Two records of patchy occurrences of the oceanic shrimpSergestes similis Hansen off the east coast of Honshu,Japan

Two recent records of the occurrences of the pelagic shrimp,Sergestes similis Hansen, are reported. They provide evidence of dense swarms ofS. similis in midwater off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, in spring. On one occasion,S. similis was found in a stomach of the basking shark,Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus). The shark, 8.11 m in total length, was accidentally trapped in a set net off Izu-oshima Island on April 18, 1974, and its foregut was filled only withS. similis. Feeding and swimming behavior of the basking shark, condition of the gut contents, and temperature profiles of the sea revealed thatS. similis was preyed upon by the shark near the island when the shrimp swarmed below 100 m depth at night. On another occasion,S. similis was fished by a commercial ground trawler 31 miles off Cape Shioyazaki on April 4 and 5 and off Hitachi on April 11, 1976. The trawlings were made around 500 m depth at daytime, and a total of 3.8 tons ofS. similis was caught and marketed. The size-frequency distribution and sex ratio ofS. similis in both occurrences from off Izu-oshima Island and off Cape Shioyazaki coincided very well. The samples consisted of identical population of probably 2nd year class having a body length mode between 46.0 and 50.0 mm. The sex ratio was skewed greatly toward females in both samples, that is 38∶2 and 100∶3 respectively. These two phenomena are discussed in relation to the life history ofS. similis.     

深海观测系统脐带缆形态分析及计算

通过对水下拖曳系统脐带缆索的受力情况、形态进行分析，建立了三维空间缆索的物理模型和数学模型，并在此基础上编制了计算程序，对6000m深海观测系统脐带缆的性状进行了模拟计算，其结果为深拖系统最佳缆长的确定提供了理论依据。     

Optimal measurement strategies for target tracking by a biomimetic underwater vehicle

This study presents a novel navigation and control system allowing a biomimetic-autonomous underwater vehicle (BAUV) to track a target. A Bayesian approach using an extended Kalman filter and combined localization and environmental mapping by a BAUV are implemented. This strategy selects the best sensor measurement by choosing one of several forward-looking directions. The body of the BAUV moves in a cyclical pattern; thus, an inexpensive echo sounder can be installed on the BAUV head to detect environmental features without the need for expensive scanning devices. The localization and environmental mapping problem is then transformed into a non-linear two-point boundary value problem. Optimal policies are to maintain the accuracy of predicted states and to approach minimal observation cost by solving the control problem. A line-of-sight guidance law is utilized that drives the BAUV to the target. An approach that controls the motion of the body/caudal fin and pectoral fins of the BAUV is utilized for target tracking. Estimation, measurement, and control processes are integrated to form a working system. Experiments using a test bed BAUV confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Localization of autonomous underwater vehicles by floating acoustic buoys: a set-membership approach

This paper addresses localization of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) from acoustic time-of-flight measurements received by a field of surface floating buoys. It is assumed that measurements are corrupted by unknown-but-bounded errors, with known bounds. The localization problem is tackled in a set-membership framework and an algorithm is presented, which produces as output the set of admissible AUV positions in a three-dimensional (3-D) space. The algorithm is tailored for a shallow water situation (water depth less than 500 m), and accounts for realistic variations of the sound speed profile in sea water. The approach is validated by simulations in which uncertainty models have been obtained from field data at sea. Localization performance of the algorithm are shown comparable with those previously reported in the literature by other approaches who assume knowledge of the statistics of measurement uncertainties. Moreover, guaranteed uncertainty regions associated to nominal position estimates are provided. The proposed algorithms can be used as a viable alternative to more traditional approaches in realistic at-sea conditions.     

Waves at the sea surface generated by a flow over an underwater obstacle

We study wave perturbations appearing at the surface of a two-layer fluid flowing around an underwater obstacle in the lower layer of the fluid. The obstacle is modeled as a point source. A class of asymptotic solutions was obtained that demonstrate that realistic conditions of the open sea and the given parameters of the source in the neighborhood of the source of hydrodynamic perturbations allow for the formation of two types of surface waves. The waves of the first type only slightly depend on the stratification, and, in the conditions of the real sea, they are almost not observed. The characteristics of the second type of waves were repeatedly recorded in field experiments during radar and optical monitoring of the sea surface.     

Observation of abnormal solubility behavior of aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater

The Setschenow and McDevit—Long equations are applied to aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater by using solute surface area and recently available solubility data to evaluate the Setschenow constant. It is demonstrated that this approach avoids a previously encountered problem with the McDevit-Long equation while also pointing out fundamental theoretical discrepancies. Compounds that do not fit the presented semi-empirical relationship are of interest as they may exhibit abnormal partitioning behavior in seawater. Using this approach it is suggested that 1,2-benzanthracene and benzo(a)pyrene exhibit abnormal solution behavior in seawater.     

