General

Valeport introduces new SWiFT CTD profiler

Designed with the intention of a seamless workflow, the new SWiFT CTD is the next generation of Valeport’s popular SWiFT profiler range and delivers enhanced accuracy and versatility for those requiring CTD measurements.

The SWiFT CTD profiler from Valeport, a leading oceanographic and hydrographic instrumentation manufacturer, provides survey-grade sensor technology coupled with the convenience of Bluetooth connectivity, rechargeable battery and an integral GPS module to geo-locate each profile.

Using Valeport’s world-leading high accuracy sensor technology to combine sensors for multiple profiles in a single drop, the SWiFT CTD features a new fast response temperature probe and operates down to 500m as standard, delivering directly measured Conductivity, Temperature and Depth.

In addition to the directly measured CTD, computed Salinity, Density and Sound Velocity is calculated using the UNESCO international standard algorithm and the Chen and Millero equation.  Data can be quickly and easily downloaded wirelessly, and uses Valeport’s new Ocean software for iOS, Android and PC platforms. Data can be instantly shared in industry standard data formats.

Ease of use is at the heart of the SWiFT range and the new SWiFT CTD not only makes any problematic battery changes a thing of the past and delivers fully automated data transfer with no user input required, it also features Valeport’s signature SWiFT magnetic switch ring. The switch ring is easy to operate even with cold hands, it simply turns through 90 degrees and reassuringly clicks into position. The end cap features user-friendly LED status indications for GPS, battery and communications.

With an operational battery life of up to five days and the convenience of charge via USB, the SWiFT CTD is intended for offshore, coastal, harbour and inland environmental and hydrographic survey use.

“Developed for those who need precise CTD data for scientific applications, this is the first time that measured CTD has been available with all the benefits of our SWiFT profiler; ease of use, Bluetooth connectivity, rechargeable battery and GPS.  The new SWiFT CTD delivers the highest quality CTD profiles in a compact, robust and portable package.” commented Guy Frankland, Valeport head of marketing.

Constructed from titanium to provide unmatched durability, the CTD sensors are housed in a strong acetal sensor guard.  An optional deployment cage is also available to bolt onto the instrument to help get the SWiFT CTD to depth in fast flowing currents.

The new SWiFT CTD  is now available to order.

For more information contact: [email protected] or visit www.valeport.co.uk

by Dan Levett

SCS Ltd Supplies Heriot Watt University Location & Tracking Solutions For iAtlantic Deep-Sea Research Project

Subsea Commercial Services Ltd. (Aberdeen, Scotland) is delighted to have supplied Heriot Watt University (Edinburgh, Scotland) with a range of Xeos asset location, tracking and recovery beacons for deployment during the iAtlantic research programme.

The Deep-Sea Ecology and Biogeochemistry Research Team located at the Lyell Centre at Heriot-Watt University will deploy the lithium battery powered solutions mounted to a seafloor autonomous lander. The lander will be released at the surface and will sink under its own weight to the seafloor. With deployments lasting up to one year, during a planned recovery, the lander will float back to the surface where the 11,000m rated titanium housed XMB-11K VHF location beacon will self-activate and start transmitting its location for tracking and recovery via the marine radio frequency. To aid in night-time recovery, the lander has also been fitted with a low light activated XMF-11K high intensity LED Flasher for visual confirmation.

In the event of an unplanned seafloor release and surfacing, the lander has also been fitted with the XMA-11K Argos satellite communication beacon. This transmits the lander’s location within 30 seconds of the beacon breaking through the water’s surface. With the research team alerted to the unplanned surfacing event, the nearest suitable vessel of opportunity can be tasked with asset recovery.

The iAtlantic programme is seeking to assess the health of deep-sea ecosystems across the full span of the Atlantic Ocean from the tip of Argentina in the south to Iceland in the north, and from the east coasts of USA and Brazil to the western margins of Europe and Africa. The ambitious project will – for the first time – undertake an ocean-wide approach to understanding the factors that control the distribution, stability and vulnerability of Atlantic deep-sea ecosystems. With the objective of determining the resilience of deep-sea animals and their habitats to threats such as climate change, pollution and human activities such as deep-sea mining and deep-sea trawling, the programme’s success is based upon international collaboration and sharing of expertise, equipment, infrastructure, data and personnel.

Programme co-lead and Head of Deep-Sea Ecology at Heriot-Watt, Professor Andrew K. Sweetman stated “We’re delighted to be using XEOS equipment supplied by Subsea Commercial Services Ltd that will aid in the recovery of our lander platforms.  The Deep-Sea Ecology and Biogeochemistry research group at the Lyell Centre operate the largest and most advanced lander fleet in the UK and getting the equipment back from the deep sea is a key objective to us during each expedition.  We currently have 13 deep-sea expeditions scheduled over the next 5 years and continue to use XEOS systems that we’ve always found are reliable, lightweight and more than capable of coping with the day-to-day stresses that we put on these systems."

