Connect to the R/V Falkor

Connect your group or class live with the research vessel Falkor! 

For opportunities to connect your class or group with the Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor Expedition from August 17 – September 17, contact Leslie Elliott at elliottl@uvic.ca.

Endeavour

We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.  T.S. Elliot.

Recued Storm Petrel

Marine birds called “Petrels” often lose their way at night.  Confused and blinded by the lights of the Research Vessel Thompson, they hit the side of the ship landing on the deck hopefully to be revived by a passerby seeing them in distress.  During my first few day’s aboard a crew member found a disoriented Petrel and held it in the lining of her coat for three hours to keep it warm and perhaps calm it,  letting it go at dawn’s first light.  The blinding metaphor is a bit cliché, but humans are certainly blinded by many things most aptly stated by Aldo Leopold as he described our “Abrahamic Concept of Land” that gave us license to own the Earth and plunder its resources.

Tempo-mini at the hydrothermal vents.

So much of our time at sea is about making connections with the wires, instruments, and nodes on the ocean floor.  The complexities of each dive plan might seem to be the largest challenge that we face, but the greater obstacle is to connect science to the public.  It is easy to do so on R/V Thompson.  Science on such a grand stage is compelling for most.  Too often, science has become an instrument of propaganda used when convenient and discarded when inexpedient.  As scientists and educators we need to be equal to the task, not only seeking to explain the world, but communicating our findings with the public at large as if our survival depends upon it. 

Sunset at sea

We have reached the conclusion of this expedition, arriving at the place we started knowing more than we did at the start.  What did we bring back?  First, science is difficult.  The challenges presented this expedition pushed the crew and the scientists to their very limit.  It’s when you find humanity at its finest working together to solve problems.  Second, nothing ever goes as planned.  When faced with this reality it’s your attitude that will shape the outcome.  Third, we have only begun to understand the marine environment or our world in general, there is so much left to explore.  Since the sea is our original source of life, can it be our salvation as well?  It is going to require us to consider the way we use our resources, our relationship with science, and what sort of actions we need to take to apply our knowledge to every endeavor.

Marty Momsen

Knot Your Average Skills

he author attempts a
ine relief connection

The art of marlinspike seamanship that includes rope work and storage, knot tying, and line splicing is as important today as it was a century ago.  The technology of yesteryear combined with the need to secure video, audio, and network cables necessitates a solid foundation in rope work.  The internet has made line work more accessible to those that feel as if they have their hands tied when it comes to cordage.  Most knots, splices, and braids can be tied by high strung landlubbers that are ready to invest the time and patience required.

The moorings of the ship are the connection from the terrestrial world to the marine one.  They are critically important as the ship can be damaged by hitting the pier and vice versa.  Equally important when the ship puts to sea is stowing the lines so the deck remains uncluttered and safe.  The next most important lines on the ship are the rope safety stanchions that line the rails of the main deck.  In some locations these lines are literally all that separate you from the sea.  The connections not only need to hold fast, but need to keep a tension in the line so people can hold onto them while walking on the deck or looking over the side of the ship.  Most equipment aboard from ladders, storage containers, and even the computer I am using to compose this blog are secured with line, so when the sea becomes unpredictable the equipment is not damaged as a result.

Tasha Ewing shows off
her Monkey's fist Earings

Perhaps the most unique applications of marlinspike seamanship aboard Research Vessel Thompson are the lines used to secure scientific instruments onto their platforms, handles on science equipment, and releases on apparatus that need to be secure on descent to the ocean floor, but then readily manipulated by the Oceaneering ROV Millennium.  The crew have been frequently roped into helping create these attachments.  The first few days aboard found a good portion of the science crew tying monkey’s fist knots that act as floats that can grabbed by the ROV’s arms for accessibility and retrieval on the ocean floor.  Another example is a line relief braid that is used to reinforce cables at their point of attachment to their instruments, so that the connection is not broken by the forces of the deep ocean. 

The most challenging application of knot tying was to use “jute” to secure electrical lines to the Endeavor junction box.  Jute is a natural vegetable fiber that is used to make burlap.  It comes in three braids that need to be separated with painstaking care and then tested to have a tensile strength that is little more than what the average person can pull apart with their hands.  Here’s the rub, most strands of jute that are separated easily pull apart upon inspection.   The idea is to have the electrical line secure so it can be taken off the junction box one coil at a time.     

Bow moorings of R/V Thompson

If you’d care to test your skills with a few of the most common knots that are used aboard, I have a few suggestions:   Give the bowline, tautline hitch, two half hitches, and clove hitch a try.  Need something more challenging?  Attempt a truckers knot.  All of these knots are used every day at sea and I am certain you will find them useful on land as well.          

by Marty Momson

    

Armor For RAS

RAS in Garage of the Thompson

Isolated locations require specialized instruments.  The Remote Access Sampler (RAS) exemplifies the innovative equipment required for deep sea water samples.  RAS is designed to collect 48, 500 ml, water samples.  The instrument can be programmed to take samples at different times, under the preferred conditions for the scientists.  It also has an acidic flush in its intake to prevent “biofouling” that could contaminate the lines and water containers.  RAS is powered by a 31.5 VDC alkaline battery pack and has an in air weight of 225 lbs.  It is state of the art in every respect and we are going to beat the tar out of it.

