Omnidirectional underwater surveying and telepresence

Exploratory dives are traditionally the first step for marine scientists to acquire information on a previously unknown area of scientific interest. Manned submersibles have been the platform of choice for such exploration, as they allow a high level of environmental perception by the scientist on-board, and the ability to take informed decisions on what to explore next. However, manned submersibles have extremely high operation costs and provide very limited bottom time. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) can partially address these two issues, but have operational and cost constraints that restrict their usage. This paper discusses new capabilities to assist scientists operating lightweight hybrid remotely operated vehicles (HROV) in exploratory missions of mapping and surveying. The new capabilities, under development within the Spanish National project OMNIUS, provide a new layer of autonomy for HROVs by exploring three key concepts: Omni-directional optical sensing for collaborative immersive exploration, Proximity safety awareness and Online mapping during mission time.Peer Reviewe

Trail records and navigational learning

An emerging wave of 'ambient' technologies has the potential to support learning in new and particular ways. In this paper we propose a 'trail model' of 'navigational learning' which links some particular learning needs to the potentialities of these technologies. In this context, we outline the design and use of an 'experience recorder', a technology to support learning in museums. In terms of policy for the e-society, these proposals are relevant to the need for personalised and individualised learning support

LawSync: navigating the ‘blue oceans’ within the ‘emerging’ legal services markets

Change, it is said, is the only constant. Whilst it cannot be avoided, the worlds of legal education and legal services have arguably enjoyed an extended period where the impact of change has been comparatively minimal. Today, these worlds face significant changes due to a combination of market and regulatory forces. True, such changes are likely to be accompanied by challenges but with these challenges come opportunities. There is no reason why Law Schools and Law students cannot help to shape these changes and benefit from them. LawSync™ is a project that seeks to enable such influence and attract such benefits at Sheffield Hallam University. See http://www.lawsync.com and http://twitter.com/lawsync for more details

Advanced Mid-Water Tools for 4D Marine Data Fusion and Visualization

Mapping and charting of the seafloor underwent a revolution approximately 20 years ago with the introduction of multibeam sonars -- sonars that provided complete, high-resolution coverage of the seafloor rather than sparse measurements. The initial focus of these sonar systems was the charting of depths in support of safety of navigation and offshore exploration; more recently innovations in processing software have led to approaches to characterize seafloor type and for mapping seafloor habitat in support of fisheries research. In recent years, a new generation of multibeam sonars has been developed that, for the first time, have the ability to map the water column along with the seafloor. This ability will potentially allow multibeam sonars to address a number of critical ocean problems including the direct mapping of fish and marine mammals, the location of mid-water targets and, if water column properties are appropriate, a wide range of physical oceanographic processes. This potential relies on suitable software to make use of all of the new available data. Currently, the users of these sonars have a limited view of the mid-water data in real-time and limited capacity to store it, replay it, or run further analysis. The data also needs to be integrated with other sensor assets such as bathymetry, backscatter, sub-bottom, seafloor characterizations and other assets so that a “complete” picture of the marine environment under analysis can be realized. Software tools developed for this type of data integration should support a wide range of sonars with a unified format for the wide variety of mid-water sonar types. This paper describes the evolution and result of an effort to create a software tool that meets these needs, and details case studies using the new tools in the areas of fisheries research, static target search, wreck surveys and physical oceanographic processes

Oyster Bed Mapping in the Great Bay Estuary, 2012-2013

Six major oyster beds (reefs) in New Hampshire are mapped periodically to assess wild oyster populations in the Great Bay Estuary. Data on the spatial extent of the beds are combined with density and other measures to estimate the abundances of live oysters. The first objective of the present project was to determine the spatial extent of these six oyster beds, and to compare the 2012/2013 data with previous mapping efforts. A second objective was twofold: to map the extent of live oyster bottom at selected recent oyster restoration sites, and to map areas where oyster beds have been known to occur historically but not recently. Towed underwater video methods, as used in previous oyster mapping efforts in New Hampshire, were used for this project. All recorded video was classified into three categories: ”reef” (\u3e20% shell cover and live oysters visible); ”sparse shell” ( Two of the natural beds (Nannie Island [2012: 32.4 ac] and Oyster River [2012: 1.6 ac]) had similar total bottom area coverage compared to most previous mapping efforts. Three beds (Adams Point [2012: 15.9 ac], Squamscott River [2012: 7.7 ac] and Woodman Point [2012: 15.4 ac]) had substantially greater area coverage compared to previous surveys. In all three cases, however, the increases were likely due to additional adjacent areas being surveyed. In contrast to the others, the Piscataqua River bed appears to have substantially decreased in bottom area coverage (2012: 7.0 ac) compared to previous surveys. Selected oyster restoration sites were also video surveyed in 2013 to determine bottom area coverage that could be considered “reef” and therefore considered as part of the overall oyster resource in New Hampshire. Restoration sites in the Lamprey River, Oyster River (3 sites), and at Fox Point in Little Bay were imaged. Due to poor image quality, full bottom area coverage could not be determined for any of the sites. Nonetheless, substantial areas of at least “sparse shell” bottom, and live oysters in some areas were recorded at all sites. These restoration sites as well as additional sites are scheduled for video surveying and quantitative sampling in 2013. The third focus of the project was to survey areas where oyster beds historically occurred. Of the four general areas surveyed, live oyster reefs were found in two areas: Lamprey River (0.9 ac) and mid-Great Bay (35.2 ac). In sum, these two areas represent a major addition to the known live oyster bottom in the state. Moreover, these findings strongly suggest that live oyster reefs may be in other areas where oysters have not been known to exist in recent years. Overall, this project has added substantially to our knowledge of where live oysters occur in New Hampshire as well as the total bottom area coverage. A total of 120 acres of bottom area classified as “reef” was mapped. Additionally, the extent (perhaps 100 ac or more) of bottom area that had sparse shell but apparently few or no live oysters in mid-Great Bay bed and in the Nannie Island/Woodman Point area is important because these areas represent excellent oyster restoration opportunities. However, they will need to be mapped in more detail to sufficiently design future projects

