Underwater autonomous manipulation for intervention missions AUVs

Many underwater intervention tasks are today performed using manned submersibles or remotely operated vehicles in teleoperation mode. Autonomous underwater vehicles are mostly employed in survey applications. In fact, the low bandwidth and significant time delay inherent in acoustic subsea communications represent a considerable obstacle to remotely operate a manipulation system, making it impossible for remote controllers to react to problems in a timely manner.Nevertheless, vehicles with no physical link and with no human occupants permit intervention in dangerous areas, such as in deep ocean, under ice, in missions to retrieve hazardous objects, or in classified areas. The key element in underwater intervention performed with autonomous vehicles is autonomous manipulation. This is a challenging technology milestone, which refers to the capability of a robot system that performs intervention tasks requiring physical contacts with unstructured environments without continuous human supervision.Today, only few AUVs are equipped with manipulators. SAUVIM (Semi Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Intervention Mission, University of Hawaii) is one of the first underwater vehicle capable of autonomous manipulation.This paper presents the solutions chosen within the development of the system in order to address the problems intrinsic to autonomous underwater manipulation. In the proposed approach, the most noticeable aspect is the increase in the level of information transferred between the system and the human supervisor.We describe one of the first trials of autonomous intervention performed by SAUVIM in the oceanic environment. To the best knowledge of the authors, no sea trials in underwater autonomous manipulation have been presented in the literature. The presented operation is an underwater recovery mission, which consists in a sequence of autonomous tasks finalized to search for the target and to securely hook a cable to it in order to bring the target to the surface.     

Geochemical overview and undiscovered gas resources generated from Hamitabat petroleum system in the Thrace Basin,Turkey

Since the first drill in 1957, three oil, 19 gas and condensate fields have been discovered in the Thrace Basin. However, any petroleum system with its essential elements and processes has not been assigned yet. This study consists of two parts, (1) geochemical overview of the previous work in order to get a necessary help to construct a petroleum system and (2) calculation of quantitative undiscovered hydrocarbon resources generated from this system. An extensive overview study showed that the primary reservoir and source rocks in the Thrace Basin are the Middle Eocene Hamitabat sandstones and shales, respectively, hence it appears that the most effective petroleum system of the Thrace Basin becomes the Hamitabat (!) petroleum system. Currently, 18.5 billion m³ of in-place gas, 2.0 million m³ (12.7 million bbl) in-place waxy oil as well as minor amount of associated condensate were discovered from this system. This study showed that the regional distribution of the oil and gas fields almost overlapped with the previously constructed pod of active Hamitabat shales implying that short and up-dip vertical migration pathway of hydrocarbons from the source to trapping side was available. Thermal model demonstrated that hydrocarbon generation from the Hamitabat shales commenced in the Early Miocene. The amount of quantitative gas generation based on the mean-original TOC = 0.94 wt%, mean-original HI = 217 HC/g TOC and the volume of the pod of active source rock = 49 km³ is approximately 110 billion m³ of gaseous hydrocarbons that results in a high generation–accumulation efficiency of 17% when 18.5 billion m³ of already discovered hydrocarbons are considered.     

The thermal structure of the Dvurechenskii mud volcano and its implications for gas hydrate stability and eruption dynamics

The sediment temperature distribution at mud volcanoes provides insights into their activity and into the occurrence of gas hydrates. If ambient pressure and temperature conditions are close to the limits of the gas hydrate stability field, the sediment temperature distribution not only limits the occurrence of gas hydrates, but is itself influenced by heat production and consumption related to the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates. Located in the Sorokin Trough in the northern Black Sea, the Dvurechenskii mud volcano (DMV) was in the focus of detailed investigations during the M72/2 and M73/3a cruises of the German R/V Meteor and the ROV Quest 4000 m in February and March 2007. A large number of in-situ sediment temperature measurements were conducted from the ROV and with a sensor-equipped gravity corer. Gas hydrates were sampled in pressurized cores using a dynamic autoclave piston corer (DAPC). The thermal structure of the DMV suggests a regime of fluid flow at rates decreasing from the summit towards the edges of the mud volcano, accompanied by intermittent mud expulsion at the summit. Modeled gas hydrate dissociation temperatures reveal that the gas hydrates at the DMV are very close to the stability limits. Changes in heat flow due to variable seepage rates probably do not result in changes in sediment temperature but are compensated by gas hydrate dissociation and formation.     