Recovery of underwater visibility and structure by polarization analysis

Underwater imaging is important for scientific research and technology as well as for popular activities, yet it is plagued by poor visibility conditions. In this paper, we present a computer vision approach that removes degradation effects in underwater vision. We analyze the physical effects of visibility degradation. It is shown that the main degradation effects can be associated with partial polarization of light. Then, an algorithm is presented, which inverts the image formation process for recovering good visibility in images of scenes. The algorithm is based on a couple of images taken through a polarizer at different orientations. As a by-product, a distance map of the scene is also derived. In addition, this paper analyzes the noise sensitivity of the recovery. We successfully demonstrated our approach in experiments conducted in the sea. Great improvements of scene contrast and color correction were obtained, nearly doubling the underwater visibility range.     

Reflection of a long wave from an underwater slope

Reflection of long sea waves from an underwater slope described by a power law is studied within the shallow water theory. The slope is connected with the flat bottom. This model allows us to estimate the roles of a pointwise reflection from the inflection point of the bottom profile and distributed reflection at the underwater slope. The case of the underwater slope described by the so-called nonreflecting beach (h(x) ∼ x ^4/3, where h is the depth of the basin and x is the coordinate) when the wave is reflected only from the inflection point (pointwise reflection) is specially considered. The reflection and transmission coefficients over the bottom topography were calculated, and it was shown that the sum of the squared absolute values of these values differs from unity for all profiles except the nonreflecting one. This difference is related to the distributed re-reflections (resonances) over the underwater slope that lead to the deviations in the wave height from the known Green’s law.     

Study of a jet-propulsion method for an underwater vehicle

This paper investigates a novel jet-propulsion method for a submerged vehicle. The approach is based on flexible-tube, eccentric rotor, Downingtown-Huber type pumps. Equations of motion are derived for a craft driven by such pumps. In order to develop general insight into the overall dynamics of the system, simulations are carried out for the simple case of horizontal straight-line motion. Results are obtained for the vehicle velocity, distance traveled, pump speed, and energy consumption. Effect of drag forces on the operation of the craft is studied. Finally, the jet-propulsion system is compared with conventional screw-type propulsors via simulation.     

A hydrodynamic model of a two-part underwater towed system

A three-dimensional model of a two-part underwater towed system is studied. In the model, the governing equations of cables are established based on the Ablow and Schechter method. The boundary conditions for the two-part underwater towed system are derived. The six-degrees-of-freedom equations of motion for submarine simulations are adopted to predict the hydrodynamic performance of a towed vehicle. The established governing equations for the system are then solved using a central finite difference method. In this paper several algorithms are used to solve this special form of finite difference equations. The results in this paper indicate that the two-part underwater towed system improves the dynamic behavior of the towed vehicle and is an easy way to decouple the towing ship motion from the towed vehicle. Because the model uses an implicit time integration, it is stable for large time steps and is an effective algorithm for simulation of a large-scale underwater towed system.     

Investigation on a two-part underwater manoeuvrable towed system

A hydrodynamic model of a two-part underwater manoeuvrable towed system is proposed in which a depressor is equipped with active horizontal and vertical control surfaces, and a towed vehicle is attached to the lower end of a primary cable. In such a system the towed vehicle can be manoeuvred in both vertical and horizontal planes when it is towed at a certain velocity and the coupling effect of excitations at the upper end of the primary cable and disturbances of control manipulations to the towed vehicle can be reduced. In the model the hydrodynamic behavior of an underwater vehicle is described by the six-degrees-of-freedom equations of motion for submarine simulations. The added masses of an underwater vehicle are obtained from the three-dimensional potential theory. The control surface forces of the vehicle are determined by the wing theory. The results indicate that with relative simple control measures a two-part underwater manoeuvrable towed system enables the towed vehicle to travel in a wide range with a stable attitude. The method in this model gives an effective numerical approach for determining hydrodynamic characteristics of an underwater vehicle especially when little or no experimental data are available or when costs prohibit doing experiments for determining these data.     

