Community News

DeepWater Horizon Oil Spill

August 31, 2010 — via Rutgers University

IOOS Response to BP Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
Glider Operations Blog

http://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/deepwater/category/deepwater-blog/

Woods Hole Oil Spill summary page

August 31, 2010 — via Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

WHOI has a long history of studying marine oil spills and related environmental impacts. Every spill is different in terms of its location, the physical habitat, affected species, and change over time, but WHOI brings a unique combination of scientific knowledge and technical expertise to meet the challenges posed by even the most difficult of spills.

UUVs deployed on repair and reconnaissance missions in the Gulf

August 31, 2010 — via AUVSI Unmanned Systems Mar 2010

Unmanned maritime systems have made several technological advances in recent years and the BP oil spill is proving how valuable and effective those systems are for disaster relief efforts. In addition to disaster relief there are many uses for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) that are making an impact on our world today.

New Custom BlueView Sonar for Tracking and Mapping of Pipelines and Subsea Structures

August 31, 2010 — via BlueView

Subsea 7, one of the world's leading subsea engineering and construction companies has chosen BlueView Technologies to provide the acoustic imaging systems for its new line of Autonomous Inspection Vehicles (AIVs).

Export Controls for the 21st Century

August 30, 2010 — via Wall Street Journal

The current system is a legacy of the Cold War and fails to distinguish between low-tech items and the most advanced proprietary technology.

Changes Weighed in Military Exports

August 29, 2010 — via Wall Street Journal

President Barack Obama will announce a series of initiatives this week aimed at streamlining the system that governs the export of weapons but also commercial products that have a potential for military use.

25 Years After Titanic’s Discovery, New Expedition Seeks to Virtually Raise the Wreck

August 26, 2010 — via Waitt Institute for Discovery

In what is arguably the most technologically advanced scientific expedition to Titanic ever organized, RMS Titanic, Inc. has brought together a team of leading archaeologists, oceanographers and scientists including The Institute of Nautical Archaeology, The National Oceanic Atmospheric and Administration’s National Marine Sanctuaries Program, and The National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center to execute this historic “mission of firsts.”

Bluefin and Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Enter Agreement to Advance Spray Glider Operational Capability in Response to Oil Spill

August 26, 2010 — via Bluefin Robotics

The purpose of the agreement is to collaboratively further glider-based marine science and technology research in the areas of education, autonomous vehicle development, manufacturing, and at-sea operations.

AUVSI Update: Power Issues Hamper Deployment of Robotic Underwater Vehicles

August 26, 2010 — via National Defense

he Navy wants to deploy robotic underwater vehicles to conduct anti-submarine warfare and counter-mine missions, but its plans are being held up by power problems that limit their endurance.

Underwater Equipment Launched in Search for Titanic

August 26, 2010 — via MSNBC

The wind and the seas have not been cooperating with a group of scientists’ effort to document the debris field where the Titanic sank in the middle of the North Atlantic.

Navy Chief: Tight Budget Will Curb Unmanned Developments

August 25, 2010 — via Aviation Week

Fiscal constraints will be a major driving factor in the capabilities that the U.S. Navy will seek in unmanned vehicles in the coming years, says the chief of naval operations, Adm. Gary Roughead.

The future of robotics takes the floor, and more, at biomechanics conference

August 21, 2010 — via Providence Journal

“The reality is, what people are doing here now will have an application in about 10 years,” said Tom Roberts, conference co-chairman and associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown University, co-sponsor with Rhode Island Hospital.

Sonar images from robotic submersible help officials determine if historic shipwreck poses oil pollution threat?

August 20, 2010 — via Yuba Net

Experts hope to use sonar images of a sunken ship off California’s coast to determine whether the vessel is at risk of leaking oil. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) sent a robotic submersible down to the wreck of the SS Montebello last week in an effort to assess the condition of the ship. The Montebello was torpedoed by an Imperial Japanese submarine during World War II seven miles off the coast near Cambria. The vessel sits on the seafloor at a depth of approximately 900 feet, presumably with its tanks full of Santa Maria crude oil.

What We Learned From Waldo: Our Florida Keys Oil-Seeking Robot Ends His Run

August 20, 2010 — via NRDC Switchboard

The best thing about Waldo’s run is what we didn’t find – oil. Waldo didn’t turn up any strong indications of oil on the continental shelf to the north and northwest of the Florida Keys during this run.

Rosebank Operator Selects Fugro 

August 19, 2010 — via Hydro International

Fugro will use one of its autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), Echo Surveyor 1, to provide precise engineering-grade shallow geophysical data using multibeam echosounder, sidescan sonarand subbottom profiler in water depths down to 1,200m.

WHOI Scientists Map and Confirm Origin of Large, Underwater Hydrocarbon Plume in Gulf

August 19, 2010 — via WHOI

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have detected a plume of hydrocarbons that is at least 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, a residue of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Extent of lingering Gulf oil plume revealed

August 19, 2010 — via Nature.com

Extensive chemical analysis confirms that undegraded oil remains at ocean depths.

Titanic expedition maps wreck site

August 18, 2010 — via Cape Cod Times

This s the goal of a group of scientists, including researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who leave today on a 20-day expedition. They will use the latest in sonar technologies, acoustic imaging and high resolution video to create a virtual 3-D map of the Titanic wreck site that will eventually be accessible online.

Iver2 Utilized in Search for Amelia Earhart’s Aircraft

August 18, 2010 — via OceanServer

OceanServer Technology, recently loaned an Iver2 AUV outfitted with Side Scan Sonar to the The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography team's project assisting with Gulf monitoring

August 17, 2010 — via La Jolla Light

Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists are doing their part to aid in the Gulf oil spill crisis, deploying state-of-the-art "gliders" to track oil content and flow.

