This was part of ICE 101 and the final pit stop was the diving rig. The rig was situated close to the active zone and measurements were being made using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) from a company called GAVIA. The device is released into the water (Picture by Robert Harris) and the various sensors present collect data regarding the keel of the ridge once everything is accomplished, the vehicle would return "home"
The first release for data collection went well but on its return journey it got stuck in a keel. To finally get it free, they had to release weights along the rope to which the AUV was tethered and pull it down from the keel. During this extraction, the GPS sensor and the central control was slightly damaged, which is what is being repaired by Richard and Martin.
In some cases, the AUV could get stuck pretty tightly and that would require divers to get in to the water so as to shake it loose. When it comes to getting wet, a lot of precautions need to be taken. Typically, the water under the ice is at -2F while the air is at -20F, so any water freezes up when it comes in contact with the air. To handle all these, the divers actually wear a suit (the red suit in the picture) that has an air insulation layer over and above the regular deep sea diving attire. This combination suit protects the divers from the severe cold temperature.
There is also a "prep-hut" (the wooden box to the right) where the divers prepare themselves for the dive and after the dive thaw themselves back up. The prep-hut is maintained at a pretty high temperature for getting the divers ready for the dive.
I did not see any divers take a dive but even if i had done, i would not have been able to capture it on camera. Moving the camera into the divers tent, from the low temperature outside, fogged up my lens and ruined many of my pictures. It finally cleared out after a couple of hours and then i was back at digitizing the camp.
The first release for data collection went well but on its return journey it got stuck in a keel. To finally get it free, they had to release weights along the rope to which the AUV was tethered and pull it down from the keel. During this extraction, the GPS sensor and the central control was slightly damaged, which is what is being repaired by Richard and Martin.
In some cases, the AUV could get stuck pretty tightly and that would require divers to get in to the water so as to shake it loose. When it comes to getting wet, a lot of precautions need to be taken. Typically, the water under the ice is at -2F while the air is at -20F, so any water freezes up when it comes in contact with the air. To handle all these, the divers actually wear a suit (the red suit in the picture) that has an air insulation layer over and above the regular deep sea diving attire. This combination suit protects the divers from the severe cold temperature.
There is also a "prep-hut" (the wooden box to the right) where the divers prepare themselves for the dive and after the dive thaw themselves back up. The prep-hut is maintained at a pretty high temperature for getting the divers ready for the dive.
I did not see any divers take a dive but even if i had done, i would not have been able to capture it on camera. Moving the camera into the divers tent, from the low temperature outside, fogged up my lens and ruined many of my pictures. It finally cleared out after a couple of hours and then i was back at digitizing the camp.
1 comment:
Dear Mani,
I would like to use a couple of your images relating to the AUV for a keynote address. I will of course provide proper credit if you agree.
Best regards
Jim
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