Collaborative Research: RAPID: Testing High Temperature Subseafloor Tracers and Optical Communication Networks at Axial Seamount Using Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin

合作研究：RAPID：使用深潜器 Alvin 在轴向海山测试高温海底示踪剂和光通信网络

• 批准号: 1445719
• 负责人: Cody Youngbull
• 金额: $ 10.67万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-06-01 至 2015-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1445719&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; RAPID; Testing; Temperature

This RAPID project involves two different components. The first component relates to a novel, high-temperature glass material which is being developed for future use as a subsurface fluid flow tracer. The second component further develops a new approach to high-speed underwater sensing and wireless communications networks. Both project components are ambitious experiments that progress the NSF mission by providing foundational engineering research with the long-term potential to transform our approach to ocean science, education and policy.The goal of the first component is to test the stability of a new type of non-toxic, chemically-inert fluorescent glass in hydrothermal vent fluid. If the material can withstand the complex chemical environment of high-temperature vent fluid for an extended duration, it could potentially be used as a tracer for mapping subsurface fluid flow in the future. Such tracer studies will help to address some of the most difficult but fundamental questions we have about the Earth, including: How deep within the Earth does life live? What limits the growth of life in these extreme environments? How large is the subseafloor biosphere, and what role does it play in the carbon cycle? We will test this inert non-toxic material by attaching it to temperature probes and placing the probes in direct contact with high-temperature hydrothermal fluid for 2-3 weeks. We will examine the material before and after vent fluid exposure using fluorescence microscopy, and evaluate any changes in its physical and optical properties. The goal of the second component is to characterize the range and stability of an optical multi hop sensor network. Sensor networks employ a spatially distributed array of communicating nodes, in which each node collects and transmits data to its neighbors in a web-like fashion. Sensor networks allow scientists to monitor dynamic phenomena over an extended area simultaneously. Optical multi-hop networks will form an important part of the communication backbone for distributed, underwater sensor data collection to help monitor ocean fine-scale phenomena. Such networks can be joined by passing ROVs, AUVs, or other sensors (like those used to monitor the tracers described above) to relay data to each other or onto a cabled observatory or surface buoy for real-time reporting. On this cruise, we will test two optical modem modules deployed multiple times at varying distances apart along a cable. The data will be statistically combined in order to model and plan for future sensor network missions.

这个快速项目涉及两个不同的组件。第一个组件涉及一种新型的高温玻璃材料，该材料正在开发中，未来将用作地下流体流动示踪剂。第二部分进一步开发了高速水下传感和无线通信网络的新方法。这两个项目的组成部分都是雄心勃勃的实验，通过为基础工程研究提供长期潜力来改变我们对海洋科学、教育和政策的方法，从而推进NSF的任务。第一个组成部分的目标是测试一种新型无毒、化学惰性荧光玻璃在热液喷口流体中的稳定性。如果这种材料能够长期承受高温喷口流体的复杂化学环境，它可能会被用作未来绘制地下流体流动图的示踪剂。这样的示踪研究将有助于解决我们对地球存在的一些最困难但最基本的问题，包括：生命在地球内部有多深？是什么限制了生命在这些极端环境中的生长？海底下生物圈有多大，它在碳循环中扮演什么角色？我们将测试这种惰性无毒材料，方法是将其连接到温度探头上，并将探头与高温热液直接接触2-3周。我们将在通风液暴露前后使用荧光显微镜检查材料，并评估其物理和光学性能的任何变化。第二个组件的目标是表征光多跳传感器网络的范围和稳定性。传感器网络采用空间分布的通信节点阵列，每个节点以类似网络的方式收集数据并向其邻居传输数据。传感器网络使科学家能够同时监测更大范围内的动态现象。光多跳网络将成为分布式水下传感器数据采集的通信主干的重要组成部分，以帮助监测海洋细尺度现象。这样的网络可以通过传递ROV、AUV或其他传感器(如上面描述的用于监测示踪器的传感器)来加入，以相互传递数据或将数据传递到有线天文台或水面浮标上，以便进行实时报告。在这次巡航中，我们将测试沿电缆多次部署的不同距离的两个光纤调制解调器模块。这些数据将进行统计合并，以便为未来的传感器网络任务建模和规划。