LeVeL:SROVEG
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(Shipboard Remotely Operated Vehicle
Engineering Group)
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2008
Scheduled Dive Locations:
May '08--> 22deg
N-
Maxatlan to Manzanillo Mexico:
South-East side of the Gulf of California
July '08--> Lucky
Strike MAR- Woods Hole, MA to Miami, FL:
Oct '08-->
Honululu,
Hawaii:
Aloha
Cable
Dec '08-Jan '09-->
Hobart,
Tasmania:
The red dot...
2007
Cruises
LeVeL Station VII:
Rendezvous- R/V Kilo Moana:
Honolulu, Hawaii
USA 7Oct07
...Load out, transit-to dive site off the Hawaiian coast
Disembark- R/V Kilo Moana: Honolulu, Hawaii
USA ~10Nov07
Biking in Hawaii is fabulous to say the least. When i got off the
ship i rode around the southeastern part of Oahu (Diamond head) and
wound up catching some of the Ultimate Frisbee tournimate (http://www.hawaiiultimate.com/hopu/)
before headin gthe rest of the around to the north shore. The Vans Triple Crown was
starting and that was incredible. Watching pro surfers makes it
look easy. I assure you, it is not.
The Napali coast on Kauai is a must see before you die. The 11
mile trail is worth hiking and the whole island in general is a
pleasant plae to visit. The people are friendly and very
active. Everyone seemed to be into something whether it was
hiking, surfing, kayaking, biking, kite boarding or anything else
and usually into more than one.
LeVeL Station V & VI:
Rendezvous- R/V Atlantis: San Francisco, California
USA
17July07
...Load out, transit-to dive site off the California coast
(Monterey Bay region)
then transit up to Astoria. Swap out science parties and
head the Juan de Fuca Ridge...
Disembark-
R/V Atlantis: Astoria, Oregon USA 24August07
...offload and fly back to sunny Santa Barbara...
Pre-dive check
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LeVeL Station IV:
Rendezvous- R/V Atlantis: Manzinillo, Mexico
18March07
...Load out, transit-East Pacific Rise
9deg north; ~100deg west...
Disembark- R/V Atlantis: San Diego, California USA 24April07
...offload and take the train up the coast to sunny Santa Barbara...
Flew out again on the red eye. This time from Santa Barbara
airport. Had a long layover in LAX where i met up some of
the other Jason crew. Jim was one of them. he does
this site called wastedlife.org.
check 'em out. he takes on projects that most people spend there
life on.
On the Atlantis, we have launch the vehicle a little differently.
We use the side boom to launch Medea instead of the A-frame.
Alvin is the only vehicle that is allowed to be launched using the on
board A-frame.
Medea Launch
Down time on a ship. When it happens, you make the most of
it. Pool party...
And, yes, work was done too...
Chimney Sample
Temperature probing
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LeVeL Station III:
Rendezvous- R/V Merian: Fort de France, Martinque
19JAN07
...Load out, transit-Mid Atlantic Ridge...
Disembark- R/V Merian: Las Palmas, Canary Islands14FEB07
...offload
Flew out on
the red eye, LAX to Miami after a 3hr drive down the coast
that Reed and Monica agreed to do with me. Was delayed in Miami for 4 hrs
after they cancelled the first flight to Hiati which made me miss the
connection in Haiti. Then stuck in Hiati
overnight. Along the way my paper ticket for the flight
out
of Hiati was lost. Bought a new ticket and finally arrived in
Fort de
France at 2am, three days after i left Santa Barbara.
U.N. truck in Hiati...
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LeVeL Station II:
Rendezvous-
R/V Melville: Yokohama, Japan 05JUL07
...Load out, transit- Papua New Guinea...
Embark New Crew- R/V Melville: Papua New Guinea
...transit-PacManus...
Disembark- R/V Melville: Suva, Fiji 02SEP07
My
most
recent trip had me
fly out to Yokohama, Japan to meet the ship. We headed out to sea
almost right away. What do you think this is, vacation?
Actually, the trip got underway early from Japan due to the threat of a
cyclone bearing down on the Philipines and Tiawan. It made for
good working conditions on deck and we never really saw any of the bad
weather from it. Just big slow rolling waves and really
spectacular sunsets.
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It was a 6 day
transit to Papua New Guinea where we picked up the rest of the DSL team
and the science crew. We saw a local ritual harvest dance then got to work, after the volcano
spit up i little.
The cruise was geological in nature and therefore, most of the time was
spent flying over rock formations, fissures and fractures.
However, we did fly through some pretty amazing chimney fields; spires
several meters tall with lots of active venting, smoking beehives and
even some phase shifting of the water due to the extreme temperatures
and pressures reached at the nozzle-like orifices of the vents.
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Below is the front
of the vehicle showcasing the sampling and tool basket (retractable),
two manipulator arms, one with protective boxing glove on the gripper
as well as the various lights, cameras and strobes, all necessary for
exploration in the ocean's depths.
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Ceramic and
titanium pressure housing project. Bonding the two together to
achieve the strongest and lightest (espicially in sea water) pressure
vessels known. Shown here is the ceramic housing being checked
for concentricity to the titanium end ring.
There has
been some speculation on the viable use of such a combination in
bicycle tubing technology. More to come on that later.
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