undersea exploration

undersea exploration, the investigation and description of the ocean waters and the seafloor and of the Earth beneath.

Primary objectives and accomplishments

Included in the scope of undersea exploration are the physical and chemical properties of seawater, all manner of life in the sea, and the geological and geophysical features of the Earth’s crust. Researchers in the field define and measure such properties; prepare maps in order to identify patterns; and utilize these maps, measurements, and theoretical models to achieve a better grasp of how the Earth works as a whole. This knowledge enables scientists to predict, for example, long-term weather and climatic changes and leads to more efficient exploration and exploitation of the Earth’s resources, which in turn result in better management of the environment in general.

The multidisciplinary expedition of the British ship “Challenger” in 1872–76 was the first major undersea survey. Although its main goal was to search for deep-sea life by means of net tows and dredging, the findings of its physical and chemical studies expanded scientific knowledge of temperature and salinity distribution of the open seas. Moreover, depth measurements by wire soundings were carried out all over the globe during the expedition.

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Since the time of the “Challenger” voyage, scientists have learned much about the mechanics of the ocean, what it contains, and what lies below its surface. Investigators have produced global maps showing the distribution of surface winds as well as of heat and rainfall, which all work together to drive the ocean in its unceasing motion. They have discovered that storms at the surface can penetrate deep into the ocean and, in fact, cause deep-sea sediments to be rippled and moved. Recent studies also have revealed that storms called eddies occur within the ocean itself and that such a climatic anomaly as El Niño is caused by an interaction of the ocean and the atmosphere.

Other investigations have shown that the ocean absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide and hence plays a major role in delaying its buildup in the atmosphere. Without the moderating effect of the ocean, the steadily increasing input of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (due to the extensive burning of coal, oil, and natural gas) would result in the rapid onset of the so-called greenhouse effect—i.e., a warming of the Earth caused by the absorption and reradiating of infrared energy to the terrestrial surface by carbon dioxide and water vapour in the air.

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Exploration and Discovery

The field of marine biology has benefitted from the development of new sampling methods. Among these, broad ranging acoustical techniques have revealed diverse fish populations and their distribution, while direct, close up observation made possible by deep-sea submersibles has resulted in the discovery of unusual (and unexpected) species and phenomena.

In the area of geology, undersea exploration of the topography of the seafloor and its gravitational and magnetic properties has led to the recognition of global patterns of continental plate motion. These patterns form the basis of the concept of plate tectonics, which synthesized earlier hypotheses of continental drift and seafloor spreading. As noted earlier, this concept not only revolutionized scientific understanding of the Earth’s dynamic features (e.g., seismic activity, mountain-building, and volcanism) but also yielded discoveries of economic and political impact. Earth scientists found that the mid-ocean centres of seafloor spreading also are sites of important metal deposits. The hydrothermal circulations associated with these centres produce sizable accumulations of metals important to the world economy, including zinc, copper, lead, silver, and gold. Rich deposits of manganese, cobalt, nickel, and other commercially valuable metals have been found in nodules distributed over the entire ocean floor. The latter discovery proved to be a major factor in the establishment of the Convention of the Law of the Sea (1982), which calls for the sharing of these resources among developed and developing nations alike. Exploitation of these findings awaits only the introduction of commercially viable techniques for deep-sea mining and transportation.

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Basic elements of undersea exploration

Platforms

Undersea exploration of any kind must be conducted from platforms, in most cases, ships, buoys, aircraft, or satellites. Typical oceanographic vessels capable of carrying out a full complement of underwater exploratory activities range in size from about 50 to 150 metres. They support scientific crews of 16 to 50 persons and generally permit a full spectrum of interdisciplinary studies. One example of a research vessel of this kind is the “Melville,” operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It has a displacement of 2,075 tons and can carry 25 scientists in addition to 25 crew members. It is powered by a dual cycloidal propulsion system, which provides remarkable manoeuvrability.

The “JOIDES Resolution,” operated by Texas A & M University for the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling, represents a major advance in research vessels. A converted commercial drill ship, it measures 145 metres in length, has a displacement of 18,600 tons, and is equipped with a derrick that extends 62 metres above the waterline (see photograph). A computer-controlled dynamic positioning system enables the ship to remain over a specific location while drilling in water to depths as great as 8,300 metres. The drilling system of the ship is designed to collect cores from below the ocean floor; it can handle 9,200 metres of drill pipe. The vessel thus can sample most of the ocean floor, including the bottoms of deep ocean basins and trenches. The “JOIDES Resolution” has other notable capabilities. It can operate in waves as high as eight metres, winds up to 23 metres per second, and currents as strong as 1.3 metres per second. It has been outfitted for use in ice so that it can conduct drilling operations in high latitudes. The ship can accommodate 50 scientists as well as the crew and drilling team, and its geophysical laboratories total nearly 930 square metres.

Other specialized vessels include the deep submergence research vehicle known as “Alvin,” which can carry a pilot and two scientific observers to a depth of 4,000 metres. The manoeuvrability of the “Alvin” was pivotal to the discoveries of the mineral deposits at the mid-ocean seafloor spreading centres and of previously unknown biological communities living at those sites. Another versatile vessel is the Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP). It is a long narrow platform that is towed in a horizontal position to a research site. Once on location, the ballast tanks are flooded to flip the ship to a vertical position. Only 17 metres of the ship extend above the waterline, with the remaining 92 metres completely submerged. The rise and fall of the waves cause a very small change in the displacement, resulting in a high degree of stability.

New ship designs that promise even greater stability and ease of use include that of the Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) variety. This design type requires the use of twin submerged, streamlined hulls to support a structure that rides above the water surface. The deck shape is entirely unconstrained by the hull shape, as is the case for conventional surface vessels. Ship motion is greatly reduced because of the depth of the submerged hulls. For a given displacement, a SWATH-type vessel can provide twice the amount of deck space that a single-hull ship can, with only 10 percent of the motion of the single-hull design type. In addition, a large centre opening, or well, can be used to display and recover instruments.