James C. Kinsey

Tracking Hydrocarbon Plume Transport and Biodegradation at Deepwater Horizon

Diving into Deep Water The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the largest oil spills on record. Its setting at the bottom of the sea floor posed an unanticipated risk as substantial amounts of hydrocarbons leaked into the deepwater column. Three separate cruises identified and sampled deep underwater hydrocarbon plumes that existed in May and June, 2010—before the well head was ultimately sealed. Camilli et al. (p. 201; published online 19 August) used an automated underwater vehicle to assess the dimensions of a stabilized, diffuse underwater plume of oil that was 22 miles long and estimated the daily quantity of oil released from the well, based on the concentration and dimensions of the plume. Hazen et al. (p. 204; published online 26 August) also observed an underwater plume at the same depth and found that hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria were enriched in the plume and were breaking down some parts of the oil. Finally, Valentine et al. (p. 208; published online 16 September) found that natural gas, including propane and ethane, were also present in hydrocarbon plumes. These gases were broken down quickly by bacteria, but primed the system for biodegradation of larger hydrocarbons, including those comprising the leaking crude oil. Differences were observed in dissolved oxygen levels in the plumes (a proxy for bacterial respiration), which may reflect differences in the location of sampling or the aging of the plumes. In late June 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil plume stretched more than 35 kilometers at a depth of 1100 meters. The Deepwater Horizon blowout is the largest offshore oil spill in history. We present results from a subsurface hydrocarbon survey using an autonomous underwater vehicle and a ship-cabled sampler. Our findings indicate the presence of a continuous plume of oil, more than 35 kilometers in length, at approximately 1100 meters depth that persisted for months without substantial biodegradation. Samples collected from within the plume reveal monoaromatic petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in excess of 50 micrograms per liter. These data indicate that monoaromatic input to this plume was at least 5500 kilograms per day, which is more than double the total source rate of all natural seeps of the monoaromatic petroleum hydrocarbons in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Dissolved oxygen concentrations suggest that microbial respiration rates within the plume were not appreciably more than 1 micromolar oxygen per day.

Diverse styles of submarine venting on the ultraslow spreading Mid-Cayman Rise

Thirty years after the first discovery of high-temperature submarine venting, the vast majority of the global mid-ocean ridge remains unexplored for hydrothermal activity. Of particular interest are the world’s ultraslow spreading ridges that were the last to be demonstrated to host high-temperature venting but may host systems particularly relevant to prebiotic chemistry and the origins of life. Here we report evidence for previously unknown, diverse, and very deep hydrothermal vents along the ∼110 km long, ultraslow spreading Mid-Cayman Rise (MCR). Our data indicate that the MCR hosts at least three discrete hydrothermal sites, each representing a different type of water-rock interaction, including both mafic and ultramafic systems and, at ∼5,000 m, the deepest known hydrothermal vent. Although submarine hydrothermal circulation, in which seawater percolates through and reacts with host lithologies, occurs on all mid-ocean ridges, the diversity of vent types identified here and their relative geographic isolation make the MCR unique in the oceans. These new sites offer prospects for an expanded range of vent-fluid compositions, varieties of abiotic organic chemical synthesis and extremophile microorganisms, and unparalleled faunal biodiversity—all in close proximity.

Adaptive Identification on the Group of Rigid-Body Rotations and its Application to Underwater Vehicle Navigation

This paper reports a novel stable adaptive identifier on the group of rigid-body rotations, and its application to a sensor-calibration problem arising in underwater vehicle navigation. The problem addressed is the identification of an unknown rigid-body rotation map from input-output data. General least-squares (LS) and adaptive identification techniques are commonly employed to identify general linear maps from input-output data, but do not guarantee that the resulting identified map is a rigid-body rotation. At present, an LS singular value decomposition approach is the standard method for identification constrained to the group of rigid-body rotations. This paper reports the first exact adaptive identifier on the group of rigid-body rotations, together with a proof of asymptotic stability. Techniques for navigating underwater vehicles are reviewed, and the Doppler-alignment calibration problem is posed. The reported adaptive identifier is employed to solve this problem, and performance of this adaptive identifier is evaluated on both laboratory and field experimental data. The results reported herein compare favorably with results obtained via previously reported LS techniques. The methodology reported herein may be of broader interest because of its applicability to more general problems in the identification, dynamics, and control on the group of rigid-body motions

A new hydrodynamics test facility for UUV dynamics and control research

This paper reports the development of a new hydrodynamics test facility for UUV dynamics, navigation, and control research. Located at the Johns Hopkins University, the facilitys 174,000 liter water tank, navigation instrumentation, and testbed ROV provides the ability for development of advanced underwater vehicle systems. Experimental data demonstrating the performance of the facilitys sensor suite is presented. This paper briefly discusses the facilitys recent role in the development of control and navigation systems for operational oceanographic underwater vehicles.

