BIA and SIA testing off Smith Island WA

August 13, 2011

Chief Scientist, John Delaney, looks out over the morning fog just off of Whidbey Island, WA. (photo by Allison Fundis)

The ROV ROPOS operations manager, Keith Sheperd, directs the lowering of ROPOS to couple with the science interface assembly. (Photo by Allison Fundis)

Keith Shepherd oversees the coupling of the ROV ROPOS to the science interface assembly. (Photo by Allison Fundis)

The bottom interface assembly (BIA) is lowered off the A-frame. After the BIA reached the seafloor, the science interface assembly (SIA) was coupled to ROPOS and manuevered into the BIA. (photo by Allison Fundis)

The bottom interface assembly as it is lowered off the Thompson's A-frame. (photo by Allison Fundis)

Lexi Brewer, a UW senior, assists Evan Solomon, a UW faculty member and geochemist, prepare his flow meter that will be deployed at Southern Hydrate Ridge. (photo by Allison Fundis)

The R/V Thompson Captain, John Wilson (left), directs members of the ship's crew as they lower and secure the SIA back on deck after the BIA and SIA tests with ROPOS. (photo by Allison Fundis)

The ROV ROPOS coupled to the Science Interface Assembly as it is being lowered into the water. (photo by Allison Fundis)

Moonrise over Whidbey Island, Washington. (photo by Allison Fundis)

After leaving the Esquimalt Graving Dock in Victoria with ROPOS aboard at midnight, we transited to an area just off of Smith Island, WA to conduct the backbone and science interface assemblies (BIA and SIA) tests. The BIA and SIA are the two components that make up each of the 7 primary nodes that will be deployed as part of the OOI-RSN primary infrastructure. These nodes will be the terminal points for the backbone cable that is currently being deployed from the cable ship Dependable.

The goal of the BIA and SIA tests was to ensure that an ROV such as ROPOS could efficiently position the SIA into the BIA. The tests involved 4 ROV ROPOS dives 1453-1456. The ROV was deployed for the first dive to scout a location for the BIA deployment. After quickly finding a suitable location, ROPOS was recovered so the BIA could be lowered off of the ship’s A-frame. Once the BIA was secure on the seafloor, it was redeployed for ~1.5 hours to recover the BIA deployment bridle. On deck, the ROV was then coupled to the SIA assembly and lowered back down. By the time ROPOS reached the seafloor, the water visibility had drastically deteriorated. However, the ROV crewmembers were still able to expertly fit the SIA into the BIA as planned. ROPOS was recovered with the SIA still coupled to it and was then redeployed with the BIA recovery bridle platform to retrieve the BIA.