Welcome to ScubaBoard, an online scuba diving forum community where you can join over 100,000 divers from around the world discussing all things related to Scuba Diving. To gain full access to ScubaBoard you must register for a free account.
As a registered member you will be able to:
Participate in over 500 dive topic forums and browse from over 3,000,000 posts.
Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
Post your own photos or view from 80,000 user submitted images.
Gain access to our free classifieds marketplace to buy, sell and trade gear, travel and services.
Use the calendar to organize your events and enroll in other members' events.
All this and much more is available to you absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact the ScubaBoard Support Team.
Since this is in our back yard I figured I'd post it here.....if I can find a way to upload the photos I will but so far it looks like the company may have blocked them....
BP supports Gulf of Mexico marine research project
By Planet BP
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
BP has donated $30,000 to Louisiana State University to purchase a digital camera system to support the SERPENT project, a global collaboration between the petroleum industry and academia that uses industrial remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for research during periods of operational standby time.
The camera system, which is compatible with BP ROVs deployed at BP drilling and production sites, includes an eight-megapixel digital camera, strobe and control hardware and software.
According to Mark Benfield, an LSU Oceanography and Coastal Sciences professor and coordinator of the SERPENT project, the system enables more definitive identification of marine species in the Gulf of Mexico and provides high-quality images for scientific and outreach publications.
Editor's Note: The slide show above right features seven images taken by ROVs during the SERPENT project. Here are the descriptions for each image:
Slide 1: A manefish imaged by Oceaneering below Ocean Confidence. This is the first time an adult manefish has been documented in the Gulf of Mexico and this also appears to be the best footage of a manefish recorded in the ocean.
Slide 2: A swimming snail called a heteropod imaged below Thunder Horse PDQ by Saipem-America. These small organisms are predators that feed on other gelatinous organisms.
Slide 3: A jellyfish called Periphyllopsis braueri imaged by Oceaneering beneath the Discoverer Enterprise.
Slide 4: This jellyfish called Solmissus is one of the most common organisms we see. It was imaged by Saipem-America beneath the Thunderhorse PDQ.
Slide 5: A large colonial organism called a siphonophore imaged by Oceaneering beneath Ocean Confidence. This one is called Stephanomia and it was coiled up in a tight helix when first observed. The lights from the ROV caused it to unwind and swim off.
Slide 6: A viperfish (Chauliodus sloani) imaged by Oceaneering beneath Ocean Confidence. This small fish is only a few inches long but it's a fearsome predator with large teeth relative to its body.
Slide 7: A squid called Octopoteuthis imaged by Oceaneering beneath the Discoverer Enterprise.
$30,000 for an 8 megapixel camera? I could have purchased a gross of them with that money! Just teasing... I know it must be a custom job for use on the ROV, and include housing, controls, etc.
Linear Mode