The author cutting
up on deck

I had just finished the first few lines of this story yesterday when I was summoned to assist on deck.  The engineers aboard had developed a plan to fortify RAS so it could withstand the extreme forces that it will experience on the ocean floor.  If you have ever played the game “operation” that requires hand eye coordination and dexterity, magnify the difficulty one thousand fold and you will understand how challenging it is to deploy instruments in the deep sea.  ROV pilots are presented with myriad challenges of water currents, limited visibility, holding the ROV in place, and being attached to the ROV cage by a tether that sometimes gets caught on objects on the ocean bottom.  Under optimum conditions it is extremely difficult to deploy instruments without them getting bumped or hitting the seafloor a bit too hard.

Quality Assurance
Testing of RAS

In light of the difficulty of instrument deployment, we fortified RAS with plastic grating on its sides and top.  This required a scientific instrument known as a “sawzall” to cut the grating into sections.  We were also running low on the plastic zip straps so we had to use line to attach the grating to the metal platform cage.  While most of the crew were not fond of the pink color choice, apparently it came at such a good price it couldn’t be passed up.  The resultant "battlebot" reinforcement was a conversation piece for the crew, most of whom grabbed the grating upon inspection and muttered the standard phrase of approval stating “it should work”.

As an educator I don’t always see my work each day.  There are some times when students are particularly excited about a lab or when they come up with a project that astounds me, but mostly it’s a longitudinal view of years that gives you satisfaction for your craft.  There is something deeply gratifying in having a hand in instrument preparation and deployment.  To see something on the ocean floor that you helped with gives an immediate satisfaction which is made even more rewarding when scientists begin to get their data.

by Marty Momson

The Essence of Teamwork

Close conditions for loggers.

It is challenging to capture the essence of teamwork that takes place aboard R/V Thompson. I have
viewed the operations through the lens of a middle and high school teacher and have been struck by a number of themes over my first few days that I want to share, with my students especially.

First, is the importance of teamwork. It is so common in secondary school for students to complain about their partners or opt to work on their own. These are the students I try to push even harder to work with others as it is a vital skill. Most of the troubleshooting that takes place aboard R/V Thompson is a collaborative effort requiring more expertise and brainpower than one individual possesses. There is no room for ego or negativity. Levity and laughter are the way people get through challenges. It helps encourage people to bring their ideas and skills forward and it fosters a sense of community.

Complex tasks require many talents.

Second, is the value of work ethic. One of my pet peeves as a teacher is when a student is done with their work and they just sit there. Aboard R/V Thompson there is always work to be done and every person that I have asked to help has given me something to do. I’ve learned some really cool things, like putting terminals on communications cables, how to take water samples from Niskin water bottles, and how to prepare scientific instruments to be deployed on the ocean floor. The idea is, as my dad told me when I was younger: “to give your boss every reason to want to keep you”.

An unusually 'nice' day for
working outside.

Third, is the power of a positive attitude. The people aboard are happy because they are doing what they are passionate about. Every person that I have spoken with says they love their job, appreciate the challenges it provides, and that they enjoy the people they work with. As a result, the atmosphere aboard is extremely positive. Even when a portion of the crew was ailing with seasickness there was a collaborative effort to help them feel better so that we can accomplish the goals of this expedition.

Marty Momsen
Educator on Board

Out to Sea

 Crew members
of the R.V Thompson
bring in the lines from doc

Members of the team
looking on as we
steam out of Puget
Sound.

The ship has left port and the expedition is underway! We're about to go through a 28 hour transit period to reach our first installation site, and we're experiencing that unique blend of excitement and panic that precedes a major undertaking like this.

 We've got just over a day until we reach our first exploration site. What does a team of scientists do in the time before they put things in the water? First, practice what they would do if an emergency means they need to end up in the water themselves.

Next: check, double check, panic a bit, and then triple check the readiness of the instruments. There is a lot of expensive equipment that not only needs to function well, but needs a team of people to get it deployed and ready to study the ocean bottom.

Fire drills, man overboard
drills, and abandon ship
drills are taken seriously
by the entire crew.

 Full body exposure
suit practice, the
height of maritime
fashion

The beacons let the ROV pilots know where the Millenium ROV is relative to the ship, a good thing when you remember it will be travelling over 2 kilometres below us!

 And finally, look forward to get to work on our first site: the Mothra vent field at Endeavour, 300 kilometers off shore. Let the adventure begin!

Monitoring and data logging
station nearing completion.

Composite photo of Faulty
Towers, one of the hydrothermal
vent areas around Endeavour.
Image made by Mitchell J. Elend,
University of Washington

The Millennium Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)

The star of the show aboard R/V Thompson is the Millennium Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from Oceaneering International. With a cost in the millions of dollars, the Millennium Plus is a 220 horsepower work class ROV equipped with two seven function manipulator arms, 2000 pounds of thrust in all ranges of motion, and a depth rating of 10,000 feet.

The Millenium Rov being delivered.

The ROV housed in its cage is lifted by winch off the aft port section of the deck of R/V Thompson and lowered by a 9,000 foot cable that not only supports it, but houses its power, communication, and video feeds. Millennium separates from its cage, when in position, by moving out of its open end. The cage acts as a garage for Millennium absorbing the motion of the ship while paying out 4,000 feet of tether allowing the ROV to make excursion runs on the ocean floor.

Oceaneering is a global oil field provider that is involved with all facets of deep water work. The mission aboard R/V Thompson is unique in that in the coming days Millennium will be tasked with servicing Ocean Networks Canada underwater observatory conducting repairs, laying the “wire” for Wiring the Abyss, and deploying scientific instruments. We are excited about this ROV system and can’t wait to use it. A new Millennium is upon us.

by Marty Momsen