Protecting small cetaceans from coastal development: Impact assessment and mitigation experience in Hong Kong

Since the early 1990s, there has been an active program in Hong Kong to manage and protect local populations of small cetaceans from the effects of massive development in the area. This paper reviews the progress that has been made. Only two species regularly occur there: the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin and the finless porpoise. Because most development has occurred in the western waters of Hong Kong, where generally only the humpback dolphin occurs, most of the work has been conducted on that species. Development of large infrastructure projects (such as airports, bridges, expressways, power plants, fuel facilities, and container ports) in Hong Kong often results in land reclamation, dredging and dumping of spoils, pipe and cable laying, percussive and bored piling work, underwater blasting, large increases in vessel traffic, and other impacts. Several mitigation measures have been used with varying levels of success, including bubble curtains/jackets, exclusion zones, ramping up of piling hammers, acoustic decoupling of noisy equipment, vessel speed limits, no-dumping policies, and silt curtains. Baseline, construction-phase, and operational-phase cetacean monitoring is often conducted to evaluate the success of conservation measures put into place. The Environmental Impact Assessment process in Hong Kong has involved cetaceans to a degree perhaps higher than anywhere else in the world, and much can be learned from studying the successes and failures of this situation.     

The restoration of fishing services and the conveyance of risk information in the Southern California Bight

Southern California's marine areas are heavily contaminated with dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs), and fish consumption advisories (FCAs) have been issued throughout the region. Between 2002 and 2003, the Montrose Angler Survey, a large-scale survey of subsistence anglers, was developed and implemented on site in Orange and Los Angeles counties. This survey was intended to assist natural resource trustees in the development of restoration programs that will address injuries to natural resources and restore lost economic services for anglers, but the data were never fully analyzed. The trustees have shown a clear preference for ecological restoration programs that may take years to improve fishing services. In contrast, this analysis, which includes a random-parameter fishing site choice model, demonstrates that simple, inexpensive programs such as better signage to warn of FCAs and transportation to clean sites have the potential to yield substantial benefits quickly. This paper also focuses on how different ethnic minority groups are affected by FCAs, and determines how best to communicate risk information and change fishing behavior through outreach programs.     

Marine reserve phenomenon in the Pacific islands

Coinciding with increased numbers of global marine reserves, communities in the Pacific islands are establishing unprecedented number of periodically-harvested and indefinitely-closed marine reserves. An integrated ecological and social comparative methodology is used to examine the motivations and outcomes of reserves in Vanuatu. Communities establish permanent reserves due to concerns about human impacts on reefs, while others establish periodic reserves in response to declining resources. Local knowledge suggests that both reserve types are effective, although validation by underwater surveys was inconclusive. Community support for both reserve types is strong, suggesting that the marine reserve phenomenon in Pacific will continue.     

Fundamental study for morphodynamic modelling: Sand mounds in oscillatory flows

Experiments on sand mounds in oscillatory flow, undertaken in controlled, large-scale laboratory conditions, have produced well-defined data sets for model comparison. Three bathymetries with different levels of submergence, including a surface-piercing case, were tested. The maximum slope was about 1:5.5. Sediment transport is due to bed load with ripple formation. The principal time-dependent bulk parameters are the vertical distance of the centre of gravity above the base and the volume of the mound. A semi-implicit finite-volume depth-averaged hydrodynamic model is used to drive morphodynamics, using van Rijn's sediment flux model generalized to take account of bed slope, and some justification is given for depth-averaged modeling in these conditions. Starting the model runs with the conditions at the end of the first cycle avoided initial atypical physical behaviour. In general good predictions were obtained with an angle of repose reduced from the standard value of about 30° for stationary beds to 15°. For these situations, morphodynamics was largely unaffected by a hydrodynamic roughness height in the range 2.5D₅₀ to 51D₅₀, with larger values accounting for ripple roughness. The reduced angle of repose may be physically expected with mobile beds but this specific value is only expected to be suited to this form of bed motion. In one case an exaggerated ripple formed near the top of the mound reducing agreement with experiment. For the submerged case with normal ripple structure excellent predictions were obtained. For the initially surface-piercing mound, the time of submergence was better predicted with a 30° angle of repose, presumably due to the prominent influence of the near stationary bed near the wet/dry interface, although long term predictions were better predicted with 15°. The occurrence of vortex shedding in the first cycle modeled was in agreement with experimental observation.     

