BIOS recovers data from deep ocean
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Photo by Andrew Collins Photo caption: Ruth Curry climbs onto the R/V Knorr at sea.
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Photo by Andrew Collins Ruth Curry releases a profiler that takes measurements of ocean currents and water properties from its mooring on board the R/V Atlantic Explorer.
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Photo by Andrew Collins High-seas rendezvous with the R/V Atlantic Explorer (BIOS) and the R/V Knorr (WHOI).
BIOS has been praised for its role in rescuing valuable scientific data and equipment from the ocean depths.
The organisation’s research vessel Atlantic Explorer helped free a research mooring stuck to its anchor 360 miles down the southeast slope of Bermuda Rise.
The mooring was one of six placed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist Ruth Curry in 2010.
She discovered it was stuck when she went to retrieve it in May.
Atlantic Explorer was one of two ships that saved her research programme this month, with assistance from an underwater robot.
According to Ms Curry, the incident was “the most exciting thing I’ve done in my 32 years of going to sea”.
The research moorings were put in place as part of the Dynamite programme, an scientific study linking Ms Curry with the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences since 2010.
Ms Curry and her team planned to use the data to better understand deep ocean circulation in the western Atlantic Ocean and the role they played in global climate regulation.
Said a BIOS spokeswoman: “Each of the six moorings consisted of a sea anchor, two acoustic releases, approximately 4000m of cable, and two robotic profilers that run up and down the cable making repeat measurements of ocean currents and water properties.”
She continued: “However, when Ms Curry went to retrieve the moored profilers in May 2012, she encountered a problem: one of the moorings wouldn’t release from its anchor. Faced with the loss of valuable equipment and more than two years of data, she literally called in the troops: the 171-foot research vessel Atlantic Explorer, the 279-foot research vessel Knorr, and the remotely operated vehicles Jason/Medea.
“With the anchor located 6000m below the surface it was a risky task to free the profiler, but the experienced team operating the Jason/Medea robots successfully navigated the ROVs through the dark waters to cut the nylon release cord, sending the two profilers (and their data) to the surface for retrieval. The entire rescue mission took about half a day, requiring four hours for Jason/Medea to descend to depth and four hours to return to the surface not to mention deployment/retrieval time and the 36 hours of travel from Bermuda to the mooring site.”
Ms Curry is now analysing the measurements collected over the past two years, the spokeswoman added.
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Published Nov 23, 2012 at 8:00 am (Updated Nov 22, 2012 at 11:58 pm)