Blog Nr 2: 18 July 2008

Blog Nr. 2:
18.07.08 Today’s BLOG is contributed by:
“Hi, my name is Jörn Tonnius. I am a PhD student at the Marum Bremen where I am working in the research group hydrothermal systems. During this cruise, I will be working with the geochemistry team to collect pore water samples from the sediment cores, perform analyses and prepare them for further analysis in Europe.”
BLOG 18. Juli 2008 (Author: Jörn Tonnius)

Welcome to ROV-Town!

Today’s main attraction was the introduction of all scientists to the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Quest4000 of the Marum Bremen.
At first, the whole scientific team gathered in the conference room, where the leader of the ROV-team, Volker Ratmeyer gave a presentation about the technical equipment of the “Quest”. The huge array of sensors, cameras and manipulators that can be deployed during the dives down to a depth of up to 4000 m is very impressive. After the presentation, small groups were led to the working deck. There, the ROV and its surroundings, including a giant cable-winch and the big control container for a small community of its own (the so-called “ROV-Town). During the dives, a crew of 9 technicians will work there in shifts. The control room of the dive robot fills a whole container. The remaining free space in the container is normally used by only 4 people: the two ROV-pilots and 2 scientists, one of them leading the dive and the other preparing the protocols. The high resolution HDTV recordings of the dive are directly transferred to the ship net and are presented on a big screen. After the long transit to the dive sites, a very intensive program of long dives is planned. Therefore, all scientists on board will most likely have the chance to accompany some of the dives in the control room. I’m looking forward to that and to all the new things we will learn during these dives.
 

Jörn Tonnius
The Town sign of ROV-Town marks the restricted access area surrounding the ROV on the working deck.
Volker Ratmeyer explains the ROV to a group of scientists.
The control container of the ROV.
View into the control room of the ROV.
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