafloor around the container.

Marine biologists will count the number of deep-sea animals on and around the container, and collect samples of sediment at various distances from the container for biological and chemical analysis. By comparing animal communities close to and away from the container, the researchers hope to determine what effects (if any) the container has had on seafloor life.

According to the U.S. Customs manifest, the container discovered by MBARI holds 1,159 steel-belted tires. Other containers that fell overboard held cyclone fencing, leather chairs, and mattress pads.

This motley list underscores the fact that much of the everyday merchandise we buy in stores has been shipped to the U.S. by container ship. Approximately 90 percent of worldwide non-bulk cargo travels by container ship, and between five and six million containers are in transit at any given moment. To make matters worse, not all container cargo is inert. Perhaps 10 percent of shipping containers carry household and industrial chemicals that could be toxic to marine life.

Over the last five years, the number of containers lost at sea has increased dramatically. This trend is likely to continue as new container ships are being built twice as large as existing ones. Yet tie-down technology and lax monitoring of container weights and stacking procedures have not changed significantly.

The upcoming expedition will provide a snapshot of what is essentially a worldwide problem. When shipping containers are lost at sea, they endanger other craft, cost considerable time and money, and sometimes pose hazards to marine life. According to DeVogelaere, “As these containers drop to the bottom of the sea, they form deep-water stepping stones between ports, highways of debris, if you will. I hope that this cruise will help expand the public’s thinking about human impacts in the deep sea.”

Image: This shipping container was discovered upside down on the seafloor by MBARI researchers in June 2004, four months after it was lost at sea. Researchers will revisit this site during the upcoming cruise. Image: © 2004 MBARI

Rolls-Royce has a growing presence in the subsea and seismic technology markets, and during the last three months, inclusive of this contract, the Group has secured seismic orders totalling more than £50 million.

Cato Fjeldstad, Rolls-Royce, Sales Manager – Special Purpose Vessels, said “Rolls-Royce has decades of experience in designing specialist vessels to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry and continues to develop industry leading technology. Our expertise enables our customers to meet their objectives safely and efficiently, while operating in some of the most challenging environments on earth.”

The vessel, a UT 830 CD, will be able to operate worldwide and will be the first of its type to be equipped with a package of Rolls-Royce handling systems for seismic equipment.

During research missions, the vessel will tow up to 14 cables, or ‘streamers’, each 10 kilometres long. Seismic waves are sent deep into the seabed and the reflected waves are detected by hydrophones spread along the network of streamers. This data is then used to give a detailed 3D profile of the geological features, including the location of oil and gas, often thousands of meters below sea level.

Conducting seismic research requires a powerful and stable vessel, which provides extensive endurance, with enough stores and fuel for 70 days at sea. Seismic surveys involve criss-crossing large sections of the seabed, at low speed, often requiring several weeks of continuous operation.

Shanghai Shipyard Co will build the vessel for Shanghai Offshore Petroleum Geophysical Corporation (part of the Sinopec organisation), with delivery scheduled for 2013.

Photo: NVC 830 CD is a modern seismic research vessel courtesy Rolls-Royce

More than three decades ago, marine scientists in the United States first identified the need for a research vessel capable of bringing scientists to Alaska’s icy northern waters.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has announced its intent to award a $123 million contract that will meet that need. The university has selected Marinette Marine Corporation of Marinette, Wis. to build the 254-foot Alaska Region Research Vessel. When complete, the vessel will be one of the most advanced university research vessels in the world and will be capable of breaking ice up to 2.5 feet thick. According to project leaders, the ARRV’s home port will be in Alaska, most likely at UAF’s Seward Marine Center.

The $123 million for the ship construction contract is funded entirely by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The total cost for the project is $200 million.

The vessel will be owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by UAF as part of the U.S. academic research fleet. It will be used by scientists in the U.S. and international oceanographic community through the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System. The vessel was designed by The Glosten Associates, a marine architecture firm in Seattle.

After the ship has been completed, the crew will take the vessel from the shipyard through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway transit system and the Panama Canal to Alaska in 2013. While in transit, scientists and crewmembers will test the scientific components of the ship in preparation for unrestricted science operations beginning in 2014.

The most technologically advanced drillship in the world is not on lovaton in the gulf of mexico or in a Korean shipyard. Actually it’s not even built yet. Meet the Aurora Borealis, a dynamically positioned, drillship/icebreaker, arctic research vessel designed for the European Union. The official website tells us;

The Research Icebreaker AURORA BOREALIS will be the most advanced Polar Research Vessel in the world with a multi-functional role of drilling in deep ocean basins and supporting climate/environmental research for the next 40 years.

The new technological features will include azimuth propulsion systems, satellite navigation, ice-management support, deep-sea drilling under a closed sea-ice cover and the deployment and operation of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) from one of the two moon-pools.

