Day 8 Log SHORT VERSION (816 words)

February 2, 2006

Lisa Borok, MBARI

Every morning and evening, a small cluster of us gather to watch the
careful choreography of the *Western Flyer* crew as they deploy and
retrieve the ROV *Tiburon* through a door in the floor of the ship. None
of us seem to get tired of looking at this ballet of hardware and human
skill. But that's just the beginning. After observing for the past few
days what goes into piloting this Volkswagen-sized sub, I've developed a
real appreciation for the teamwork and skill that go into working with
this technology.

Just walking into the Control Room gives you an idea that this is tricky
stuff. Located in the port aft section (that's the rear, left side) of
the ship, the Control Room houses all of the electronics to operate the
ROV. Five chairs, each with a microphone headset, are fixed to the floor
in front of an eight-foot wall of electronics. Twenty-three monitors and
plasma screens flash with vital information. (Figure 1) It's not unlike
the space center controlling the Mars rovers. The similarity isn't just
coincidence. Going deep requires some of the same technology and
teamwork as going into space. Both are unforgiving environments that are
extremely hard on gear. Make a big mistake and millions of dollars of
technology are swept away into the darkness.

*Tiburon's* pilots aren't prone to big mistakes though. In 10 years of
operation, they've set a high standard for completing missions and
keeping the ROV in working order. (Figure 2) Each morning, *Tiburon* is
ready to go and is fitted with that day's instruments.

During morning launch, the dance commences and *Tiburon* is lowered via
two cranes through the moonpool doors in the floor. The *Western Flyer*
rides on two enormous pontoons that keep the deck of the ship 3 meters
(9 feet) above the churning sea surface. (Figure 3) After the ROV
splashes down, one of the pilots in the launch bay uses the instrument
pack strapped to his waist to fly the craft down to about 100 meters
(300+ feet) below the ship. At that depth it's safe to maneuver the ROV
to its destination.

Once the ROV is clear from the ship, the crew in the Control Room takes
over from the moonpool team. Scanning the operations from left to right
across the five stations, I watch the co-pilot, pilot, science lead,
annotator, and navigator swing into the quiet, coordinated action that
will continue for the next ten to twelve hours.

The co-pilot stays quite busy observing six different screens and
tending several systems at once, including the manipulator arm on the
ROV. The pilot's station is deceptively quiet looking. With five plasma
screens and computer monitors before him, the pilot's main duty is to
safely fly the ROV over the seafloor, around walls and outcrops, up and
back to points of scientific interest, or straight and level over many
meters of transect lines. While keeping the craft on task, the pilot
also controls the hydraulic sample drawer, runs the piloting camera and
lights, and maintains the delicate balance of distance and direction
between the ROV and the ship. The pilot also lines up the still camera
to take photos that science party may want during the dive. It's the
pilot who communicates navigation needs to the ship's bridge crew.

The researcher at the science station conducts the overall mission of
the ROV for the day. It is the chief scientist who directs timing and
location of collections. They determine the ROV's course and when to
pause to look around, zoom in for closer inspection, or run through a
transect. The science station has the responsibility of operating the
High Definition video camera. (Figure 4)

One of the critical but less glamorous stations in the room is the
annotation seat. All dives are videotaped from the time the ROV enters
the water to the time it's back on deck. At this station, a science crew
member uses a sophisticated database to enter all the highlights of the
dive. They can also grab still-images off the video. These notes and
images are synched with the time code on the videotape, so we can easily
review certain events or views after the dive. This and the data from
the ROV are merged to provide a knowledgebase that researchers can
"mine" later on.

Finally, in the far corner of the Control Room sits the navigator in
front of one computer monitor. As you read in Chad's log a few days ago,
his role is to provide compass bearings for the pilot and plot
tracklines, or routes, for the ROV to fly along.

This teamwork goes on year-round on the *Western Flyer* and other
oceanographic ships around the world. Our Davidson expedition will be
complete in a few more days, but I will come away with a great respect
for the comradery and skill involved in ROV-based research.