Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/09/2007 - 04:09
Forums
Antarctic Undersea ROV

Dear Mrs Bell,

I was reading about your expedition and the ROVs sound really interesting. It said that they will fit into a 15cm hole. How will such a small machine be able to do so much? What are you hoping y'all will be able to discover becuase of the ROVs? Thanks!

 Sara Blackman

Sun, 04/22/2007 - 15:46

Mindy Bell

Dear Sara,Thanks for writing your name so I know who I am writing to!
15 cm is only 6 inches (which you probably already know) so this is one small Remotely Operated Vehicle.  I don't know what it looks like yet - but I will post a picture as soon as I see what it does look like!  I am guessing that it is mostly a good camera that is mounted on a small structure that can move around so it can go up and down, right and left, etc. to avoid bumping into  things.  Do you think they will let me try the controls to operate this ROV?
The team wants to use the ROV to see the ocean bottom and some structures that were left on the ocean floor many years ago to see how organisms have colonized (moved onto) these structures.  Imagine if you dropped a clean cement block into a lake and then pulled it up 30 years later.  What do you think would be living on it?
Stay posted when I go to Antarctica in October and I will post pictures of the ROV in action and some of the pictures it takes underwater! 

Thu, 05/10/2007 - 11:44

Bob Zook

Hi Sara,I am the project engineer, and I've tried to post a picture of what the ROV will look like when it is finished (though maybe with different colors).
 
 
 
The SCINI ROV (SCINI stands for Submersible Constructed for Under Ice Navigation and Imaging) will have 5 thrusters for maneuvering, 2 cameras and light sources for seeing, laser scaling so we know how big things are, a navigation system so we know where we are, and ultimately, a sonar system so that we can map the seafloor. It's a lot to fit in a small package! It will allow us to reach deeper depths and more remote areas than we have previously been able to access, and because we will be exploring new territory we can't predict exactly what we will find. But that is part of the excitement!