LUSO: Portugal's new 6000 m rated R.O.V. for deep sea research
Abstract
Portugal has now the capability to explore the deep ocean with a 6000 meter rated ROV. The ROV, named LUSO, was acquired by the Portuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC). LUSO is a work class Bathyssaurus XL, developed by ARGUS Remote Systems AS and has entered in operation in September 2008. Its main application will be focused on both fundamental and applied research in deep waters. This new ROV is equipped with a variety of multidisciplinary marine research equipment such as: cameras for capturing high definition digital images, two manipulators, one rosette system, a biologic sampler, a mini- drill, a CH4 and CO2 sensor, push corers, CTD and a Doppler velocity logger and two parallel green laser scaling devices. The equipment will be upgraded in 2009 with an inertial movement unit (IMU) and possibly a swath bathymetry system. A first cruise with LUSO will be held on board the Portuguese oceanic class vessel the "NRP Almirante Gago Coutinho" from September to November 2008. This mission will comprise five legs with the total of four study areas: 1. Azores Platform (including the most recent Serreta submarine eruption and a series of dives along the Terceira axis); 2. southern Azores seamounts (Great Meteor group); 3. the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 36ºN and 38ºN and 4. the Josephine seamount (Eu-Nub plate boundary). A multidisciplinary team of researchers from several national universities and public institutions, covering a wide spectrum of marine research topics: Geology, Geophysics, Oceanography, Macro and micro-biology will conduct the research. In dive area 1 the architecture of hiper-slow oceanic crust, as exposed on the Terceira axis walls and the temporal and spatial variability of constructional processes which have been creating the Azores Volcanic Platform, will be investigated. In dive area 3, previous investigations of hydrothermal occurrences at the Lucky Strike segment will be complemented. This presentation will be focus on the results of dive areas 1 and 3.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2008
- Bibcode:
- 2008AGUFMOS51C1271C
- Keywords:
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- 3080 Submergence instruments: ROV;
- AUV;
- submersibles