<<...BTW, how many ROVs does the navy have? Oh, slightly less than zero...>>
Wood Hole Oceanographic Institute has ROV's that can dive much deeper than 6,000 feet and they offered their expertise to the U.S. government and BP during week one of the disaster (but BP said they were not needed)...wouldn't our government want to get a totally independent perspective on what's happening.??..Trust but verify what BP is telling you about the worst oil well blowout in U.S. history...fyi...
whoi.edu
<<...Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are mobile observation platforms for imaging, mapping, and sampling the deep ocean environment. ROVs allow researchers to make observations, collect rocks and animals and conduct experiments remotely, through the use of a fiber optic cable from the ship to the vehicle on the seafloor. These sophisticated, tethered robots are driven and manipulated in a manner not too different from driving a remote controlled car.
The value of ROVs comes from their ability to reach great depths (WHOI's Jason2 ROV can dive to 6500 m depth) and stay there for extended periods (unlike human occupied vehicles, which have to surface every eight hours). This endurance gives researchers the flexibility to react to unexpected events and spend more time in seafloor environments. Though ROVs cannot replace the human eye and instinct, they are much-better suited to the critical work of mapping and surveying the seafloor. They can also serve in pioneering and prospecting missions, like the probes that visited the Moon before the Apollo astronauts...>>
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***Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is one of the true experts on deep water observation...one of their subs went to below 35,000 feet last year...
en.wikinews.org
<<...Thursday, June 4, 2009 -- On Sunday, May 31, Nereus dove into the Pacific Ocean and began its descent into Challenger Deep the deepest area of the Mariana Trench.
A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) remotely operated vehicle touched down 10,902 meters (35,767 feet) in the Mariana Trench near the island of Guam.
"It's the deepest known part of the ocean. The trench is virtually unexplored, and I am absolutely certain Nereus will enable new discoveries," said Andy Bowen, project manager of WHOI, "Reaching such extreme depths is the pinnacle of technical challenges. The team is pleased that Nereus has been successful in reaching the very bottom of the ocean to return imagery and samples from such a hostile world. With a robot like Nereus we can now explore anywhere in the ocean. The trenches are virtually unexplored, and Nereus will enable new discoveries there. Nereus marks the start of a new era in ocean exploration."...>> |
