Digital data logging and processing, Derbyshire Survey, 1997

In 1997, the Deep Submergence Group (DSG) of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) surveyed the wreckage field of the M.V. Derbyshire. The motivation for the survey and its results are described elsewhere (Williams et al, 1998). The purpose of this report is to describe the digital data logging and processing systems that were used by the Deep Submergence Group during the survey. The report is divided into four sections: this Introduction, a description of the collection mechanisms, a description of the processing schemes and series of appendices. The appendices include a glossary of terms, a description of data formats, and a comparison of electronic still camera processing choices. Readers desiring information on the equipment used, on the operations, or on the analysis effort performed by the on-board Inspection and Verification (I & V) Team or by the Assessors ashore are directed to (Williams et al, 1998), (Ballard, 1993) and (Bowen, et al, 1993).Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE-9627160 and a Memorandum of Agreement between the United States Government and the United Kingdom Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

NDSF technical operations via telecommunications

In 2015, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) commissioned an external study concerning the use of modern telecommunications and telepresence technologies in the potential reduction of manpower in National Deep Submergence Operations. That study has been completed, and the final report is attached as Appendix A.Funding was provided by the Nereus Legacy Fund at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutio

Mesobot : An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Tracking and Sampling Midwater Targets

Mesobot, a new class of autonomous underwater vehicle, will address specific unmet needs for observing slow-moving targets in the midwater ocean. Mesobot will track targets such as zooplankton, fish, and descending particle aggregates using a control system based on stereo cameras and a combination of thrusters and a variable buoyancy system. The vehicle will also be able to collect biogeochemical and environmental DNA (eDNA) samples using a pumped filter sampler

Enhanced Platelet-activating Factor synthesis facilitates acute and delayed effects of ethanol intoxicated thermal burn injury

Thermal burn injuries in patients alcohol intoxicated result in greater morbidity and mortality. Murine models combining ethanol and localized thermal burn injury reproduce the systemic toxicity seen in human subjects, which consists of both acute systemic cytokine production with multiple organ dysfunction, as well as a delayed systemic immunosuppression. However, the exact mechanisms for these acute and delayed effects are unclear. These studies sought to define the role of the lipid mediator Platelet-activating factor (PAF) in the acute and delayed effects of intoxicated burn injury. Combining ethanol and thermal burn injury resulted in increased enzymatic PAF generation in a keratinocyte cell line in vitro, human skin explants ex vivo, as well as in murine skin in vivo. Further, the acute increase in inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, and the systemic immunosuppressive effects of intoxicated thermal burn injury, were suppressed in mice lacking PAF receptors. Together, these studies provide a potential mechanism and novel treatment strategies for the augmented toxicity and immunosuppressive effects of thermal burn injury in the setting of acute ethanol exposure, which involves the pleotropic lipid mediator PAF

Submeter bathymetric mapping of volcanic and hydrothermal features on the East Pacific Rise crest at 9°50′N

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 8 (2007): Q01006, doi:10.1029/2006GC001333.Recent advances in underwater vehicle navigation and sonar technology now permit detailed mapping of complex seafloor bathymetry found at mid-ocean ridge crests. Imagenex 881 (675 kHz) scanning sonar data collected during low-altitude (~5 m) surveys conducted with DSV Alvin were used to produce submeter resolution bathymetric maps of five hydrothermal vent areas at the East Pacific Rise (EPR) Ridge2000 Integrated Study Site (9°50′N, “bull's-eye”). Data were collected during 29 dives in 2004 and 2005 and were merged through a grid rectification technique to create high-resolution (0.5 m grid) composite maps. These are the first submeter bathymetric maps generated with a scanning sonar mounted on Alvin. The composite maps can be used to quantify the dimensions of meter-scale volcanic and hydrothermal features within the EPR axial summit trough (AST) including hydrothermal vent structures, lava pillars, collapse areas, the trough walls, and primary volcanic fissures. Existing Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE) bathymetry data (675 kHz scanning sonar) collected at this site provide the broader geologic context necessary to interpret the meter-scale features resolved in the composite maps. The grid rectification technique we employed can be used to optimize vehicle time by permitting the creation of high-resolution bathymetry maps from data collected during multiple, coordinated, short-duration surveys after primary dive objectives are met. This method can also be used to colocate future near-bottom sonar data sets within the high-resolution composite maps, enabling quantification of bathymetric changes associated with active volcanic, hydrothermal and tectonic processes.This work was supported by an NSF Ridge2000 fellowship to V.L.F. and a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution fellowship supported by the W. Alan Clark Senior Scientist Chair (D.J.F.). Funding was also provided by the Censsis Engineering Research Center of the National Science Foundation under grant EEC-9986821. Support for field and laboratory studies was provided by the National Science Foundation under grants OCE-9819261 (D.J.F. and M.T.), OCE-0096468 (D.J.F. and T.S.), OCE-0328117 (SMC), OCE-0525863 (D.J.F. and S.A.S.), OCE-0112737 ATM-0427220 (L.L.W.), and OCE- 0327261 and OCE-0328117 (T.S.). Additional support was provided by The Edwin Link Foundation (J.C.K.)