For more information visit: www.subcomservices.com

by Dan Levett

MacArtney Group supplies a 12-unit turnkey solution for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency

The solution - featuring three different water sampler configurations in dedicated frames - which will help the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) document marine conditions in Danish waters was made possible by MacArtney's skilled and professional workshop staff.

The solution comprises a high-tech toolkit for measuring Danish waters, enabling EPA's oceanographers to measure a full range of parameters:

• • CTD – Conductivity, Temperature, Depth
  • Fluorescence
  • Yellow matter (CDOM)
  • Dissolved oxygen
  • PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation)

The CTD is one of the most commonly used tools in an oceanographer's armoury, providing detailed profile and time-series data on the measured parameters of conductivity, temperature and depth. Today's digital sampling techniques ensure a high level of accuracy, and the sample bottles are programmable for specific depths and intervals.

Each of the 12 units in MacArtney's solution presents marine scientists with real-time data and data logging. Any collected water specimens can be verified on-site or in laboratories later.

"It has been a tremendous pleasure to work with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. Having such a professional and constructive partner involved in the process has enabled MacArtney to identify the right technical solution," explains Lars Jørgensen, Head of Product Management for MacArtney A/S. He continues: "Designing dedicated frames that allow single-user operations is part and parcel of MacArtney's philosophy of supplying safe-to-handle equipment that provides the client with stable and reliable data." 

Full scope of supply

During the design process, time and cost-saving service procedures were carefully considered, and a running service/maintenance agreement is included.

The supply scope includes seven units with one all-electrical sensor, two units with two 4.5-litre Niskin water sample bottles, and three units on a specially customised Seabird 32 carousel water sampler frame. All 12 units can reach a maximum depth of 100 metres and feed data to MacArtney designed and produced topsides.

Furthermore, three are supplied with dedicated upwards and downwards-looking photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) sensors, which measure photosynthetic light levels in the water.

All the units are either deployable manually from small boats, such as rigid inflatable boats (RIB) or via a small winch or hand winch. Over half of the units can be operated by just one person, making them extremely practical and versatile.

Ingenious mounting solution

Usually, a Seabird 32 carousel water sampler frame carries 12 bottles but in this case, due to a higher mounting of the electronics – with two pipes instead of a frame – it only holds 10 bottles. This design's benefit is a reduced lifting height by 0.5 metres, meaning the carousel is still manageable on smaller boats with smaller winches. Moreover, the mounting solution saves time and money on the annual calibration, as just two hose clips need loosening to remove and reinsert the gear.

"Our skilled workshop team has been inventive in devising usable, practical solutions for both small vessels and larger ships. The mounting of the electronics on the carousel is, quite simply, a stroke of genius," concludes Lars Jørgensen.

For more information visit: www.macartney.com

by Dan Levett

McLane Announces Passing of Founder Dr. Sus Honjo

McLane Research Labs announces with great sorrow the passing of its founder, Dr. Susumu ‘Sus’ Honjo. He died peacefully at home on 23 December 2020 surrounded by his family. His pioneering work as a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) contributed to the understanding and observations of marine particle compositions and fluxes and of the oceanic biological pump. Dr. Honjo was a 2019 recipient of the first ever WHOI Distinguished Emeritus Award for his lifetime achievements.

Along with his pioneering research in biogeochemical particle flux studies, Honjo also led the development of several notable oceanographic instruments over four decades including the sediment trap, moored profiler, and ice-tethered Arctic environmental buoys.

In 1983, McLane Research Laboratories Inc. in Falmouth, Massachusetts was founded to make his instruments commercially available to the global scientific community. Hundreds of the instruments he developed have been deployed in every ocean of the world, and remain a significant tool for biological pump studies today. The company continues to thrive and in 2017, McLane was awarded Massachusetts SBA Exporter of the Year.

Sus was as proud of the team he built at McLane as he was of his instruments’ contributions to science. His wife Kazuko ‘Kay’ Honjo was an integral part of the company from its early days in the Honjo’s garage. He would often credit Kay as McLane’s true driver of success. He was also thrilled when his daughter Dr. Yuki Honjo joined McLane as President and COO in 2009. For many years, Sus was a frequent presence at McLane where he would attend meetings, investigate new product developments, and chat with staff about everything from current events, to the Boston Red Sox, and staff’s hobbies.

He was active in education and training programs, supervising many graduate students in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering and postdoctoral investigators. His greatest joy in his final days was reading the research of his former students and mentees and seeing their success.

Susumu Honjo was born in Japan in 1933 and received his formal education at Hokkaido University in Sapporo. He was one the first post WWII Japanese Fulbright scholars to the US at Kansas University. He was later a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Princeton University. From 1963 to 1970 he was Assistant and Associate Professor at Hokkaido University.

