Technical support
by Tihomir Makovec, on board #FalkorToo of the Schmidt Ocean Institute)
I am a senior technician and head of the professional divers at Marine Biology Station #Piran, National Institute of Biology, #Slovenia. I have been collaborating with Prof. Monika Bright from the #UniversitätWien for many years and assisting her during her yearly field work stays at Piran. I was invited to participate in this expedition as technical support to the scientific team.
(1/n)
During this cruise I am responsible for the water sampling system that we attach to the ROV SuBastian before every dive. The system was developed at the NIOZ under the supervision of Dr. Sabine Gollner in collaboration with Prof. Monika Bright. Prior to the cruise, we tested the water sampling system in the coast in front of our institute in Slovenia and later also in Netherlands
(2/n)
The whole water sampling system consists of 4 main units: a blue bag, a pump, a switch with two levers and a system of plastic pipes. This sampling system can be connected either to the MBSG box or to the metal tube with a handle connected to the bag, which basically can hold 75 L. This way, ROV pilots can easily collect water samples from a precise location (holes, pits, cracks) with the hydraulic arm
(3/n)
At the end of the dive, we transfer water samples from the bag into containers, prepared in advance by researchers, for each different experiment. Afterwards, we replace the used tubes with new ones, we change the bag and the batteries that are in the switch assembly. We need to make sure that everything is attached to the ROV in such a way that handling its hydraulic arms is accessible, easy, and safe to prevent damage or malfunction of the ROV
(4/n)
MonikaBrightLab
