Mail Buoy - July 8, 2007

Hi, This is Sintra (8) from Falmouth, Massachusetts, USA.

On the painted skins for Jaguar and Puma, there are symbols. Like for WHOI and NASA. I was wondering what the third one was.

Thanks!

Hello Sintra:

The third symbol is for thhe National Science Foundation. All three—NSF, NASA and WHOI helped to fund this exciting project.

Thanks for sending in a question!

Susan Humphris

I heard The Science Friday interviews – very interesting.

Could you describe in more detail the sensors and sampling devices on each of the two robots?

Do you think you located a plume precisely enough to start deploying them?

On the interview one of you said that taking a water sample near the bottom is beyond the state of the art. That doesn’t sound right. Please clarify.

Rody Stephenson
JPL - retired
La Canada, California

Dear Mr. Stephenson:

Thanks very much for writing in with questions - glad you enjoyed the Science Friday interview with two of the scientists out here on the icebreaker Oden.

Here are the answers to your questions:

Could you describe in more detail the sensors and sampling devices on each of the two robots?
= Puma =
RDI DVL (navigation)
Octans (navigatiaon)
Paroscientific depth sensor
Seabird CTD
Optical Backscatter
Long range optical backscatter (green laser system under development)
EH sensor

= Jaguar =
Digital still camera
RDI DVL
Octans
Paroscientific depth sensor
Seabird CTD
DeltaT sonar bathymetry system
Magnetometer

Do you think you located a plume precisely enough to start deploying them?
As of yesterday, we had defined a box about 2 km x 0.5 km using the CTD and transmissometer that we believe is worth investigating. Overnight, we have been doing some engineering tests of Puma in order to get ready to dive, hopefully tonight. This particular plume is not very big. Later in the cruise, we will be going to a site where CTD work in 2001 has already identified a very large plume above a volcano.

On the interview one of you said that taking a water sample near the bottom is beyond the state of the art. That doesn't sound right. Please clarify.
Taking a water sample near the bottom of the ocean is often done using devices called Niskin bottles. Taking a sample of hydrothermal vent fluid is much more difficult; however there are special sampling devices made of titanium that are used to do this from submersibles and remotely-operated vehicles. What is currently beyond the state-of-the-art is taking a water sample (or any sample for that matter) using an AUV. That is because (i) the technology has not yet advanced far enough to put a manipulator on an AUV, (ii) the AUV would need the "intelligence" to know where and how to sample, and (iii) the sampling devices currently available are too heavy and cumbersome to be carried by an AUV.

I hope you will follow along with the cruise at www.divediscover.whoi.edu.

Susan Humphris

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