In 1970, he set down roots on Cape Cod by joining the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as an Associate Scientist. In 1982 he was promoted to WHOI Senior Scientist (holding the Institution’s Columbus O’Donnell Iselin Chair for Excellence in Oceanography from 1989 to 1994). As one of the first oceanographers to measure oceanic particle fluxes and examine mechanisms of particle transport, his work gave rise to the explosive research field of biogeochemical particle flux dynamics, linking biological particle production, chemical transformations, and sediment composition—with the ultimate goals of quantifying the delivery and sequestration of carbon in the deep-sea.

He was a founder of the International Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), an international collaborative research project established in 1983 to understand the ocean carbon cycle. Through his 15 years of leadership, the project collected data through sediment traps at sites in all the major ocean basins of the world.

His distinctions also included directing the establishment of a new ocean research institution in Mutsu City, Japan; serving as part-time Executive Director of the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC); and serving as Director of the Joint North Pacific Research Center at WHOI, a collaborative effort between Mutsu Institute of Oceanography of JAMSTEC and WHOI. In 2003 he was awarded the Imperial Order of the Rising Sun in Japan, for his research on the transfer of CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean’s interior and for his efforts to strengthen Japan’s role in the international ocean science research community.

In 2014 he was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). In 2018, he received an American Association for Advancement of Science Fellow award.

He is survived by Dr. Yuki Honjo, his daughter, her husband Jason Cullinane, and two cherished grandchildren. His beloved wife Kazuko “Kay” Honjo, passed in December 2019. The family plans a celebration of life for both Susumu and Kazuko when the pandemic eases.

For more information visit: www.mclanelabs.com

by Dan Levett

Complete Sonardyne suite for Dive Technologies’ large displacement AUV

Quincy, Massachusetts, based underwater robotics innovator Dive Technologies has chosen a complete suite of Sonardyne technologies for navigation, tracking and control of its large displacement DIVE-LD autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). To support long-distance and long-duration navigation, while minimizing complexity and payload space consumption, the vehicle is fitted with Sonardyne’s industry leading hybrid navigator SPRINT-Nav.

For underwater positioning and acoustic communications, the DIVE-LD is fitted with Sonardyne’s AvTrak 6 – a combined transponder, modem and emergency relocator beacon all in one. To cover all its concepts of operations (CONOPS), including tracking and communication during development and testing, Dive Technologies has also acquired Sonardyne’s most capable Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) system, Ranger 2, with its latest, compact Gyro USBL.

The DIVE-LD AUV is being developed to meet a wide range of long-endurance mission requirements, across the commercial, research and defense sectors. The vehicle, measuring 48 inches in diameter and 19 feet long and designed for operations down to 6,000 m water depth, is currently in production in the US with sea testing ongoing in New Bedford.

For more information visit: www.sonardyne.com

by Dan Levett

Teledyne Marine Introduces New Ultra Compact Acoustic Modem

Teledyne Marine is pleased to announce the launch of its new Ultra Compact Modem (UCM).  Sized at just 60 x 50 mm, and weighing in at just 55 grams, the OEM version of the UCM is the smallest acoustic modem ever designed by Teledyne Benthos.

The UCM is based on Teledyne Benthos’ proven signal processing technology to address the need for reliable wireless underwater acoustic communications onboard the growing number of autonomous micro vehicles and other subsea instruments.   As the size of these micro vehicles continues to decrease, Teledyne Marine has responded with lightweight, low power, proven sensors and systems to expand the usefulness of these platforms, increasing the number of tasks they can perform.

The self-contained UCM is rated to 700m; OEM versions are available with multiple remote transducer options for greater depths.   The UCM boasts increased transmit power resulting in increased range and improved data reliability, as well as a decreased power draw, both of which are critical for autonomous vehicles and extended subsea instrumentation deployments.

As with Teledyne’s ATM series modems, the Ultra Compact Modem is compatible with the feature-rich UTS-9400 Universal Top Side (UTS), and the soon to be launched CE marked UTS-9500 and is fully compatible with the NATO Janus underwater communication interoperability standard.

For more information, visit: www.teledynemarine.com/UCM

by Dan Levett

Benthic Solutions launches innovative Cuttings Pile Sampling Tool

The development of bespoke sampling equipment continues with the recent upgrade of the 1.2m ROV operated frame corer, initially developed in 2012, to a larger 2.2m device. Additional improvements include internal pistons, a robust chain drive and the inclusion of two independent core samplers within a single frame allowing multiple site visits or replicate samples from a single dive. The acquisition of duplicate samples allows for deeper penetration and recovery, up to 2.2m, as the cores themselves act as suction anchors. The device can be deployed independently from the surface or mounted on the ROV, it is therefore an ideal tool for environmental and geotechnical operations in precise locations amongst infrastructure, on cuttings piles, and for geochemical sampling around active seeps and vents.

Recent pictures from the successful deployment of the system in the North Sea to obtain deeper core samples of 2m from an extensive cuttings pile beneath infrastructure that is soon to be decommissioned.

For more information visit: www.benthicsolutions.com

by Dan Levett