ESPNet Deployment on the R/V Tioga—July 2017
July 17, 2017 — Research Specialist Roman Marin III assisted Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in deploying four ESPs.
Deep-Sea-Communities-2012-equipment
Research Vessel Western Flyer
R/V Western Flyer was designed and constructed for MBARI to serve as the support vessel for ROV Doc Ricketts. Her missions include the Monterey Bay as well as extended cruises to Hawaii, Gulf of California and the Pacific Northwest.
ROV Doc Ricketts
ROV Doc Ricketts is capable of diving to 4,000 meters (about 2.5 miles). The Western Flyer is the support vessel for Doc Ricketts and was designed with a center well whose floor can be opened to allow Doc Ricketts to be launched from within the ship into the water below.
Sediment traps
Sediment traps collect the samples needed for the lab’s measure of particulate organic carbon. The sample is split into portions for microscopy, pigment analysis and carbon analysis.
Push cores
A push core looks like a clear plastic tube with a rubber handle on one end. Just as its name implies, the push core is pushed down into loose sediment using the ROV’s manipulator arm.
Benthic Rover
The Benthic Rover autonomously transits the seafloor taking measurements of sediment community oxygen consumption, which the lab uses to calculate organic carbon demand.
High-frequency suction samplers
This midwater toolsled contains a High-Frequency Suction Sampler (HFSS).
Free vehicle grab respirometer (FVGR)
Oxygen consumption (a measure of biological activity) of the organisms living in the sediment is measured using a free vehicle grab respirometer.
Lagrangian sediment traps
Sediment traps are used to collect sinking organic matter as it descends toward the seafloor. Most sediment traps are moored in one location, but Lagrangian sediment traps drift with the currents.
» Subscribe to our newsletter
About MBARI
Research programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) encompass the entire ocean, from the surface waters to the deep seafloor, and from the coastal zone to the open sea. The need to understand the ocean in all its complexity and variability drives MBARI's research and development efforts.