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Underwater networks

Seaweb nodes are capable of exchanging information through dozens of kilometres of water. Such long ranges, however, require the use of low-frequency sound waves, which reduces the data rate. Joseph Rice, the project’s leader, says a Seaweb node can send a low-resolution photo to another one 5km away in five seconds—two seconds to emit the sound waves, and another three for them to travel that far. In seawater acoustic waves carry only a few thousand bits of data per second, but they travel at 5,600kph (3,500mph)—five times the speed of sound in air.

It is hardly broadband, but it can be used to connect submarines and warships to sensors and roving subsea drones, also known as unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). Mr Rice imagines that UUVs might deploy sensor nodes and could visit them when required to download the data they have collected in large quantities. Sensors could also alert UUVs of any unusual readings that require investigation.

The Economist

Photo Credit

The Big Data of Antarctica's sea floor

Instead of digitizing existing nautical charts, the team incorporated detailed data from water-depth sounding instruments aboard research ships and mathematical models to interpolate three-dimensional geographic data points on the seafloor. Multibeam bathymetric survey techniques provide a rapid means of determining the morphology and nature of the seafloor. The recent Hydrosweep DS-2 System onboard RV Polarstern provides 59 individual soundings of the water depth and echo strength for each ping.

“We were ultimately able to work with a data set comprising some 4.2 billion individual values,” says Jan Erik Arndt, the editor of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean and AWI expert.

Their resulting chart offers 500-square-meter resolution of the waters south of 60 degrees south latitude, which demarcates the northern extent of the Southern Ocean.

Txchnologist

Filming the Giant Squid

Watch the full program on Discovery tonight at 8 eastern

Scientific American on the Medusa camera which was used in the filming

“Although very little sunlight penetrates to the deep sea, many deep dwellers produce a bioluminescent light…Widder and her colleagues therefore fitted Medusa with an electronic device that mimicked the bioluminescence that jellyfish produce when attacked to serve as a lure. It worked: Medusa first encountered a squid during its second deployment, igniting jubilation on the ship. “I just was blown away,” says Widder,” I couldn’t have been happier.”

Medusa ended up encountering a squid five times, culminating with a full view of one apparently attacking the camera system in a manner consistent with the alarm hypothesis. The squid was about 4 meters long, although giant squid can grow as large as 10 meters or more.

During a dive about a week after the first Medusa success in their Triton submersible, Kubodera and pilot Jim Harris had a face-to-face encounter. Once they had taken enough low-light footage, they turned on the sub’s bright main lights, expecting to spook the squid. Instead, the animal continued to feed on bait tied to the sub. For 18 mesmerizing minutes the pair watched as the huge animal’s skin shifted between unexpected gold and silver metallic hues.”

The most claustrophobic lab in the world

The laboratory is not the kind of place where you can just drop in. Normal access is by boat and then by foot to the tunnel entrance some 500 metres above sea level or by helicopter.

The opening to the ice itself is usually closed with steel beams that are removed when researchers need access.

Research activity takes place mainly in the winter when there is little water under the (Norwegian Svartisen) glacier.

To access the base of the glacier, researchers must use fire hoses with hot water to melt an opening in the ice. Scientists then have a tunnel that is about 2 m high in which to work. However, after the tunnel has been melted out researchers must act quickly because it shrinks to half its size each day.

Science Nordic

The animated life of Pi

My kids adored the book when they were young. Grownups can marvel about the superb visual effects ( and plenty of philosophical angles) in Ang Lee’s movie.

The New York Times describes the painstaking process of creating a digital tiger (4 actual ones were used for many of the scenes)

“These images take a progressive look through the meticulous process that went into constructing the digital tiger. Artists developed each layer of the animal’s physical makeup almost as if they were working on a biology experiment.

They started with the skeleton, which they used to control basic movements (segments with common colors, top right, move together), then added muscle, skin and fur. More than a dozen artists were assigned to the fur alone, focusing, for example, on how light shimmered on it. “

In many sequences I felt like I was on planet Pandora from the movie Avatar – spectacular fauna and flora as in an island with an army of meerkats and one with flying fish in the clip below.

BTW – one of my favorite scenes is when young Pi scribbles a few hundred digits of Pi, as in 22/7. If the scene had gone on the blackboard would have looked like this 

 

The Arctic gold, oil, tourist, fishing, shipping rush

New Scientist on how the warming Arctic is leading to all kinds of business. Excerpts (sub required for full article)

Tourism

“Nearly a million visitors go to the Arctic each year. They account for more than 80,000 hotel-nights on the Norwegian island of Svalbard. Even greater numbers visit Greenland, where they easily outnumber the local population of just 55,000 people.”

Fishing

“The number of voyages by fishing vessels in the Canadian Arctic increased sevenfold, to 221, between 2005 and 2010. The Inuit of Nunavut now run six factory ships trawling for turbot and other species in Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait, up from none 10 years ago.”

Drilling

“Russian media report that the Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea is the first permanent, ice-resistant oil production platform in the world. Russian oil giant Rosneft announced last year that it plans to build at least 10 more platforms.”

