As was discussed in the "Field
Trial 2009" section, Canada wishes to extend its control over the Arctic Ocean
sea-bed via the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). One of
the requirements is the detailed knowledge of the bathymetry (depth) of the
Ocean, and, therefore, Canadian scientists wish to make as many measurements as
possible. The proposed new technique is to use an autonomous underwater vehicle
(AUV) to "fly" above the sea bottom and measure the depths.
In the
spring of 2009 the AUVs were still under construction, and so we borrowed a
similar vessel from Memorial University of Newfoundland in order to practise as
many of the steps as possible. In short, we wanted to learn what could go
wrong.
The final deep-water
vessels were finally completed by ISE (International Submarine Engineering)
and delivered to the Crown on 22 September, 2009. (The hand-over ceremony is
chronicled on several news sites, here,
for example.
The owners and operators then put
one of the two new yellow submarines through its paces in the waters of Georgia
Strait. To keep track of the vehicle they used the Canadian Forces Maritime
Experimental and Test Ranges (CFMETR) at Nanoose Bay and Winchelsea Island,
which is just off the east coast of Vancouver Island. By that time it was
November; the days were short and the weather was generally poor. However,
the operators came away satisfied with the vehicle's ability to navigate
autonomously.
The location of the 2010 spring's
Arctic operation is shown in the accompanying maps, the second map being an
enlarged version of the first. The green arrow indicates the location of the ice
camp, and the numbers give its latitude and longitude. Borden Island, which
is just to the north protected the camp from the pack ice being
pushed south by the northerly winds. MacKenzie King Island, which is about
20 miles to the south of the camp, gave some protection from northward-drifting
ice. As a result, the camp was well sheltered and did not drift.
The
reason for setting up in this general area is that water depths are quite poorly
mapped north of this western section of the Arctic Islands. One of the chief
reasons for this lack of knowledge is the enormous logistical difficulties
in getting to this part of the Arctic. In order to establish a suitable ice
camp, a large amount of equipment has to be flown in, and to make this
reasonably easy, large freight aircraft, such as Boeing 737s or
Lockheed C-130 Hercules, must be able to land reasonably close to the
prospective camp. The closest town with an air strip sufficiently long for
these big freighters is Resolute Bay, which is some 600 km away from Borden
Island. (It takes a stretch of the imagination to consider this as 'reasonably
close'.) All freight has to be trans-shipped from Resolute to the ice camp by
smaller aircraft, such as Twin Otters or Buffalo, and this is a difficult,
time-consuming and expensive exercise. Even by Arctic standards, Borden Island
is remote. And this, of course, is why so little is known of the
bathymetry.
A secondary ice camp, known as Camp Cornerstone, was set up
on the drifting pack ice about 330 km north of Borden Is., and it was to this
camp that the AUV made its first major voyage - measuring water depths. From
there, after recharging batteries and downloading data, the Cornerstone
Crew sent it north on a further 300-km trip, again measuring water depths. It
returned to Cornerstone, where the recharging and downloading was repeated. This
time, the AUV was sent back to Camp Borden, and, after a suitable amount of
floor-pacing and nail-biting, it arrived safe and sound.
The attached Newsletters tell the story of the voyage - its
preparation and its execution.
Only one of the two AUVs was used, and it
made only one round-trip. However, that one trip was successful; the vehicle did
not get lost, and it returned with data. Considering the short lead-time from
project conception to maturity, this is quite impressive. Next year may well
bring a flood of data.
Most of the Newsletters were written by Garry
Heard, one of the principal scientific investigators from DRDC in Dartmouth NS.
(Across the harbour from Halifax.) Three Newsletters were written by Alex
Forrest, who is presently finishing up a PhD at the University of British
Columbia. To differentiate the two, his name is included in
his newsletters. The dates are indicated in the file names.
Return
from the pdf files with your "back button".
Return to Home site.
Newsletter_1_15_Mar
Newsletter_2_17_Mar
Newsletter_3_18_Mar
Newsletter_4_19_Mar
Newsletter_5_23_Mar
Newsletter_6_25_Mar
Newsletter_7_27_Mar
Newsletter_8_28_Mar
Newsletter_9_29_Mar
Newsletter_10_30_Mar
Newsletter_11_31_Mar
Newsletter_12_1_Apr
Newsletter_13_2_Apr
Newsletter_14_3_Apr
Newsletter_15_4_Apr
Newsletter_Alex_4_Apr
Newsletter_16_7_Apr
Newsletter_Alex_9_Apr
Newsletter_17_11_Apr
Newsletter_18_14_Apr
Newsletter_19_14_Apr
Newsletter_20_21_Apr
Newsletter_Alex_21_Apr
Newsletter_21_23_Apr
Paul Watson of the Toronto Star wrote several articles
covering the latter stages of the project. He managed to generate a feeling of
excitement and drama without letting his prose get too purple. What impressed me
the most, however, was that he didn't make mistakes. Often, a technical article
written by someone not familiar with the field will be riddled with small
errors, and sometimes the article will bear very little resemblance to the
facts. Watson managed to be the exception. He got it right.
13 February.
AUV Explorer being prepared and tested in Indian Arm (north of
Vancouver).
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/arctic/article/764878--thinking-robot-to-explore-depths-of-arctic-waters
8
April. Preparations for launch at the Borden Ice Camp.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/791836--canadian-smart-sub-ready-for-arctic-sea
8
April. Visit of Foreign Affairs Minister, Lawrence Cannon.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/32982/
13
April. Beginning of maiden mission.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/arctic/article/794611--explorer-sub-embarks-on-maiden-mission
14
April. Successful return of AUV
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/795425--smart-sub-survives-maiden-voyage