Near Real-Time GIS in Deep-Ocean Exploration

During a 1991 oceanographic research expedition to the Juan de Fuca Ridge, the Deep Submergence Laboratory (DSL) of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) applied interactive mapping with a geographic information system (GIS) in conjunction with real-time navigation. As DSL's remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Jason, surveyed a hydrothermal vent field, acoustic navigation updates were combined with maps generated to the specifications of participating scientists. The maps, which were generated in near-real time, were used to plan vehicle operations in a hazardous environment and to monitor survey progress and data quality. Geologic observations made in real-time by scientists monitoring ROV sensors were logged into data files, combined with processed navigation, and used to produce preliminary updates to maps of the vent field. This experimental combination of GIS technology with navigation and visualization software was highly successful. Future scientific efforts will include further processing of sensor data, integration of image products into the GIS database, and the production of high-quality mapping products. Pub. in the Proceedings of the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping Convention, p428-435, 1992.