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B174: Development of a Remotely Operated Vehicle for Under Ice Research in Polar Environments

Start date:
Early October
End date:
mid December
Locations:
New Harbor, White Is
Principle Investigator:
Stacy Kim
Organisation:
San Jose State University
State
California
Field season overview:
Researchers will be based out of McMurdo Station-- a three person engineering team going in at WinFly joined later by a three person science team. A PolarTREC teacher will join the team for six weeks. Some team members will redeploy during the austral winter. Researchers will establish one 2-week field camp near White Island, one 2-week field camp at Bay of Sails, an overnight at New Harbor, a day trip to Granite Harbor, helicopter recconaissance flights over the sea ice and Ross Ice Shelf to scope out locations for day trips in the vicinity of Heald Island, Bratina Island, Dailey Islands, and any other sea-ice crack areas. They will conduct local sea ice work at Cape Armitage (south and north sides, and offshore), the Jetty, WQB, Hut Point, Cinder Cones, Cape Evans, Turtle Rock, the Erebus Glacier Tongue, Turks Head, the Razorbacks, Tent Island, Inaccessible Island, Cape Royds, and several areas directly in front of the station including the sewer outfall. The team will dive with scuba and surface supply to test and observe the performance of the ROV. Team members will travel by Pisten Bully and snowmobile to and from outlying locations. They will use Crary Lab facilities, including the aquarium, refrigerators, freezers, hoods, tool and staging areas to assemble, test and modify the ROV, and to process science payloads.
In marine habitats worldwide, the zone between scuba-diving depths (to 40 meters) and surge-free depths (below 200 meters) is poorly studied. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are often limited to deeper depths by wave surge that hampers the ability to maintain a fixed station. Under ice-covered seas, wave motion ranges from minimal to nonexistent. Sea ice also provides a stable platform from which to deploy and operate the ROV. ROVs previously needed a one-meter-diameter ice hole, requiring substantial logistical support. This project will deploy a ROV that fits through a 15-centimeter hole drilled with a hand-held power head, providing access to sites previously inaccessible to divers or standard ROVs. Using the ROV, researchers hope to map and measure historical, submerged structures; survey and photograph two deep, benthic communities; and to conduct general sonar mapping.