ROV jacket inspections
ROVs were used to complete subsea survey and inspections of three large jacket structures (steel frame supporting oil & gas rig deck and topsides) off the coast of California. The ROVs logged >100 dives for ~700 hrs underwater, assisting dive teams with 131 dives totalling ~337 hours. The campaign included visual, magnetic particle, and cathodic surveys of welds and structural steel pieces.
Full article at: OFFSHORE ENGINEER, 27dec19
Aerial Reef-Mapping Technology
Amazing technological advances out of Arizona State University mean that coral reefs can be mapped at a rate of 250,000 acres a day, and at resolution of 4 centimeters!
Full article at: NYTimes 10jun19
Live ROV exploration off Holmes Reef
The Schmidt Ocean Institute has started a month-long exploration of the Coral Reef Marine Park in northern Queensland and is broadcasting live to YouTube and Facebook. Check out their daily live-streams for amazing deep-sea creatures and geological structures!
The expedition is maintaining social distancing regulations by connecting the scientists from their individual locations on-shore to the vessel’s crew operating the ROV SUBastian aboard the RV Falcor. Technology is so amazing!
NOAA maps seafloor with ROVs
Very exciting news for underwater explorers! Late 2019, NOAA was directed to map the entire US’s Exclusive Economic Zone by 2030. The EEZ covers more than 20,900 km (13,000 miles) of coastline and 3.4 million square nautical miles of ocean.
Full article at: E&E NEWS, Rob Hotakainen, 03jan20