Sea-floor videos and photographs (benthos) along 6 shelf profiles from the eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica taken with remote operated vehicel CHEROKEE during Polarstern cruise ANT-XXI/2

• Main Authors: Gutt, Julian, Arntz, Wolf E, Dimmler, Werner, Schulz, Harald, Potthoff, Michael, Teixidó, Núria, Rose, Armin, Thatje, Sven
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2011
• Subjects: ANT-XXI/2; Comment; DATE/TIME; Date/time end; Depth; bathymetric; EASIZ; Ecology of the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone; Event label; File size; LATITUDE; Latitude 2; LONGITUDE; Longitude 2; Polarstern; PS65/091-1; PS65/102-1; PS65/184-1; PS65/250-1; PS65/277-1; PS65/335-1; PS65 BENDEX; Remote operated vehicle CHEROKEE; ROVC; Sample code/label; Time in minutes; Uniform resource locator/link to image; Uniform resource locator/link to metadata file; Uniform resource locator/link to movie; Weddell Sea; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Weddell; Norsel; Norsel Bank; Antarc*; Antarctica; Berichte zur Polar- und Meeresforschung; Reports on Polar and Marine Research; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.770359; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.770359

The ROV operations had three objectives: (1) to check, whether the "Cherokee" system is suited for advanced benthological work in the high latitude Antarctic shelf areas; (2) to support the disturbance experiment, providing immediate visual Information; (3) to continue ecological work that started in 1989 at the hilltop situated at the northern margin of the Norsel Bank off the 4-Seasons Inlet (Weddell Sea). The "Cherokee" is was equipped with 3 video cameras, 2 of which support the operation. A high resolution Tritech Typhoon camera is used for scientific observations to be recorded. In addition, the ROV has a manipulator, a still camera, lights and strobe, compass, 2 lasers, a Posidonia transponder and an obstacle avoidance Sonar. The size of the vehicle is 160 X 90 X 90cm. In the present configuration without TMS (tether management system) the deployment has to start with paying out the full cable length, lay it in loops on deck and connect the glass fibres at the tether's spool winch. After a final technical check the vehicle is deployed into the water, actively driven perpendicular to the ship's axis and floatings are fixed to the tether. At a cable length of approx. 50 m, the tether is tightened to the depressor by several cable ties and both components are lowered towards the sea floor, the vehicle by the thruster's propulsion and the depressor by the ship's winch. At 5 m intervals the tether has to be tied to the single conductor cable. In good weather conditions the instruments supporting the navigation of the ROV, especially the Posidonia system, allow an operation mode to follow the ship's course if the ship's speed is slow. Together with the lasers which act as a scale in the images they also allow a reproducible scientific analysis since the transect can be plotted in a GIS system. Consequently, the area observed can be easily calculated. An operation as a predominantly drifting system, especially in areas with bottom near currents, is also possible, however, the connection of the tether at the rear ...