Dispatches from Sea >>
click on a date in the calendar below
| March 2007 |  Laura Preston, educator, UNH/Salem High School, Salem, NH. |
||||||
| April 2007 | |||||||
April 6, 2007
Let’s take a walk on the seafloor with Jason II!
The scientists on the ship use the data already collected so far to decide where to drop Jason for a more detailed look at the seafloor. Each time Jason goes into the water to explore, a series of events takes place. The pilot drives the ROV to an area predetermined by the researchers. The researchers ask the pilot to collect rock samples along the way. The sample is chosen, the pilot maneuvers the robotic arm to extract the sample off the seafloor, and then is instructed as to which bin to put the sample in. The rock is given a name (usually the date and time of extraction), and then the whole process begins again. Check out the movies below of the sampling done today.
Now, you may want to understand what happens to the rocks after they are collected. This in itself is an extremely interesting event! How in the world do we get those heavy objects to the surface? Well, an ingenuous device known as an “elevator” is put into action to lift the bins to the deck of the Atlantis. The elevator is a tall steel contraption that has glass spheres on top that help it to float. It also has a relay transponder on it so that we know where it is at all times. Initially, we want the elevator to go to the seafloor, so the Jason team puts weights on it to force it to the bottom.
 The crane lifts the elevator from the deck. |
 Lowering it into the water. |
 Release into the water. |
Once the elevator gets to the seafloor, the ROV drives up to the elevator to retrieve the bins of rock samples, the pilot (with great dexterity!) opens the wooden boxes on the elevator, take the bins off the front of the ROV, places them in the boxes on the elevator, closes the boxes, releases the weights on the elevator, and wa-la! The elevator begins its ascent to the surface! Watch Pilot, Tito Collasius in action…great job!
 Dan Fornari spots the elevator. |
 Get ready crew! |
 The crew catches the elevator. |
 Here come our rocks! |
More about those rocks tomorrow!
<< previous dispatch next dispatch >>