Research and Data Products from HURL Submersible Dives
SCOPE OF THE HURL RESEARCH PROGRAMS
Projects approved by the Center using OER award funds
were designed to further the NOAA mission by addressing the themes
outlined below. Preference was given to those in
marine managed areas under U.S. jurisdiction that
provide data to guide large area ecosystem and resource
management plans.
Click here to see past projects.
Thematic Research Areas
- Extreme and Unique Environments.
Research focued on unusual ocean environments in strategic locations, including ecosystems associated with deep sea hydrocarbon seeps, submarine canyons, seamounts, and ridges.
- Ecosystems of Island, Atoll, or Seamount Flanks, Including the Extended Continental Shelf.
Research focused on characterizing ecosystems and assessing their health, including the identification of stressors and processes, to ensure their sound management.
- New Resources from the Sea.
Research focused on new resources from the sea, including marine biotechnology, energy, and cultural or non-living resources.
- Ocean Dynamics: Episodic Events to Long Term Changes.
Research will focus on oceanic and climatic events taking place on a wide range of time and spatial scales along with their impacts on the success and survival of species and communities past, present, and future (e.g., deployment of time series sensors, collection of samples used as proxies).
Coral Reef 'Wet' Diving
From 2002-2010, the NURP headquarters office initiated a
move to expand the scope of HURL's scientific reach to
include SCUBA and advanced technical diving to greater
depths, under the aegis of NOAA's Coral Reef
Conservation Program (CRCP). Since 2003, HURL administered extramural research
funds from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program with nearly $1
million distributed under the program. Project
locations included all the main Hawaiian
Islands, American Samoa, Australia, the Line Islands (i.e.,
Palmyra, Kingman, Jarvis, Kiribati), Guam, Saipan/CNMI,
and throughout the Caroline and Marshall Islands.
Projects were geared
towards management-oriented research and addressing one or
more threats facing U.S. coral reefs including
fishing, pollution, coastal uses (including
invasive species), climate change, and extreme events.
The field based research utilized
wet diving methods from snorkeling, regular SCUBA, to
advanced technical, mixed gas, and rebreather
technology. PIs carried out the dive programs themselves under the
supervision/approval of their institution's AAUS compliant Dive Program. Diving equipment purchased on grant funds was maintained by HURL and can still be requested for use.
DATA PRODUCTS
Video and data obtained through use of the deep-diving submersibles and ROV were catalogued and archived. The HURL Archive and Data Portal is now available for scientists, educators, film producers and others to access HURL's data legacy. The following data products are available for most dives:
- Video -- Not all video has been uploaded to the archive server. Contact HURL's Data Manager with any specific inquiries.
- Pilot Photos -- Pilots have taken photos through the viewport on every dive since 2003; some highlight photos can be viewed in the mission gallery.
- QLR's -- Quick Look Reports offer a brief overview of each dive
- CTD -- Conductivity, temperature, depth data where available
- NaDS -- Data from the video overlay that includes time, depth, heading, and altitude above bottom
- Tracking -- Location of the sub throughout the dive
Video Technology Improvements
In 2005, a universal time clock was installed
in the subs. The time data was included in a video overlay, which could be disabled
temporarily for an uninterrupted video scene. The overlay includes
time, depth, heading, and altitude above bottom and
these same values were recorded in a data file for inclusion in the
data package.
In 2009, the main video stream was upgraded to full High Definition
with the purchase of two Insite Pacific MINI-ZEUS HDTV
cameras. On each sub the HD camera was mounted adjacent
to the ROS color CCD camera on a starboard pan and tilt. This
provided a good view of the sampling basket and
starboard side when traversing along walls. The ROS
video has the data overlay inserted.
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