Exploring the Deepest Depths: A Novel Light-Tethered Hybrid ROV for Global Science in Extreme Enviroments

世界上6500米以下的海洋目前几乎没有被探索过。这些不同的和难以接近的构造机制对地球和海洋科学的一系列基本问题提出了重要的问题。这些地区包括活动大陆边缘的深层地区，在那里会产生大地震，并且在俯冲的海洋岩石圈和岛弧复合体之间发生水文交换。这种交通工具的主要用途是在气候恶劣的地理区域或海冰覆盖的海洋（例如北极），在扩展速度极慢的洋中脊区域深入海底。常规进入最深海洋深度的能力也对与海洋观测和事件响应研究相关的广泛科学和工程具有重要意义，这些研究将在未来几十年探索3D和4D多学科问题。混合rov将使科学界能够从各种UNOLS船只上对海底火山和热液事件做出快速反应，从而可以根据11,000米HROV进行的详细的一阶测绘和采样设计和实施后续实验。此外，HROV将为美国提供具有国家战略重要性的搜索、调查和恢复任务的全面全球能力

The world's oceans below 6,500 meters are presently virtually unexplored. Thesediverse and inaccessible tectonic regimes pose significant questions about a wide range of fundamental problems in the earth and ocean sciences. These regimes include deep areas of active continental margins where major earthquakes are generated and hydrologic exchange occurs between subducted oceanic lithosphere and island arc complexes. Deep access to the seafloor in areas of ultra-slow spreading mid ocean ridges, primarily found in geographic regions of inhospitable weather or ice covered ocean (e.g. Arctic), would be a primary use for such a vehicle. The capability to routinely access the deepest ocean depths also has important implications for a broad range of science and engineering associated with ocean observatory and event response research that will explore 3D and 4D multidisciplinary problems for decades to come. Hybrid ROVs will enable the scientific community to quickly react to ocean floor volcanic and hydrothermal events from a wide range of UNOLS vessels, whereby follow-on experimentscan be designed and implemented based on detailed, first-order mapping and sampling conducted by the 11,000 meter HROV. Moreover, the HROV will provide the United States with fully global capability for search, survey, and recovery missions of national strategic importance.***