How Emerging Technologies Can Advance the Frontiers in the Geosciences II
Presiding: M McNutt, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute; R van der Hilst, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
U24A-01 INVITED 15:30h
Exploiting modern cyberinfrastructure for global Earth observations and geohazards mitigation
The recent tragic tsunami associated with the Sumatra earthquake leading to the loss of more than 280,000 lives in the Indian Ocean demands a fresh look at geohazards warning and mitigation globally. Advances in information technology or cyberinfrastructure provide enabling technologies when applied globally as advocated by the G-8' Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). All scientists are familiar today with Moore's Law, which posits the density of transistors on a processor chip will double approximately every 18 months. Computing speed follows not far behind. However, similar even faster exponential growth characterizes storage capacity and network speeds. The extraordinary growth in network bandwidth coupled with initiatives such as the not-for-profit National Lambda Rail have enhanced grid computing and grid storage technologies making a truly global natural hazards detection, evaluation, and warning system not only possible, but imperative. The same system, enabling a global sensorweb, lowers most barriers to scientific research on vast amounts of new data and lowers the costs of operations and maintenance. A single-purpose national or global warning system, for tsunamis for example, is nearly impossible to maintain because of the time scales of major events - decades to centuries. However, a broad, scientifically based, multipurpose system can be maintained and will grow as new technologies become available and new approaches in cyberinfrastructure replace the old.
http://lookingtosea.ucsd.edu/
U24A-02 15:50h
Science Experiments from a New Class of Regional Research Vessels
Three new Regional Class Research vessels will be constructed later this decade to replace existing Cape class ships that will be more than 30 years old. These regional vessels will be general purpose research vessels capable of coastal oceanography in the broadest sense, supporting research, education and engineering operations in all coastal regions of the continental United States for the next three decades. The new vessels will be distinguished from their predecessors in several important ways: (1) Station keeping and track following ability will be improved by dynamic positioning systems; (2) Performance of acoustic observing systems will be enhanced by quieter machinery, less propeller cavitation and bubble sweep down, and the use of retractable keels to lower acoustic transducers to greater depths; (3) New winch and wire systems, including fiber optic cables, will provide for higher data rates from tethered instruments; (4) Innovative weight handling and over-the-side handling equipment will improve the ability to deploy and recover equipment and with less intervention by seamen and oceanographers; (5) Continuous high-speed communications with shore, other ships, and instruments will improve the execution of scientific experiments by allowing assimilation and modeling of the state of the ocean and improved prediction of future conditions; (6) Improved sea-keeping ability and vessel habitability will permit the new vessels to work in higher sea states and make the oceanographers working on them more effective; (7) Maintenance will be reduced and machinery will be more efficient. Examples of the scientific missions and experiments that these ships will undertake will be given.
U24A-03 16:05h
MBARI Mapping AUV: A High-Resolution Deep Ocean Seafloor Mapping Capability
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is developing an autonomous seafloor mapping capability for deep ocean science applications. The MBARI Mapping AUV is a 0.53 m (21 in) diameter, 5.1 m (16.7 ft) long, Dorado-class vehicle designed to carry four mapping sonars. The primary sensor is a 200 kHz multibeam sonar producing swath bathymetry and sidescan. In addition, the vehicle carries 100 kHz and 410 kHz chirp sidescan sonars, and a 2-16 kHz sweep chirp subbottom profiler. Navigation and attitude data are obtained from an inertial navigation system (INS) incorporating a ring laser gyro and a 300 kHz Doppler velocity log (DVL). The vehicle also includes acoustic modem, ultra-short baseline navigation, and long-baseline navigation systems. The Mapping AUV is powered by 6 kWhr of Li-polymer batteries, providing expected mission duration of 12 hours at a typical speed of 1.5 m/s. All components of the vehicle are rated to 6000 m depth, allowing MBARI to conduct high-resolution mapping of the deep-ocean seafloor. The sonar package is also be mountable on ROV Ventana, allowing surveys at altitudes less than 20 m at topographically challenging sites. The vehicle was assembled and extensively tested during 2004; this year we are commencing operations for MBARI science projects while continuing the process of testing and integrating the complete suite of sensors and systems. MBARI is beginning to use this capability to observe the changing morphology of dynamic systems such as submarine canyons and active slumps, to map deep-water benthic habitats at resolutions comparable to ROV and submersible observations, to provide basemaps for ROV dives, and to provide high resolution bathymetry and subbottom profiles as part of a variety of projects requiring knowledge of the seafloor. We will present initial results from surveys in and around Monterey Canyon, including high resolution repeat surveys of four sites along the canyon axis.
U24A-04 16:20h
Laser Projection Photogrammetry and Video System for Quantification and Mensuration
This paper describes a novel photogrammetric laser/video system suited for a variety of underwater quantification and mensuration applications. The system is comprised of a purpose-built frame to which are mounted a roll/pitch motion reference sensor, video camera, and three microlasers. Orientation of the three lasers provides for optical triangulation, which allows computation of range at a specific location in the field-of-view. From this information and that derived from the motion sensor, the spatially variant magnification can be determined over the entire field-of-view using a simple algorithm. A variety of parameters can then be estimated using image-processing techniques, including perspective overlays, range to a point or location, scale in any region of the image, and area measurements. Specialized image processing algorithms can be added to provide object recognition, tracking, and other information. The specification of each component (i.e., laser wavelength and power, camera sensitivity and resolution, and dynamic range) and mounting geometry are determined based on the specific application and needed accuracy. The system can be mounted for use on any subsea vehicle or platform and provides a low cost automated approach for obtaining quantitative information from standard undersea video. Currently, the application software allows for post-processing of the video information but could be modified to process the video information in real-time. The first application of this system will be used by Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife researchers onboard DSV DELTA. The system may prove valuable for estimating the abundance of commercially and recreationally exploited groundfish species within a transect area conducted off the coast of Washington State. This non-intrusive, direct observation technique affords a means to estimate the density of certain benthic fish species in high relief areas that currently cannot be sampled using routine trawl survey techniques. The system may prove useful in other scientific and industrial applications. Laboratory and field data are provided to demonstrate system output and performance, as well as an error analysis summary. Future hardware and software enhancements to provide a means of geocoding or georeferencing the images that would support orthorectification and mosaicking of the transect images are described.
U24A-05 16:35h
Detection and Classification of Rathbunaster Californicus in Underwater Video
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) deploys remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) equipped with high resolution video equipment. This technology enables quantitative video transects (QVTs) to be obtained providing data at the scale of the individual organisms and their natural aggregation patterns. QVTs are a sophisticated means of sampling that has recently replaced conventional methodologies and significantly advanced studies in animal diversity, distribution and abundance. The method currently used to analyze QVTs, however, is labor intensive and costly, reducing the amount of data analyzed from the ROV dive and thus limiting marine ecological research. An automated program for detecting and classifying organisms in the video would address these concerns. Video frames are processed with a neuromorphic-selective attention algorithm, modeled after the human vision system. The candidate locations identified by this module are subject to a number of parameters that when combined with successful tracking determine whether detected events are deemed "interesting" or "boring". "Interesting" events are marked in the video frames. The interesting events undergo further processing with a Bayesian classifier utilizing a Gaussian mixture model to determine the abundance and distribution of a representative benthic species. Presented data details the comparison between automated detection of organisms and program classification of Rathbunaster californicus in video footage with professional annotations.
http://www.mbari.org/AVED