海水液压作业工具系统的研制

介绍了一种以海水液压驱动的水下作业工具,分析了该系统的组成、工作原理、研制难点及解决方案。该工具系统能工作于300m以浅的海域,完成水下钢缆切断、船体和水下结构物表面的清刷、打磨等工作。     

SLOCUM: an underwater glider propelled by environmental energy

SLOCUM is a small gliding AUV of 40 000-km operational range which harvests its propulsive energy from the heat flow between the vehicle engine and the thermal gradient of the temperate and tropical ocean. The design of both the glider and the thermal engine are discussed including the design genesis and approach, field trial results, concept strength, and limitations and potential use     

Application of a panel method to hydrodynamics of underwater vehicles

A low-order singularity panel method based on Green's formulation is used to predict the hydrodynamics characteristics of underwater vehicles. The low-order modeling employs constant strength sources and doublets, and the body surface is modeled by quadrilaterals. The method is first applied to predicting the force and moment coefficients of underwater vehicles for the body-alone and finned configurations. Hydrodynamic coefficients of added mass and added moment of inertia are also calculated by modifying the code. Results for several two and three-dimensional bodies show the usefulness of the method for predicting the added mass and added moment of inertia.     

Calculation of the shape of a towed underwater acoustic array

An important area of towed underwater acoustic research is the determination of the 3D positions of all hydrophones in the array. Although there are a number of methods available that provide position information at a small number of locations along the array, an interpolation scheme is needed that will permit the estimation of the position of all hydrophones so that further processing of acoustic data may proceed. An interpolation technique based on a twisted quartic spline approximation to a space curve is presented. This technique provides the advantages of numerical stability, necessary smoothness, and satisfaction of physical boundary conditions. Most importantly, it permits the estimation of the positions of all hydrophones in an array     

Optimum design of a servo-controlled breathing regulator for underwater divers

This article deals with the analysis, synthesis and performance evaluation of the flow and dynamic characteristics of the new class of servo-controlled breathing regulators for underwater divers.Emphasis on such a class of regulators has been stimulated by their tremendous potential in extending the dive depth and duration because they reduce the diver breathing effort to a great extent. This would eliminate the unnecessary exhaustion of the diver under such extreme diving conditions and accordingly improve his work efficiency underwater.The study aims at developing rational design procedures and guides that would enable the regulator designers to select the optimal design parameters of this class of regulators. Such design guides are based on the analysis of the flow and dynamic characteristics of the servo-controlled regulator as well as the basic principle of the theory of optimum control.The study presents also experimental evaluation techniques of the dynamic characteristics of this class of regulators in order to provide common quantitative means for comparison with the conventional regulator designs.The presented results emphasize the merits and the potential of the servo-controlled regulators as essential tools of supporting the life of divers underwater.     

Geometrical aspects of a sonar-based navigation system for underwater vehicles

A novel self-contained navigation system has been devised for underwater vehicles operating in and around offshore installations. This system matches data from a sector-scanning sonar device to a computer model of the installation. The paper begins by highlighting the existing approaches to subsea navigation before outlining the main features of the proposed system. It then concentrates on a key component of this system which is a method for calculating the position and heading of an underwater vehicle navigating in the vincinity of tubular steel structures. An iterative solution method is presented which incorporates six degree of freedom vehicle motions and this is verified in a series of laboratory experiments with various arrangements of structural members and using a commercial sonar device. The key features, applications and performance of this method are discussed. The main conclusion is that the proposed method for calculating the position and heading of an underwater vehicle contributes towards achieving an accurate and reliable subsea navigation capability.     

Theory of underwater LIDAR with a complex modulated illumination beam

The main effects accompanying the propagation of an initially narrow complex modulated light beam in sea water are studied. Sea water, with respect to modulation waves, is shown to be similar to a medium with frequency dispersion with respect to electromagnetic waves; in the medium, the effects of the time focusing of a wave packet are possible. Based on the self-similar small-angle solution to the equation of radiation transfer, we estimate spatial-temporal characteristics of pulse-signal amplitude modulated by a complex signal. We propose a scheme for constructing underwater LIDAR using a complex modulated illumination beam and the processing of a received echo signal. The processing allows the separation of the modulated component and its matched filtration. Values of possible delays and broadening of the separated echo signal caused by dispersion properties of sea water are estimated.     

Seaglider: a long-range autonomous underwater vehicle foroceanographic research

Seagliders are small, reusable autonomous underwater vehicles designed to glide from the ocean surface to a programmed depth and back while measuring temperature, salinity, depth-averaged current, and other quantities along a sawtooth trajectory through the water. Their low hydrodynamic drag and wide pitch control range allow glide slopes in the range 0.2 to 3. They are designed for missions in a range of several thousand kilometers and durations of many months. Seagliders are commanded remotely and report their measurements in near real time via wireless telemetry. The development and operation of Seagliders and the results of field trials in Puget Sound are reported