Nitrification in Kochi backwaters

Nitrification rates, as oxidation of ¹⁵N-labelled ammonium and loss of nitrite from N-Serve treated samples, were measured in Kochi backwaters during three seasons. Nitrification rates ranged from undetectable to 166 nmol N L⁻¹ h⁻¹ in the water column and up to 17 nmol N (g wet wt)⁻¹ h⁻¹ in sediments. Nitrification rates were higher in intermediate salinities than in either freshwater or seawater end. Within this salinity range, nitrification rates could be related to ammonium concentrations. As shown by the relation between ammonification and nitrification rates, it is also likely that nitrification is more regulated by renewal rates, rather than by in situ concentrations, of substrate. Among other environmental parameters, temperature and pH may have an influence on nitrification. Potential nitrification rates calculated from loss of nitrite from N-Serve treated, nitrite-enriched samples were about 800 nmol N L⁻¹ h⁻¹ in the water column and 40 nmol N (g wet wt)⁻¹ h⁻¹ in sediments. While these rates are in balance with those of biological ammonium production they may be inadequate to mitigate ammonium pollution in this estuary.     

Developing a building policy for the erosion zone: Solutions to some key (Dutch) questions

In those coastal communities where the most seaward strip of mainland consists of dunes, these dunes often serve as a flexible sea defence. In addition, this strip offers large potential for housing and commercial enterprises. Unfortunately, due to severe storm surges part of this strip (the erosion zone) is subject to erosion, and as a result of which any buildings or infrastructure located here, are destroyed. Therefore, as we will illustrate in this paper, a building policy for this zone should reflect a compromise between two opposite interests: exploitation of the existing potential and, prevention of an unacceptable high risk due to erosion. Accordingly, the authors have developed a framework for such a building policy on the basis of which the desirability of various different types of investments and the location within the erosion zone of such investments can be determined. The examples that are used to illustrate this framework in this paper are limited to experiences in The Netherlands as relevant data and experiences are available and relatively easy accessible here. Nevertheless, the approach as is described is generic and applicable worldwide suggesting that the discovered unused potential for exploitation is not just limited to The Netherlands.     

Comparison of flow patterns in the near wake of a circular cylinder and a square cylinder placed near a plane wall

The flow patterns in the near wake of a cylinder (either circular or square in shape, D=25 mm) placed in the proximity of a fully developed turbulent boundary layer (thickness δ=0.4D) are investigated experimentally using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The effects of changing the gap height (S) between the cylinder bottom and the wall surface, over the gap ratio range S/D=0.1–1.0, have been investigated. The results show that both the ensemble-averaged and instantaneous flow fields are strongly dependent on S/D. The flow patterns for the two types of cylinders share many similarities with respect to the change in S/D, such as the reduced recirculation length and increased velocity fluctuation in the near wake with increasing S/D, as well as the trend of suppression of vortex shedding at small S/D and onset of vortex shedding at large S/D. However, developments of the shear layers, in terms of wake width, flow curvature, etc., are considerably different for these two types of cylinders. In general, the wake development and momentum exchange for the square cylinder are slower those for the circular cylinder at the same gap ratio. Correspondingly, it is shown that the periodic vortex shedding is delayed and weakened in the case of square cylinder, as compared to that of the circular cylinder at the same S/D.