Assessing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill with the sentry autonomous underwater vehicle

This paper reports the Sentry autonomous underwater vehicle and its deployment on two cruises in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The first cruise, in June 2010, coupled Sentry with the TETHYS mass spectrometer to track and localize a subsea hydrocarbon plume at a depth of approximately 1100m going at least 30km from the oil spill site. In December 2010, Sentry mapped and photographed deep-sea biological communities for follow-up observations and sampling with the Alvin manned submersible. These cruises demonstrate how robots and novel sensing technologies contributed to the oil spill assessment and the broader impact of technologies developed for basic research.

Preliminary Field Experience with the DVLNAV Integrated Navigation System for Manned and Unmanned Submersibles

Abstract This paper reports the development and field testing of DVLNAV, an interactive progranl for precision three-dimensional navigation of underwatervehicles. We report the results of prelinlinary field trials of DVLNAV with the Jason II underwater robot. The performance of bottom lock doppler navigation is evaluated with respect to long baseline acoustic navigation.

Towards in-situ calibration of gyro and Doppler navigation sensors for precision underwater vehicle navigation

Addresses a practical problem arising in the calibration of bottom-lock Doppler sonar for the navigation of underwater robot vehicles. Employing a least-squares method, the rotational alignment offset between a bottom-lock Doppler sonar and a north-seeking gyroscope can be experimentally determined using sensors commonly deployed with a vehicle in the field. It requires sensor values from the vehicles Doppler sonar and 3-axis gyroscope, and absolute vehicle position fixes from a long-baseline or short-baseline acoustic navigation system. The performance of the calibration method is evaluated with simulated Doppler data possessing measurement noise typical of that found in actual in-water vehicle sensor data.

A long term vision for long-range ship-free deep ocean operations: Persistent presence through coordination of Autonomous Surface Vehicles and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

We outline a vision for persistent and/or long-range seafloor exploration and monitoring utilizing autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to conduct coordinated autonomous surveys. Three types of surveys are envisioned: a) Autonomous tending of deep-diving AUVs: deployed from a research vessel, the ASV would act as a force-multiplier, watching over the AUV to provide operators and scientists with real-time data and re-tasking capabilities, while freeing the ship to conduct other over-the-side operations; b) Ridge-segment-scale (100 km) autonomous hydrothermal exploration: combined with conventional gliders or long-endurance AUVs, an ASV could tend a fleet of underwater assets equipped with low-power chemical sensors for mapping hydrothermal plumes and locating seafloor hydrothermal venting. Operators would control the system via satellite, such that a support ship would be needed only for initial deployment and final recovery 1-2 months later; and c) Basin-scale (10,000 km) autonomous surveys: a purpose-built autonomous surface vessel (mother-ship) with abilities up to and including autonomous deployment, recovery, and re-charge of subsea robots could explore or monitor the ocean and seafloor on the oceanic basin scale at a fraction of the cost of a global-class research vessel. In this paper we outline our long term conceptual vision, discuss some preliminary enabling technology developments that we have already achieved and set out a roadmap for progress anticipated over the next 2-3 years. We present an overview of the system architecture for autonomous tending along with some preliminary field work.

The Nereus hybrid underwater robotic vehicle for global ocean science operations to 11,000m depth

This paper reports an overview of the new Nereus hybrid underwater vehicle and summarizes the vehicles performance during its first sea trials in November 2007. Nereus is a novel operational underwater vehicle designed to perform scientific survey and sampling to the full depth of the ocean of 11,000 meters - almost twice the depth of any present-day operational vehicle. Nereus operates in two different modes. For broad area survey, the vehicle can operate untethered as an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) capable of exploring and mapping the sea floor with sonars and cameras. For close up imaging and sampling, Nereus can be converted at sea to operate as a tethered remotely operated vehicle (ROV). This paper reports the overall vehicle design and design elements including ceramic pressure housings and flotation spheres; manipulator and sampling system; light fiber optic tether; lighting and imaging; power and propulsion; navigation; vehicle dynamics and control; and acoustic communications.

Navigation and control of the Nereus hybrid underwater vehicle for global ocean science to 10,903 m depth: Preliminary results

This paper reports an overview of the navigation and control system design for the new Nereus hybrid underwater robotic vehicle (HROV). Vehicle performance during its first sea trials in November 2007 near Hawaii, and in May and June 2009 in the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench is reported. During the latter expedition, the vehicle successfully performed scientific observation and sampling operations at depths exceeding 10,903 m. The Nereus underwater vehicle is designed to perform scientific survey and sampling to the full depth of the ocean — significantly deeper than the depth capability of all other present-day operational vehicles. For comparison, the second deepest underwater vehicle currently operational worldwide can dive to 7,000 m maximum depth. Nereus operates in two different modes. For broad-area survey, the vehicle can operate untethered as an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) capable of exploring and mapping the sea floor with sonars and cameras. Nereus can be converted at sea to become a tethered remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to enable close-up imaging and sampling. The ROV configuration incorporates a lightweight fiber-optic tether (for high-bandwidth, real-time video and data telemetry to the surface), an electro-hydraulic manipulator arm, and sampling instruments. The Nereus vehicle is designed to render all parts of the Earths seafloor accessible to oceanographic science.