Exploring the Ocean

Tools and Techniques Used to Explore Our Oceans

Research Vessels

• Ships and Boats– Most common– Versatile– Can carry many other types of research

equipment– Wide variety – based on use

• Large ships with large crews for long term, distant research

• Small boats, small crews coastal research

ChallengerChallenger (1872-1876)

• Fast sailing ship – Corvette• Often considered to be first truly scientific

oceanographic voyage– Crew of over 200, research party of 6

• Soundings• Sampled sea floor• Collected biological specimens• Measured water temp at various depths• Measured and charted currents• Made Atmospheric and Meteorological

Observations

HMS Challenger

Glomar ChallengerGlomar Challenger (1968)

• Deep sea drilling project

• Drilled and recovered cores from about 1000 holes drilled in Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans

• Cores provided evidence of sea floor spreading

• 400 Ft long• Drilling derrick –

almost 200 ft above water level

• Can load 1million pound cores

Glomar Challenger

Core Sample Storage at Woods Hole Oceanographic

Gravity Corer Cutting Head

Gravity Corer Cutting Head after a close encounter with a hydrothermal vent

JOIDES ResolutionJOIDES Resolution (1980’s)

• Joint Oceanographic Institutions Deep Earth Sampling

• Follow-up to Glomar Challenger

• More modern and sophisticated

FLIPFLIP

FLIP Flipping!

•FLIP – FLoating Instrument Platform

•Scripps Institute – La Jolla – Steady Platform for conducting research

•Must be towed to site

YouTube - FLIP marine research vessel

R/V AtlantisR/V Atlantis

• WHOI Research Vessel

• 3 Generation

• Carries wide array of equipment

• Best known for being able to deploy Alvin and Jason (submersibles)

CalypsoCalypso

• Famous for being the flagship of Jacques Cousteau

• Cousteau was a world famous oceanographer,

marine biologist and inventor of

SCUBA

Submersibles

• Any vessel capable of going beneath the surface

• Can be manned or un-manned

TurtleTurtle (1776)

• One of the earliest submarines

• One man Vessel

• Powered by hand

• Designed for warfare– Was used to attach

explosives to ships

Beebe’s Bathysphere• 1934 Dr. William Beebe reached a depth of 900 meters in a

steel chamber called a Bathysphere ( fits 2 people).

Trieste Trieste (1960)

• Bathyscaphe – a bathysphere (strong sphere with viewing ports) that was not attached to surface ship

• One and only manned trip to Challenger Deep in Marianas Trench (35,000 ft /10,852 meters) took 4 hours

How was the Titanic located? Using sonar and submersibles. 1934 Dr. William Beebe reached a depth of 900

meters in a steel chamber called a Bathysphere ( fits 2 people).

In 1960 a Swiss team of Auguste and Jacques Piccard, made the deepest dive in a submersible (bathyscaphe) to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (10,852 meters- 4 hrs.).

Alvin is a submersible that has logged in over 1000 dives. It holds a crew of 3.

Dr. Sylvia Earle holds the record for the deepest solo dive- 380 meters. (Jim Suit)

Alvin

• WHOI Submersible

• Carries remote instruments and crew of up to 3 persons, to almost 15,000 ft (86% of Earth’s Oceans)

•Technology at WHOI :: Alvin

Pros and Cons of Submersibles

• Pros– Allows direct

observation– Able to operate

independent of surface ship

– Can explore small features

– Can remain stationary with relative ease

• Cons– Dependence on

surface ship to carry or tow them to site

– Small crew– Cramped and

uncomfortable– Not a very large

range

ROVs

• ROV – Remote Operated Vehicle

• Controlled from surface ship or with-in submersible

• Often carry camera, remote arm, collection devices, etc.

• Can be used to explore places too small or dangerous for

submersible

Jason – ROV that was paired with Alvin in initial exploration of Titanic

Jason being deployed from side of ship

Jason Jr. peers into a window of Titanic

•Hercules hovering near stern of Titanic

The Jim Suit Dr. Sylvia Earle holds the record for the deepest solo

dive- 380 meters. (Jim Suit)

What do you What do you think each think each piece of piece of equipment is equipment is used for?used for?

How difficult is it to How difficult is it to see underwater see underwater without a facemask? without a facemask? Why?Why?

History of History of DivingDiving

4500 years ago the 4500 years ago the ancient Greeks were the ancient Greeks were the first to “dive”.first to “dive”.

They used newly They used newly developed glass, it was developed glass, it was very primitive and very primitive and difficult to see through.difficult to see through.

They dove for They dove for ornamental shells.ornamental shells.

Diving ChamberDiving Chamber•The The divingdiving chamberchamber was a was a huge barrel that huge barrel that contained a contained a limited supply of limited supply of air!air!•It was attached It was attached to a ship, limited to a ship, limited movement.movement.•Was made of Was made of metal so you metal so you couldn’t see couldn’t see through it through it

Diving SuitDiving Suit The The DivingDiving SuitSuit

(1873)was made of (1873)was made of watertight canvas watertight canvas

had a heavy metal had a heavy metal helmet into which helmet into which air was pumped air was pumped from the surface.from the surface.

Limited movement, Limited movement, still attached to the still attached to the ship.ship.

12 Steps of Honor

SCUBASCUBA SCUBA-SCUBA- self contained self contained

underwater breathing underwater breathing apparatus (aqualung) apparatus (aqualung) was developed by was developed by JacquesJacques CousteauCousteau and and his partner his partner EmilEmil GagnanGagnan in 1942. in 1942.

It allowed for greater It allowed for greater movement and movement and freedom underwater.freedom underwater.

Jacques Cousteau

Sediment Sampling

Shipek Grab

Clamshell Sampler

Water Sampling

Niskin BottleNiskin Bottle

• Top and bottom close at a predetermined depth to collect water

• Water brought to surface for testing

Conductivity (salinity) and Temperature with Depth –CTD Carousel

Nansen BottleNansen Bottle

Similar to Niskin Bottle, used to collect water at various depths

Secchi Disc• White disc used to measure water’s

transparency

Where the disc disappears, there is 18% transparency

Viewing and Listening

• SONAR– SOSOund NNavigation AAnd RRanging

• Uses reflected sound waves to detect objects– Ocean Floor Profiles– Objects– Animals

• Active Sonar– Emitting the sound and listening for the echo

to return

• Passive Sonar– Listening for sounds in the ocean (both

natural and man-made)

• Side-Scan Sonar

– Ship drags torpedo-like device behind – Emits and collects wide “beam”– Produces high resolution image of bottom

Biological Collections

• Plankton Nets– Collect small swimming / floating organisms

Satellite Data Collection

• Can collect data from remote devices

• Can actively collect data– Ocean temps– Water height– Biological activity

• See Page 79 - text

Anchored Buoy System

• Series of buoys through oceans

• Anchored to sea floor

• At various depths on anchoring cable may be sensors (temp, salinity, currents)

• Buoy may collect weather, wave height data

• Data can be transmitted via satellite• http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov