Alvin Down-Looking Camera

Under the existing MISO grant a specialized frame was fabricated for use with Alvin for down-looking image acquisition using the MISO digital deep-sea cameras and strobes. Figures to the left show the unit on the Alvin basket. This includes a fiberglass base, and Delrin strobe mounts which articulate outward by small hydraulic rams powered using Alvin’s hydraulics so that adequate camera/strobe separation is achieved. A junction box was manufactured that provides easy integration into the Alvin science wiring system and for efficient downloading of the images from the camera using a parallel connector on the J-box so that the camera connection does not have to be accessed.

This system has been used by several investigators for down-looking image acquisition from Alvinin the Galapagos Rift [Shank et al., 2002, 2005, Rzhanov et al., in press], East Pacific Rise [Shank et al., 2004] and in the Gulf of Mexico [C. Fisher, unpub. data, 2006].