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic (March 25 - 27, 2018 -- The University of New Hampshire) paired two of NSF\u27s 10 Big Ideas: Navigating the New Arctic and Growing Convergence Research at NSF. During this event, participants assessed economic, environmental, and social impacts of Arctic change on New England and established convergence research initiatives to prepare for, adapt to, and respond to these effects. Shipping routes through an ice-free Northwest Passage in combination with modifications to ocean circulation and regional climate patterns linked to Arctic ice melt will affect trade, fisheries, tourism, coastal ecology, air and water quality, animal migration, and demographics not only in the Arctic but also in lower latitude coastal regions such as New England. With profound changes on the horizon, this is a critical opportunity for New England to prepare for uncertain yet inevitable economic and environmental impacts of Arctic change

Report of the SNOMS Project 2006 to 2012, SNOMS SWIRE NOCS Ocean Monitoring System. Part 1: Narrative description

The ocean plays a major role in controlling the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are a threat to the stability of the earth’s climate. A better understanding of the controlling role of the ocean will improve predictions of likely future changes in climate and the impact of the uptake of CO2 itself on marine eco-systems caused by the associated acidification of the ocean waters. The SNOMS Project (SWIRE NOCS Ocean Monitoring System) is a ground breaking joint research project supported by the Swire Group Trust, the Swire Educational Trust, the China Navigation Company (CNCo) and the Natural Environment Research Council. It collects high quality data on concentrations of CO2 in the surface layer of the ocean. It contributes to the international effort to better quantify (and understand the driving processes controlling) the exchanges of CO2 between the ocean and the atmosphere. In 2006 and 2007 a system that could be used on a commercial ship to provide data over periods of several months with only limited maintenance by the ships crew was designed and assembled by NOCS. The system was fitted to the CNCo ship the MV Pacific Celebes in May 2007. The onboard system was supported by web pages that monitored the progress of the ship and the functioning of the data collection system. To support the flow of data from the ship to the archiving of the data at the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC in the USA) data processing procedures were developed for the quality control and systematic handling of the data. Data from samples of seawater collected by the ships crew and analysed in NOC (730 samples) have been used to confirm the consistency of the data from the automated measurement system on the ship. To examine the data collected between 2007 and 2012 the movements of the ship are divided into 16 voyages. Initially The Celebes traded on a route circum-navigating the globe via the Panama and Suez Canals. In 2009 the route shifted to one between Australia and New Zealand to USA and Canada. Analysis of the data is an on going process. It has demonstrated that the system produces reliable data. Data are capable of improving existing estimates of seasonal variability. The work has improved knowledge of gas exchange processes. Data from the crew-collected-samples are helping improve our ability to estimate alkalinity in different areas. This helps with the study of ocean acidification. Data from the 9 round trips in the Pacific are currently being examined along with data made available by the NOAA-PMEL laboratory forming time series from 2004 to 2012. The data from the Pacific route are of considerable interest. One reason is that the data monitors variations in the fluxes of CO2 associated with the current that flows westwards along the equator. This is one of the major natural sources of CO2 from the ocean into the atmosphere

NAVIGATING U.S. FISHERY MANAGEMENT INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Mining the Common Heritage of Our DNA: Lessons Learned From Grotius and Pardo

The Human Genome Project generated oceans of DNA sequence data and spurred a multinational race to grab the bounties of these oceans. In response to these DNA property grabs, UNESCO, drawing upon international law precedents addressing analogous grabs in the past, declared the Human Genome the heritage of humanity. The UNESCO Declaration provided, first, that the heritage shall not, in its natural state, give rise to financial gains and, second, that countries establish an international framework to make the benefits from genome research available to all. This iBrief will first examine Grotius’s Mare Liberum to determine whether international law precedent indeed bars the private appropriation of a common heritage. Second, the iBrief will revisit the framework developed by Pardo for the exploitation of the mineral resources of the ocean floor and analyze whether it could serve as a model for an international framework for sharing the benefits of current genome research