SubC Stories: Axial Seamount Study Continues with Subsea Camera Observatory
SubC’s cameras are focused on a 14-foot tall actively hydrothermal venting hot spring deposit called “Mushroom” on the Axial Seamount for observation
SubC’s camera systems provide insight into the evolution of the chimney and how these macro and microfaunal communities respond to changes in fluid flow, temperature, and chemistry associated with broadscale seismic and volcanic activity in the region
Since 2014, the University of Washington has been using SubC Imaging’s subsea cameras, LEDs and lasers to observe the Axial Seamount, an active underwater volcano located 250 miles off the Oregon coast.
The Axial Seamount study is part of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The OOI is a networked infrastructure of science-driven sensor systems that measure the physical, chemical, geological, and biological variables in the ocean and seafloor.
“Mushroom” Hydrothermal Vent
SubC’s cameras are focused on a 14-foot tall actively hydrothermal venting hot spring deposit called “Mushroom” on the Axial Seamount for observation. Residing on an old lava flow, Mushroom is a metal sulfide chimney populated by communities of tube worms, palm worms, scale worms, limpets, and chemosynthetic microbes (Fig. 1). The vent’s hot spring fluids can reach temperatures as high as 260°C (500°F!)
Fig. 1. Top view of the Mushroom Hydrothermal Vent. Frame grab captured at approximately 3:00 min in video recorded on May 5, 2016.
Observing the Chimney’s Evolution
SubC’s camera systems provide unprecedented insight into the evolution of the chimney and how these macro and microfaunal communities respond to changes in fluid flow, temperature, and chemistry associated with broadscale seismic and volcanic activity in the region. Video data from SubC cameras flow from the instrument via a fiber optic cable to a Primary Node and from there to the shore station in Pacific City, Oregon. While the feed from the camera continuously streams data, the LED lights are only turned on for 14 minutes every three hours. The 14-minute raw video sequence, that streams eight times a day, gets processed via the Elemental Server into a live video feed that is available on the main OOI website.
Thanks to SubC Imaging’s outlook towards customer success, SubC and the University of Washington have developed a long-term relationship and continue to work together to identify the perfect subsea solution for the research at hand. This year, the University of Washington placed another order with SubC consisting of multiple 4K Rayfin Smart Cameras, LEDs and lasers due to their technological capability, proven reliability, and cost.
Read more about the University of Washington’s Mushroom Hydrothermal Vent research in the references below:
References
Citation: Friedrich Knuth, Leila Belabassi, Lori Garzio, Michael Smith, Michael Vardaro. (2016) Automated QA/QC and time series analysis on OOI high-definition video data. DOI: 10.1109/OCEANS.2016.7761396
Live Video from Axial Seamount: http://oceanobservatories.org/streaming-underwater-video/
