ROPOS & Mapping

The ROV ROPOS is controlled from this room.

ROPOS control room

This Dumbo octopus "floated" gently above the seafloor for several minutes as we watched it through the eyes of the ROV ROPOS.

Billowing Dumbo Octopus

           Good morning! We have reached Axial seamount and have begun mapping and surveying the caldera of the volcano. The volcano erupted recently and we are looking to see where the new lava flows are and what they look like. I have been working with the software that images the multi-beam sonar data that has been collected so far and have been producing amazing images!
            We completed the cable survey last night after following the as-laid rout to see what the rout actually looks like. There were several areas where the cable was suspended above the seafloor, most notably a section that ran directly through the vent of a black smoker. The temperatures there can reach several hundred degrees… so that cable might have to be moved!
            Each of us onboard has assigned shifts; mine is from 4 am to 8 am. My job is to work with the HD camera aboard the ROV (remotely operated vehicle) ROPOS. There are at least 23 flat screen TVs and monitors spread around the control room, monitoring everything from height above the seafloor to where the ROV is in relation to the ship. The picture clarity is amazing, so make sure to check out the live video feed!
            The glider was deployed on Sunday and has been returning data every three hours. The glider is making salinity measurements, taking temperature readings and reporting ocean density. It has been circling the ship and been automatically uploading the data online when it returns to the surface. Check it out! (http://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/auvs/index.php?did=223)
If anybody has any questions they want answered, shoot me an email and I’ll see if I can get it answered! brendan.t.philip@gmail.com