NEWS
Maria S. Merian Collects Current Data and Samples
Research crew on Maria S. Merian to research currents and samples in the South Atlantic.
A few weeks after the research vessel Meteor left Cape Town with an international research team headed by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, RV Maria S. Merian is on the same course from Table Mountain to South America. On board is a team of more than 20 scientists from eight countries. Of particular interest is the oceanic heat transport in the region including, for example, the northward transport of warm water masses in so-called Agulhas rings. bit.ly/2jsWVJG
1st Assembly on Mapping our Seas After nearly a century in Monaco, the IHO will enter its second century under a revised governance structure, with the 1st Session of the IHO Assembly taking place from 24 to 28 April 2017. Over 300 delegates representing its 85 Member States, together with representatives from international and non–governmental organisations and observers from other States and industry will meet in the Auditorium Rainier III in Monaco. bit.ly/2jt0z6w
BMT ARGOSS Launches Ice Charting Capability BMT ARGOSS (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, a leading international design, engineering and risk management BMT Ice Charting Capability. consultancy, has launched an ice charting capability. Coupled with the company’s extensive weather forecasting expertise, this will provide a more enhanced and cost-effective service to customers globally. As part of this new capability, a number of BMT’s key senior meteorologists have completed a training programme at the Danish Meteorological Institute. bit.ly/2jt2LLb
Subsea Navigation for Pipelay Vessel LV 108 Sonardyne, based in Houston, USA, has supplied acoustically aided inertial navigation technology to offshore engineering, McDermott extends capabilities with procurement, construction and Sonardyne’s acoustically-aided DP installation technology for LV 108. Image courtesy: company McDermott International, Inc. McDermott International for its Lay Vessel 108 (LV 108). The Sonardyne Ranger 2 Pro DP-INS system, the highest specification available from Sonardyne, is being used to support touchdown monitoring surveys of submarine cables, umbilicals and pipelines and as an independent position reference for the LV 108 ’s Kongsberg dynamic positioning (DP) system. bit.ly/2jt41Om
Breeding Ground for Deep-sea Octopuses Manganese nodules on the seabed of the Pacific Ocean are an important breeding ground for deep-sea octopuses. As reported by a German-American team of biologists in the latest issue of the journal ‘Current Biology’, the octopuses deposit their eggs onto sponges that only grow locally on manganese nodules. The researchers had observed the previously unknown octopus species during diving expeditions in the Pacific at depths of more than 4,000 metres – new record depths for these octopuses. http://bit.ly/2jtqoDs
Wide-angle Echoscope Coda Octopus has presented an addition to its range of real-time 3D sonar systems, a wide-angle 90°x40° 240kHz option Echoscope. This variant has multiple projectors and affords an increased opening angle, thus increasing the field of view and survey area of coverage. The XD dual frequency model will enable large area imaging and mapping to be efficiently and effectively completed in support of a wide range of subsea bathymetry and imaging projects. http://bit.ly/2jtnZZq
ROV approaching the manganese nodules and a deep-sea octopus. Image courtesy: NOAA.
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