Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

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Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility

ROCLS

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The remotely operated cable laying system (ROCLS) is the ROPOS latest upgrade. ROCLS latches beneath ROPOS for deployment of extension cables for seafloor observatories. This unique system utilizes the ROPOS ROV with a specially designed cable laying spool and operating system and allows for the deployment of smaller diameter cables that cannot be laid by a cable ship. The benefits of an ROV capable of laying small cables, includes the ability to maneuver the cable route around obstacles on the seafloor and connect instruments arrays to the nodes. ROCLS underwent successful sea trials in August 2007 and laid an extension cable for the VENUS project in February 2008 that links an array of piezometers in the Fraser River delta.

For more details on ROCLS please read "Observatory Cable Laying System" written by Keith Shepherd, Keith Tamburri and Reuben Mills.

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February '09 Expedition

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SLIP Cable reelFrom February 10th to 17th, ROPOS was on-board the CCGS John P. Tully to assist the VENUS observatory team perform planned maintenance work and to help CHONe (Canadian Healthy Oceans Network) scientists investigate the exceptional marine biodiversity found in Saanich Inlet.

During the VENUS leg, ROPOS completed 10 dives in 6 days performing over 9 instrument deployments and recoveries. A notable achievement was the installation of a Seismic Liquefaction In-situ Piezometer (SLIP) to monitor the Fraser Delta slope. While the SLIP was deployed directly from the ship, ROPOS was tasked with its connection to a VENUS instrument platform (VIP) located approximately 1 kilometer away. Using a vehicle-mounted cable reel, the electro-optical cable was successfully laid directly on the seafloor as ROPOS navigated towards the VIP1.
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What can ROPOS do for you?

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Canada’s national facility for deep-sea research, the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) ROPOS, has made it possible for ocean scientists to conduct research on the ecology of hydrothermal vents, sponge reefs and cold-water corals, and the geochemistry and economic potential of sulphide mineral and gas hydrate deposits, and to begin pioneering work on cabled deep-sea observatories. The Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility (CSSF) and university partners have operated ROPOS since 1996.

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What is C.S.S.F.?

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The Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility is a nationally registered not-for-profit corporation. Established to manage and operate the ROPOS system once the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could no longer fund underwater research vehicles, the CSSF successfully transferred the ROPOS operation from government to the private sector.

CSSF works mainly through contracts with small local companies. Fielding a consistently successful team for operations and maintenance of the system, CSSF has earned strong client support. Working relationships have been established with the University of Victoria, University of Washington, the NOAA Vents program and the NOAA West Coast Undersea Research Center, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), GEOMAR (a German research support agency) as well as Natural Resources Canada and several other Canadian universities.
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