Electronic still camera processing and mosaicking

Since 1990, the Deep Submergence Laboratory and Deep Submergence Group of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have been collecting large quantities of digital imagery and creating digital photomosaics of the sea floor. Initially, the digital image collection, processing, and mosaicking processes were all highly specialized "one of a kind" efforts. Over the past decade, this process has been refined, standardized, and made into a robust "pipeline." The collection , processing, and mosaicking can be reliably carried out on a routine basis. Deep Submergence Group personnel perform collection, processing, and archiving, while science party users can be trained in mosaicking. This report will describe the pipeline, yielding insight into the evolution and purposes of each step.Funding was provided by the Office of Naval Research under Contract No. N00014-95-1-1237 and by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE-9627160

Precise geopositioning of marine mammals using stereo photogrammetry

Precise positioning of whales and other species in space and time is a key requirement for marine mammal research. It has been an elusive goal for years. We have developed a stereo camera based measurement system to meet the requirement. We have obtained preliminary results, and will describe ongoing improvements. The sounds of marine animals can be localized using multiple hydrophones. If these hydrophones are part of tags (like the DTAG) attached to individual animals, sometimes it is possible to identify which call is made by which individual. However, when social animals like pilot whales are very close together, it becomes very difficult to identify which individual is vocalizing. This is a critical problem for studies of marine mammal communication: we are not able to link the acoustic and tag data with the behavioral observations because we cannot accurately pinpoint where specific animals are in space, either on their own or relative to other animals. Precisely positioning the whales in space and time is also necessary to measure social cohesion, the critical variable for assessing the impact of anthropogenic sound on many vulnerable marine mammals. Current thought suggests that social whales, such as pilot whales, adopt a social defense strategy, grouping closer together under threat. Thus, of the dozens of sound and noise impact studies conducted on marine mammals throughout the world attempt to assess changes in cohesion during exposure to sound. However, they all estimate inter-animal distance by eye, something that is notoriously difficult and imprecise. In short, there is currently no accurate way to measure the fundamental variable that these millions of dollars of fieldwork are trying to assess. Positioning individual body parts instead of whole animals in space and time would allow precise mensuration of body part ratios, an essential statistic for assessing health and fat reserves that is currently difficult to measure in the field. Numerous techniques have been tried to address the geopositioning requirement, none have been wholly satisfactory. We developed a battery powered stereo camera system, integrated with a GPS receiver, an attitude reference system, and a laptop computer, and collected calibrated stereo imagery from a surface vessel. The stereo camera we used initially was an off the shelf firewire based system, originally intended for machine vision purposes. It was selected in part because of time pressures on development, and proved to have too short of a baseline for the precise work demanded by the scientific requirements. Other constraints of the off the shelf system made it difficult to accommodate lighting conditions in the bright marine environment, and we have since moved to a custom system. This custom system has many features in common with stereo systems we have developed for underwater use, shortening development time and testing. These common features include camera models and interface, calibration techniques and software elements, all of which will be described. Custom software has been developed for geopositioning of targets in the stereo overlap area. By differencing of positions of multiple targets, it becomes possible to achieve precise mensuration of body parts and sizes. These measurements can be made using both monoscopic viewing of two simultaneously collected images, or if three-dimensional viewing hardware is available, in stereo.</p

Cross-Sectoral Zoonotic Disease Surveillance in Western Kenya: Identifying Drivers and Barriers Within a Resource Constrained Setting

Background: Collaboration between the human and animal health sectors, including the sharing of disease surveillance data, has the potential to improve public health outcomes through the rapid detection of zoonotic disease events prior to widespread transmission in humans. Kenya has been at the forefront of embracing a collaborative approach in Africa with the inception of the Zoonotic Disease Unit in 2011. Joint outbreak responses have been coordinated at the national level, yet little is currently documented on cross-sectoral collaboration at the sub-national level. Methods: Key informant interviews were conducted with 28 disease surveillance officers from the human and animal health sectors in three counties in western Kenya. An inductive process of thematic analysis was used to identify themes relating to barriers and drivers for cross-sectoral collaboration. Results: The study identified four interlinking themes related to drivers and barriers for cross-sectoral collaboration. To drive collaboration at the sub-national level there needs to be a clear identification of “common objectives,” as currently exemplified by the response to suspected rabies and anthrax cases and routine meat hygiene activities. The action of collaboration, be it integrated responses to outbreaks or communication and data sharing, require “operational structures” to facilitate them, including the formalisation of reporting lines, supporting legislation and the physical infrastructure, from lab equipment to mobile phones, to facilitate the activities. These structures in turn require “appropriate resources” to support them, which will be allocated based on the “political will” of those who control the resources. Conclusions: Ongoing collaborations between human and animal disease surveillance officers at the sub-national level were identified, driven by common objectives such as routine meat hygiene and response to suspected rabies and anthrax cases. In these areas a suitable operational structure is present, including a supportive legislative framework and clearly designated roles for officers within both sectors. There was support from disease surveillance officers to increase their collaboration, communication and data sharing across sectors, yet this is currently hindered by the lack of these formal operational structures and poor allocation of resources to disease surveillance. It was acknowledged that improving this resource allocation will require political will at the sub-national, national and international levels