NIKU VII

[John Balderston]

how long is left of expedition ?

Richie, the expedition itinerary gives the last search day as 19 Jul(http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Niku7/niku7expedition.html).  However, don't know if the entire itinerary moved a day to the right due to delayed departure from Honolulu.

Like everybody else I'm chomping at the bit to hear some news. . .  :)

[Zach Reed]

2200 feet, that's sure deep...are they looking for the Electra at that depth, or is this a subplot for Discovery?

DC really can't get anything but positive returns on their investment: you have Earhart, you have the Norwich City (and with the crash report, a fascinating story in its own right), the experience of the settlements in the waning days of British colonialism, the flora and fauna of a South Sea isle, and then of course neato search equipment to boot.

This "obscure" little island has quite a story going for itself...

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Enough material for a film plot Zach. The island appears to be a benign innocent looking tropical paradise, the bit above the surface anyway. The bit beneath the surface is a different story. Will be lucky to get away without losing any of the kit.

[Greg Daspit]

Just read today's daily report.
They had to allocate ROV time to rescue the AUV again.
Really cool to see the picture of the island with the K-O-K  off shore.

It was probably already mentioned but since sea level is about 6" higher since 1937, maybe the supposed landing area could have been longer then. Even in a different place that is not as clear now. Not forgetting the Bevington photo or wreckage, or witness to a wreck...just saying.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_sea_level_rise

[Andrew M McKenna]

I just ran across this promo bit on the Discovery channel site

http://dsc.discovery.com/show-news/amelia-earhart-search-continues.html

And they have some video of the expedition before they left Hawaii that shows the AUV and ROV being tested.

http://news.discovery.com/videos/history-amelia-earhart-search-continues.html

I note that the end of the video has text that says "Stay tuned for Discovery Channel's exciting Amelia Earhart special Coming in August 2012"

I think that is a very ambitious timeline if they are going to incorporate video from the current expedition, but I hope they can deliver.

Andrew

[Tom Swearengen]

Well----seems yesterdays expedition activities got everyone's heart rates elevated! Bet Phoenix wasnt prepared for this, as no one else was. Think out of the box. Wonder if 2900 feet is the bottom, or if it is just a ledge? Man, a deep dive submirsible with windows would be nice--

[Tom Swearengen]

leon, I dont recall these kinds of issues. I know they lost a side scan, or something on one of the searches. But what we know NOW about the reef slope, its no wonder that things havent gone quite to plan. I figured the multi-bean from the KOK would have given a better profile of stuff. Guess I misread what they were telling us in DC.
Here's hopeing nothing else goes wrong.

[Andrew M McKenna]

There was a towed sonar fish lost in one of the early expeditions, 1999 or so.  Location was south of the current search box on the ridge that falls away to the west.

During Niku VI, all the AUV work was in the lagoon.  The AUV did have some difficulty when it came up against some of the coral heads, but it usually just backed up and tried to go around.  Walt or John Clauss would know better, but I think it always managed to come home after the mission.  Maybe it had to get rescued once, I can't remember.  I don't think we had any technical issues with the unit itself - burning circuit boards and the like.  We were able to keep it charged with the solar powered "Gobi Pack" battery suitcases we had with us.

The lagoon is only 15 ft deep, and the AUV was operating just below the surface, so the difficulty of searching, staying out of trouble, and of recovery wasn't quite like what we're seeing on this search.

Unfortunate that it is proving so difficult.

amck

[Ingo Prangenberg]

Ric, if your reading this, I'll trade you my entire collection or rare 1950's German beer coasters for just one teeny-tiny image of the "suspected possible target" that the AUV picked up! It doesn't even have to be color, I'll settle for black and white.

With an offer like that, I'm sure you cannot resist. I'll sit right here and wait for your response....

:)

[richie conroy]

One thing's for sure, the difficulty's they are having now

Probably means they won't be able to retrieve any artifacts in future expeditions  :(

But we live in hope  :)

[Tom Swearengen]

Ingo---you might be waiting awhile. might want to eat lunch first!. Boy it would be nice though.

[Tom Swearengen]

Richie---as much as I hate to admit it, you may be right. Seems to be very unforgiving territory. If the AUV is having issues, and the tethered ROV is having similar issues with the cables, then I'm sensing that recovering of anything might be a lost cause. On the floor, might be a different story, but I dont know what that looks like. Ric does. Certainly along the slope with its crevasses and coral outcroppings would be hazardous and difficult for salvage or artifact recovery.
Lets hope for right now, the we get some good pics of good targets, see some identifiable parts.
Without loosing any assets.
Be safe everyone--

[richie conroy]

My thoughts exactly Tom

However if anyone can pull this off, It's Ric  :)

[don hirth]

'Never like taking the negative track, but...........unless a mini-miracle takes place in the
next 4 - 5 days, this ex. is likely to be somewhat of a failure. Too many glitches with the rovers,
too much time wasted. We need a 'deep pockets' benefactor willing to pony up for a
manned underwater craft having more sophistication and control while in that environment.
My belief is that in lieu of this 'miracle', an all inclusive vessel (still photog., video WITH retrieving
claws, extensive operating power, etc.) is a MUST for any future expeditions. Time has already
been a formidable enemy regarding identification and retrieval and at roughly 2 - 3 yr. intervals
between expeditions, will become more so.

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

I expect they will be used to seeing images like this one. This is at only 100 metres but, look at the slope on the reef.
Not the Gardner seamount by the way.