New Material from Space Exploration to Innovate Industry

August 17, 2010 — via Softpedia

The new material is an advanced kind of titanium, which comes accompanied by a special manufacturing technique as well, representatives from the organization add.

Hawkes Ocean Technologies Launches Subsidiary, Hawkes Remotes Inc.

August 17, 2010 — via Sea Technology

Hawkes Ocean Technologies (Richmond, California) recently announced that it is launching a company, Hawkes Remotes Inc., to commercialize a new class of advanced undersea remotely operated and robotic vehicles for scientific research, industrial applications and deep-sea exploration.

Texas researchers on the hunt for Lake Huron shipwrecks

August 17, 2010 — via ARL:UT

A group of researchers at the Applied Research Laboratories at the The University of Texas at Austin (ARL:UT) are cruising the Thunder Bay Maritime Sanctuary on Lake Huron, mapping the lake-floor for undiscovered shipwrecks and a prehistoric archeological site.

Delaware research team tries to get to bottom of ocean floor's secrets

August 15, 2010 — via Delaware Online

At dusk last week, a team of Delaware geologists and biologists set out from Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes to explore one of the mid-Atlantic's least understood habitats: the ocean bottom.

Delaware research eam tries to get to bottom of ocean floor's secrets

August 15, 2010 — via Delaware Online

At dusk last week, a team of Delaware geologists and biologists set out from Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes to explore one of the mid-Atlantic's least understood habitats: the ocean bottom.

Brown hosts major national biomechanics meeting

August 13, 2010 — via Brown University

About 600 scientists from the American Society of Biomechanics will be in Providence Aug. 18–21, 2010, for a national conference. With equal representation of engineers and life scientists, the ASB will consider everything from free-ranging robotic fish and birds to prostheses and robotic “exoskeletons.

Naval Postgraduate School Pioneers "Seaweb" Undersea Sensor Networks

August 12, 2010 — via Navy News

Through a robust program of engineering experiments and sea trials in diverse maritime environments, NPS and its research partners have advanced the underwater wireless digital communications system to the point where it now routinely demonstrates capability for maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), oceanographic sampling, instrument remote-control, underwater navigation, and submarine communications at speed and depth.

Wax, soap clean up obstacles to better batteries

August 12, 2010 — via Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Paraffin and surfactant oleic acid improve synthesis of lithium manganese phosphate electrodes.

Adaptive Methods Inc awarded UUV net avoidance contract

August 12, 2010 — via FBO

NUWC Newport announced the award of a contract to Solicitation Number: N6660409R4012
Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Fish Net Avoidance

Norwich robot on undercover Spanish mission

August 11, 2010 — via The Advertiser

A robot has taken to life under the ocean waves near Spain - with its every move controlled by scientists based 900 miles away at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Oceanography: Dead in the water

August 11, 2010 — via NatureNews

Every summer for the past nine years, water with lethally low concentrations of oxygen has appeared off the Oregon coast. The hypoxia may be a sign of things to come elsewhere.

Weston Solutions awarded AUV Munitions sensor contract

August 11, 2010 — via FBO

Award Notice Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Munitions and Explosives of Concern Detection System

Hull Cleaning Robot for Large Ships

August 10, 2010 — via Design World

A Florida company designed a robotic crawler to navigate around the underwater portion of a ship and remove accumulated biofilm layers. As a battery operated, autonomous vehicle, component selection made up a highly critical part of the design and manufacturing process.

Job Opportunity AMI International Bremerton WA

August 10, 2010 — via AMI International

Analyze data and write news articles, market forecast reports, and market assessments on unmanned systems including air, ground, naval surface and subsurface systems

Learning From Mexican Spill, Researchers Fight for Funds

August 9, 2010 — via Wall Street Journal

Scientists studying one of the biggest oil spills 31 years ago watched with alarm as funds to research the environmental damage evaporated shortly after the well was plugged.

US dollars for a new lab

August 9, 2010 — via Boston Globe

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is expanding, thanks to an $8.1 million federal Recovery Act grant.

Introducing Robofish: Leading the Crowd in Studying Group Dynamics

August 7, 2010 — via Science Magazine

We've proven it's possible to use robotic fish to study relationships between individuals and shoal dynamics as well as the behaviour of individual fish

NRC of Canada Orders EP42 Iver2 AUV

August 6, 2010 — via OceanServer

OceanServer Technology announced that the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada has taken delivery of a new vehicle.

Call for Papers Warship 2011: Submarines and UUV's

August 6, 2010 — via Royal Institution for Naval Architects

RINA invites papers on all aspects of the design, construction and operation of Naval Submarines and UUVs, including the following topics:

Under-Ice Mission for Bluefin-21 AUV Turns Up Valuable Data for Climate Research

August 5, 2010 — via Bluefin Robotics

A Bluefin-21 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) owned by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) was sent out on an under-ice mission and retrieved valuable data that could shed light on climate change.

U.S. Navy Establishes New UMV Office

August 5, 2010 — via Aviation Week

The U.S. Navy has established a new program office to manage its unmanned maritime vehicle (UMV) efforts, marrying traditional acquisition and advanced development into a single charter.

Leeds researchers study undersea rivers with a yellow submarine

August 2, 2010 — via University of Leeds

A team of scientists led by the University of Leeds has used a robotic ‘yellow submarine’ to observe detailed flows within an ‘undersea river’ for the very first time.

Mote Marine seeks long-term role in oil spill research

August 2, 2010 — via HeraldTribune

Now, one of Sarasota's most recognizable institutions is angling for a larger role in what could be decades of oil-related research. Mote has applied for more than $3.3 million in research grants related to the oil spill.