Mining

“Greenland is attracting huge attention. The south-west coast, around Kvanefjeld, probably holds the world's second largest deposit of rare earth elements and huge reserves of uranium and zinc - all together valued at almost half-a-trillion dollars.”

Shipping

“The shortcut to Asia (the North-East passage) halves the shipping time from northern Europe to China to roughly 20 days, and avoids pirate-infested shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean. Russia expects a 40-fold increase in shipping along the route by 2020. American analysts say it could be carrying 5 per cent of world's shipping by 2050.”

click on image to enlarge

Maasvlakte 2 – transforming Port of Rotterdam

A massive project due to be finished in 2014 will also bring in plenty of technology – in the form of automated cranes, driverless dollies and rail connections

A majestic afternoon in San Francisco Bay

I have been in the San Francisco Bay a few times – on ferries and in small craft. And the Golden Gate bridge, Alctraz, the glorious piers, the Presidio, and the SF downtown skyline usually dominate your senses.

Amazingly yesterday afternoon they were bit actors in a technology dominated few hours.

Thanks to Oracle, we were in a Protector high-speed boat (capable of getting upto 40 knots). Could have comfortably sat another 4 besides us 6. Needless to say, I was a kid in a candy store and asked Barry, the captain all kinds of questions about navigation charts and GPS and wakes at high speed.

This being Fleet Week in SF, we saw all kinds of vessels like the amphibious assault ship, USS Makin Island with several helicopters on its deck, a massive NYK container vessel setting sail (presumably) to Japan, the twin Coast Guard cutters, Sockeye and Tern, which Barry said patrol these waters quite often, their guns mercifully pointed downwards.

Fleet Week also brings the Blue Angels with their F-18 Hornets to the Bay Area, and they did several acrobatic formations and fly-bys. 

Wait! Those were still not the main attraction. It was the Fleet prep races for next year’s America’s Cup. Sailing greats Ben Ainslie, Russell Coutts and Jimmy Spithill competed in their advanced hull and tailsail beauties. We got to see the massive, deconstructed Oracle Racing carbon fiber hull and sails later at Pier 80.

What was less visible was the technology that is going into videotaping and the sensors that are helping track every aspect of the teams’ performance. A helicopter with a remote controlled HD camera (not the consumer kind, worth over half a million dollars) hovered above the race and for future broadcasts will have an augmented reality system for fan guidance like the football yellow lines.

Before we left for the water, Oracle gave us a nice tour of the technology and the history of America’s Cup.  They also thoughtfully gave us the nice windbreaker in photo above essential for the always chilly Bay.

You can see how the Golden Gate bridge became just a minor side show for the afternoon. That’s saying something!

Photo Credit of sail boats – Oracle Racing

Google Street View goes under water

Google Maps visitors can now virtually "walk" along certain reefs through Street View using the same interface for city streets and neighborhoods above sea level. Users can move to different areas of the reef and pan around or zoom in on each one in 360 degrees to spot sea turtles, manta rays, living coral, and even some accompanying divers and snorkelers. The effect is like retracing a scuba dive that has been frozen in time.

To capture these stunning panoramic views, Google partnered with the Catlin Seaview Survey, a project devoted to documenting the ocean reefs using the latest technology. Armed with an SVII camera attached to an undersea vehicle, the team was able to record continuous 360-degree images while drifting through the water. The process results in 50,000 images per area, which link together to form a full panoramic view that can be explored in Google Maps. The SVII is also the world's first underwater, tablet-operated camera, which allows the scientists gathering the images to access various data they've already collected while in the middle of a dive.

Gizmag

 

Open Blue Sea Farms

“With a background in marine biology and two generations of New York’s Fulton Street fishmongers in his blood, the 30 year O’Hanlon thinks he’s found a better way to harvest fish in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way.  He pioneered the use of advanced submersible cage designs for deep water, and was the first to stock mutton snapper and cobia in open ocean cages.  His nets are anchored to the ocean floor eight miles off the coast of Panama in the clear blue waters of the Caribbean Sea.

With open ocean cages, the need for regular inspections is crucial.  If the netting is torn, or the cage breaks loose from its moorings, fish and gear could be lost.  With some of the holding pens extending more than 150 feet deep into the ocean, it is not practical to use divers because of their limited bottom time at these depths.  One technology being employed to aid the modern day aquafarmer is side scan sonar. High frequency sonar has the ability to produce detailed images of the cages, the mooring lines and anchors… Open Blue decided on the (Fishers) dual frequency SSS-100K/600K which would provide both long range scan capability as well as short range, high resolution pictures.

Another piece of technology being employed in the aquaculture industry is the underwater video system.  Several fish farms in Norway are using inexpensive drop cameras like Fishers MC-1 mini camera to view the condition of nets and health of the fish.  In Canada, the Dept. of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA) which is responsible for monitoring the industry, is using Fishers SeaOtter ROV, a remote controlled vehicle, to inspect the country’s aquafarms.

Tidings Online