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Engineering diagram of the retrieval attempt.
Mission Plan


Two ships will be involved in this expedition, the University of Washington's R/V Thomas G. Thompson and the Canadian Coast Guard's John P. Tully. The Thompson will use the remotely operated vehicle, ROPOS, to study and prepare the chimneys for extraction, while the Tully will do the actual lifting. The following cruise schedule is tentative.

June 22-25
Load Thompson at Seattle, Washington
Load ROPOS & winch system
Mount Applied Physics Lab (APL) chainsaw on ROPOS
Load APL recovery line baskets & recovery frames
June 26
Thompson set sail
June 27
Thompson install & survey transponder net
June 28
Thompson:
ROPOS survey targeted black smoker field & chimneys
Scientific activities: test strength of chimneys & measure temperatures
Test saw on chimney?

R/V Thomas G. Thompson R/V Thomas G. Thompson
June 29
Thompson:
Deploy recovery gear (cage & line basket) for one chimney
ROPOS dive to shift line basket & install recovery cage
Scientific activities

Tully:
Tully dock at Port Angeles, Washington
Start loading lifting equipment, air winches, deck saw, & scientific gear
June 30
Thompson:
ROPOS dive to saw chimney and do science

Tully:
Finish loading equipment & securing gear
July 1
Tully:
Tully sail from Port Angeles with heavy line winch

Thompson:
ROPOS dive to finish sawing structure & connect recovery line

The John P. Tully Canadian Coast Guard ship John P. Tully
July 2
Tully:
Tully recover first chimney
Shift chimney to permanent pallet & clean sulfide surface

Thompson:
ROPOS dive to inspect field around recovered chimney's base
July 3
Thompson:
Deploy second recovery line basket & recovery cage
ROPOS dive to smoker field, shift line basket & install lift cage
Transfer first recovery line from Tully to Thompson & load third basket
ROPOS dive to saw chimney & connect recovery line (haul up first recovery basket)
July 4
Tully:
Recover second chimney
Shift chimney on deck to saw & cut in half

Thompson:
ROPOS dive to inspect modifications to chimneys

ROPOS ROPOS "on the hook"
July 5
Thompson:
Deploy third line basket & recovery cage
ROPOS dive to shift basket & install recovery cage

Tully:
Sulfide sampling work in progress
Shift second recovery line from Tully to Thompson
July 6
Thompson:
ROPOS dive to saw chimney & connect recovery line
ROPOS bring up second recovery line basket
Thompson loading recovery line basket
July 7
Tully:
Recover third chimney

Thompson:
ROPOS dive to inspect field
ROPOS put samples in line basket?

Pilot Keith Shepherd maneuvers ROPOS Pilot Keith Shepherd maneuvers ROPOS
July 8
Thompson:
Deploy fourth recovery line basket
ROPOS dive to connect up line basket for recovery?
July 9
Tully recover basket or fourth chimney
July 10
Weather & delay day
July 11
Tully departs Juan de Fuca

Thompson doing science
July 12
Thompson doing science observations on chimney field
July 13
Tully sail for Pat Bay
July 13-15
Thompson doing science

Tully on the high seas Tully on the high seas
July 16
Thompson sail to Port Angeles
July 17
Thompson load chimneys & deck saw at Port Angeles & sail for Seattle
July 18
Thompson demobilize at Seattle




Birth of an Expedition | Mission Plan | Dispatches
Through the Porthole | Meet the Team
Meet ROPOS (JavaScript/Frames-capable browser required)
Meet ROPOS (No Frames/JavaScript)



Photos: (2) Marine Operations, UW School of Oceanography;

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