Page 39: of Marine Technology Magazine (May 2013)

Hydrographic Survey

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world?s deepest known undersea volca- nic vents by a team from the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in South-ampton. The expedition used Ranger 2 to track the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Isis from the RRS James Cook, 5,000 meters beneath the surface as it recorded video and imagery whilst col-lecting samples from the newly discov- ered vents in the Cayman Trough. The expedition, funded by the Natural Envi- ronmental Research Council (NERC), saw the researchers, from NOC and the University of Southampton, return to a set of vents ? in the Beebe Hydrothermal Vent Field ? that they discovered during an expedition in 2010. At the time, these were believed to be the world?s deepest. Geraint West, Head of NOC?s National Marine Facilities, Sea Systems, which provides ships and submersibles to the U.K. marine science community on be-half of NERC, explained, ?The science team and ROV crew came across a fur- ther set of vents located even deeper at 4,968 meters, or almost three miles be-neath the ocean surface. NOC has used Sonardyne?s positioning systems since the Isis ROV was  rst commissioned in 2003 and the Ranger 2 system is central to Isis? precise positioning system. This enabled the ROV to explore this latest discovery; using various sensors and samples, they were able to determine that these vents are among the hottest on the planet, blasting out water at around 401°C.? www.sonardyne.com EvoLogics Showcase Latest Developments EvoLogics extended its ranges of under- water acoustic modems (S2CR series) and combined positioning and commu-nication devices (S2CR USBL series), with new products - the S2CR 42/65 and S2CR 42/65 USBL, high-speed devices with hemispherical beam patterns for transmissions in vertical, slant and hori- zontal channels. Both devices rely on the EvoLogics patented S2C (Sweep- Spread Carrier) broadband communica-tion technology.  The SiNAPS (S2C intelligent Naviga- tion and Positioning Software) was de- signed to control the EvoLogics USBL (ultrashort baseline) underwater posi- tioning systems and provides display features for tracking of multiple targets, supports interfacing with external instru- ments and offers advanced data manage- ment tools. After releasing the SiNAPS software in 2012, EvoLogics updated it to a newer version in March 2013.  The S2C acoustic modem emulator www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 39MTR #4 (34-48).indd 39MTR #4 (34-48).indd 395/7/2013 10:12:21 AM5/7/2013 10:12:21 AM

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