The unique feature of the vessel is the drilling rig, which will enable sampling of the ocean floor down to 5000 m water depth and with 1000 m penetration into the seafloor at the most inhospitable places on earth. The drilling capability will be deployed in both polar regions and AURORA BOREALIS will be the only vessel worldwide to undertake this type of scientific investigation.

Technical Details:

• Powerful icebreaker with ca. 55 MW (diesel-electric)
• Highest classification for icebreakers
• Twin hull
• Two moon pools 7 x 7 m each
• Dynamic Positioning System
• Deep-sea drilling under a closed sea-ice cover
• Drilling rig: max. 5,000 m water depth and 1,000 m core
• Riserless drilling technology
• Modularized mobile laboratory systems – mission specific laboratories
Length over all ca. 180 m | Beam ca. 40 m | Personnel (crew + scientists) 120 | Expedition duration 60 days.

For more information on the Aurora Borealis visit the official website HERE or download the presentation HERE. For the oceanography geeks a more detailed study can be found HERE.

UPDATE: The BBC has just run an excellent article on this vessel which can be found HERE.

Note: This article was originally posted in Jan 08

Photo of the research boat Russell W. Peterson takes on water about 14 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, Del., Monday, May 12, 2008. Video of this incident can be found HERE.

Via H&K Law

Brief History of Argo

The name Argo was chosen to emphasize the strong complementary relationship of the global float array with the Jason satellite altimeter mission. In Greek mythology Jason sailed in a ship called “Argo” to capture the golden fleece.

An Argo float being deployed from a research ship.

Together the Argo and Jason data sets will be assimilated into computer models developed by project GODAE (Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment) that will allow a test of our ability to forecast ocean climate. For the first time, the physical state of the upper ocean is being systematically measured and the data assimilated in near real-time into computer models. Argo builds on other upper-ocean ocean observing networks, extending their coverage in space an time, their depth range and accuracy, and enhancing them through the addition of salinity and velocity measurements. Argo is not confined to major shipping routes which can vary with season as the other upper-ocean observing networks are. Instead, the global array of 3,000 floats will be distributed roughly every 3 degrees (300km).

Comprised of three subsystems: Hydraulics: control buoyancy adjustment via an inflatable external bladder, so the float can surface and dive. Microprocessors: deal with function control and scheduling. Data transmission system: controls communication with satellite. Approx. Weight: 25 Kg Max. operating depth: 2000m Crush depth: 2600m

The three float models in use are the PROVOR built by MARTEC in France in close collaboration with IFREMER, the APEX float produced by Webb Research Corporation, USA and the SOLO float designed and built by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA.

You can find more details at Argo’s website, here.

Related Seattle Times article, here.

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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd of the net.

At times commercial interests and biological research align with stunning results. Today we look at projects underway that utilize technology employed by the oil exploration vessels to explore earth’s last frontier; the oceans.

Serpent Project is a collaboration between offshore industry companies and deep sea science interests. They tell us;

Working closely with key players in the oil and gas industry, the “Scientific and Environmental ROV Partnership using Existing iNdustrial Technology” project aims to make cutting-edge ROV technology and data more accessible to the world’s science community, share knowledge and progress deep-sea research. The program interacts with science and conservation groups globally to transparently communicate the project to the public, increasing the awareness of our fragile marine resources.

You can browse the entire video archive but Transocean, an oil exploration and drilling company, leads the way with 673 fascinating files. CLICK HERE for the files.

The offshore industry is not alone in their quest to document unusual marine species, the U.S. Coast Guard also contributes assets to exploratory efforts. Here are a few photos from the Census of Marine Life;

	The comb jelly Aulacoctena sp., collected by means of a remotely operated vehicle in the deep Arctic Canada Basin. Image by Kevin Raskoff, NOAA. Download full version.		Clione limacina, a pelagic snail. This specimen was collected from the deep Arctic Canada Basin with an ROV. Image by Kevin Raskoff, NOAA. Download full version.
	A jelly fish of the genus Crossota, collected from the deep Arctic Canada Basin with an ROV. Image by Kevin Raskoff, NOAA. Download full version.		Sea cucumbers such as this specimen dominated the fauna at the sea floor at several stations during the Hidden Ocean expedition. Image by Bodil Bluhm and Katrin Iken, NOAA. Download full version

You may find related images by visiting the group’s Marine Life Project Map

Finally BostonCaptain.com brings us the most interesting image of the month, an amazing video of a whale saying hello to an ROV team. The dive was performed by a Canyon Offshore vessel while inspecting subsea equipment in the Gulf of Mexico for the oil and gas industry. You can imagine their surprise when the visitor arrived.

NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Boulder campus will celebrate and commemorate the agency’s 200-year legacy in science with a dedication ceremony, public activities, and teacher training from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 9. All activities will take place at the agency’s David Skaggs Research Center at 325 Broadway. NOAA is hosting the public event as part of a year-long celebration to commemorate its 200 years of science, service and stewardship to the nation. Boulder mayor Mark Ruzzin and other local leaders will participate in the event.

Thanks to Robin Storm’s blog for the find.