John R. Delaney

Russ Light

 Keith Van Thiel

 Andy Stewart

 Chris Siani

 Vern Miller

 Nick Michel-Hart

Mike Kenney

 Dave Dyer

 Ben Brand

Photo

Eric Boget

Patrick Waite

A screen shot of the EMS shows the parameters for the 8 ports available on the low-power junction box. -----Photo by Mitchell Elend, UW

OOI RSN Principal Engineer Mike Harrington takes a look at the element management system (EMS) that monitors junction-box power and communications. The EMS provides current, voltage, and temperature information from the node in real time and is vital to monitoring the health and safety of the instruments. Alarms are generated when a parameter moves out of range so that corrective actions may be taken. --Photo by Mitchell Elend, UW

OOI RSN Senior Engineer Dana Manalang uses the saltwater tank for individual instrument acceptance testing. --Photo by Mitchell Elend, UW

Overview of the system under test. On the bench is the open-frame prototypte of the low-power junction box. To the right is an osciloscope for signal monitoring. The junction box is connected to the three first-article instruments submerged in freshwater in the tank beneath the bench. ---Photo by Mitchell Elend, UW

Node 3B Camera System 

Node 3B Camera System Close Up

Video Distribution VISIONS'12

photo by Allison Fundis

The coastal oceans and associated ecosystems off of the Pacific Northwest are strongly impacted by wind-driven upwelling in the spring and summer of deep, nutrient-rich water. Satellite images highlight blooms of chlorophyll associated with these events that typically last 2-20 days.

Clams are commonly found at the summit of Southern Hydrate Ridge surrounding areas of white bacterial mat.

Einstein's Grotto, at the summit of Southern Hydrate Ridge, is a main target site for installation of cabled chemical and biological sensors in 2014. The area hosts extensive white bacterial mats and was a site of vigorous venting of large methane bubbles. This 2011 image, showswater sampling bottles on the arm of the Canadian robotic vehicle ROPOS. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF. V14.

A variety of sensors will be deployed on the RSN cabled network in 2013 to investigate the dynamic environment of methane seeps, gas hydrate formation, and associated biological communities. The instruments include seismometers to detect earthquake, fluid flow sensors, digitial still cameras, and a mass spectrometer for quanitfication of gas compositions.

To measure vent fluid salinity at Axial, a temperature-resistivity (chlorinity) probe will be deployed in the International District in 2013. The one shown in this image, was deployed in a 380°C vent in the Main Endeavour hydrothermal field north of Axial.