Niku VIII Plan

[Ric Gillespie]

Avalanches, BTW, were not particularly a problem for the ROV, at least in 2012. Wolfgang was always able to maneuver so as to keep the tether behind him and out of the way.

LOL!  I guess you weren't around the time we set off a landslide and a tumbling coral boulder got hung up on the tether and started dragging the whole rig to Davey Jones locker.  Scared us sh-tless.

[Ric Gillespie]

Will a rov be deployed to site of anomaly or other priorities first and if of interest, only then the submersible would be deployed

There's currently no plan to bring an ROV.

[Tim Mellon]

Avalanches, BTW, were not particularly a problem for the ROV, at least in 2012. Wolfgang was always able to maneuver so as to keep the tether behind him and out of the way.

LOL!  I guess you weren't around the time we set off a landslide and a tumbling coral boulder got hung up on the tether and started dragging the whole rig to Davey Jones locker.  Scared us sh-tless.

I thought that was during the AUV rescue mission. You were the only one close enough to see Wolfgang's sweaty palms!

[richie conroy]

Ric

Are you in the first sub to descend to Tighar Target 1 ?

[richie conroy]

O Well

It's 05:10 AM 1 hour and 50 mins till i have to go to work  :'(

Hope you all have a nice day  :)

[Ric Gillespie]

Are you in the first sub to descend to Tighar Target 1 ?

What is TIGHAR Target 1?  We'll probably begin by checking out the two sites where there is some indication that there might be something of interest - the anomaly that you first pointed out and the possible landing gear debris field that Jeff Glickman spotted. I would expect to be aboard one of the subs on those dives.  If neither of those sites pan out we'll begin a methodical search designed to thoroughly cover the entire designated search area. 

[Ric Gillespie]

Nice article on DiscoveryNews.com

[John Ousterhout]

Has there been any thought about placing some permanent survey markers?  Such markers would help to improve the precision of locating any particular feature.  As I understand the past methods, they recorded location relative to KOK, which in turn used GPS.  The other method used was to identify locations relative to existing geophysical features, which have the unfortunate habit of changing between expeditions.  I don't know if the submersibles and ROV's or KOK could use the kind that drill-rigs use, but even having something like a couple passive corner reflectors for sonar would seem to be worthwhile, especially for future expeditions that wanted to investigate specific locations.
Then again, are the current methods adequate?

[Ric Gillespie]

This Youtube video will give you some idea of what the subs are like. The video is mostly about launching the subs from a submersible barge called an LRT, but for Niku VIII we'll be launching from KOK which was designed to transport, launch and recover the subs for long-range missions.
I've known Terry Kerby for several years.  Great guy and a good friend.   We spent some time together in Hawaii just prior to the 2012 expedition and I had a chance to get a close look at the subs.  Terry will be our chief pilot.  He's tremendously enthusiastic about the prospects for Niku VIII.

[Ric Gillespie]

Has there been any thought about placing some permanent survey markers?

Any kind of permanent marker would have to be anchored into the reef and that's a big no-no.  If we find anything we'll be able to reliably establish its GPS coordinates.

The other method used was to identify locations relative to existing geophysical features, which have the unfortunate habit of changing between expeditions.

Geophysical features change between expeditions?  I'm not aware of any evidence for short-term major changes to the underwater landscape.

[Ric Gillespie]

I have an answer from Terry Kerby to the question of whether easily-disturbed talus will be a problem:

"We have worked in areas with fine silt and no current to carry it away and it can lead to long waits for the visibility to clear.  The advantage we have with the subs versus an ROV is that we can get perfectly neutral with our hard ballast system and maneuver in close to look at an object and just use soft ballast to lift off without having to use the thrusters.  An ROV's thrusters have to be going all the time to prevent it from floating away.  We have also done fisheries survey dives where we had to put out a bait station and back away 3 meters and turn off the lights and do a 30 min observation.  We found that by raising and lowering the collecting basket we could make the sub "walk" backwards to get our 3 meter distance so we wouldn't have to use the thrusters to move back and stir up the bottom and blow our bait station away."

There's usually a current at Niku that carries disturbed talus away fairly quickly.

[Tim Mellon]

I'm satisfied. Thank you for checking. Please be safe.

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Some interesting history comes with these two submersibles...

"During training cruises in 2002, Pisces IV and its sister Pisces V found a Japanese midget submarine outside Pearl Harbor that had been detected on the morning of the attack on the harbor in 1941. Associate director of the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory, John Wiltshire, said the discovery was "probably the most significant archaeological find in the Pacific". At the time of its discovery, on 28 August 2002, the search for the sub had been ongoing for 61 years. Analysis of the wreck shows that it was brought down by a shell from the USS Ward that breached the sub's conning tower, confirming that the United States fired the first shot in its war with Japan"

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Wreckage of 'Carnauba', a 1930s vintage Sikorsky S-38 aircraft, a beloved icon of SC Johnson's early history, was found on July 5, 2000, in seawater off of an Indonesian island of West Irian Jaya. The company decided to recover this aircraft from seawater, conserve it, and display it in its museum, as part of their rich heritage.

"Aircrafts which have been under water for several years may develop a layer of calcareous deposit on the surface. This layer can sometimes be very tough to remove. Using a metal bristle brush can sometimes help to chip off these deposits. If the use of brush does not help to clean up all the deposits then one may use a pneumatic scribe to chip off the deposits. Ultrasonic cleaning is also used to achieve the same purpose."

With a little luck there may be glimpse of something recognisable without having to rely solely on shape and the word 'possibly' but, with 3 sets of eyes up close, in real time and with manipulator arms simply turning something over may indeed reveal something very interesting.

[Ric Gillespie]

Wreckage of 'Carnauba', a 1930s vintage Sikorsky S-38 aircraft, a beloved icon of SC Johnson's early history, was found on July 5, 2000, in seawater off of an Indonesian island of West Irian Jaya. The company decided to recover this aircraft from seawater, conserve it, and display it in its museum, as part of their rich heritage.

I'm familiar with "Carnauba."  It's still where it was found.  The Sikorsky S-38 is not at all analogous to a Lockheed 10 in materials or construction.