Development of AUV MONACA - Hover-Capable Platform for Detailed Observation Under Ice –

The melting of ice and changes in ocean currents in Antarctica must be investigated to understand global climate change. In this regard, the volume changes of sea ice and ice shelves, bathymetry, and ocean currents in the Antarctic Ocean must be measured in three dimensions. Therefore, the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), which can directly observe under ice, is being considered. The authors developed an AUV named Mobility Oriented Nadir AntarctiC Adventurer (MONACA) to observe sea ice and the lower region of the ice shelf in the Antarctic Ocean. Herein, we describe MONACA and its basic autonomous navigation methods (altitude control, depth control, and waypoint tracking), as well as report the results of a sea experiment conducted in Shimoda Bay, Japan. During the 5-day sea trial, the MONACA successfully measured bathymetry by tracking 15 waypoints in sequence, switching the control criteria in the -axis direction between 3 m depth and 3 m altitude.

Construction of the Mean Sea Surface Model Combined HY-2A With DTU18 MSS in the Antarctic Ocean

A new Mean Sea Surface (MSS) model called Shandong University of Science and Technology Antarctic Mean Sea Surface model (SDUST_ANT MSS) in the Antarctic Ocean is presented and validated in this paper. The SDUST_ANT MSS updates the DTU18 MSS with 6 years of Exact Repeat Mission (ERM) and Geodetic Mission (GM) data from HY-2A. Collinear adjustment was applied to all the ERM data to obtain the along-track mean sea surface height. Oceanic variability has been removed from the GM data. Crossover adjustment was applied to both the ERM and GM data. We constructed the HY-2A_MSS using HY-2A altimetry data based on optimal interpolation method. Several types of errors (such as white noise, residual effect of oceanic variability, and long wavelength bias) have been taken into account for the determination of MSS using optimal interpolation method. The SDUST_ANT MSS was constructed by mapping HY-2A_MSS onto the DTU18 MSS. The SDUST_ANT MSS was compared with DTU18 MSS and CNES_CLS15 MSS. At wavelengths below 150 km, differences between models are consistent with seafloor topographic gradient. At wavelengths above 150 km, differences are affected by the mesoscale activities and the altimetry errors in coastal areas. The errors of the three models, as indicated by their power spectral densities (PSDs), are of similar orders of magnitude. The absolute error is slightly smaller in SDUST_ANT than in CNES_CLS15 or DTU18.

Antarctic Ocean Whaling Photo Album : Cataloguing And Preservation Of A Japanese Album

The Antarctic Ocean whaling photo album is an album published during the 1940's by a Japanese marine product company. The album contains 52 gelatin silver prints of a whaling expedition to the Antarctic Ocean and is a fascinating visual record of the Japanese whaling industry. Using this album as a case study, this thesis project is a study of the cataloguing process and preservation of a photographic album. The goal of this project is to make the album more accessible to researchers through translation, cataloguing and digitization, as well as to provide a preservation strategy through condition assessments. This paper summarizes the research conducted on the album, outlines the cataloguing process, the condition assessment of the album and provides a treatment proposal and a handling guideline for the album. The paper also includes a Romanization chart and a translation table of the album texts as aids for further research.

Antarctic Ocean Whaling Photo Album : Cataloguing And Preservation Of A Japanese Album

The Antarctic Ocean whaling photo album is an album published during the 1940's by a Japanese marine product company. The album contains 52 gelatin silver prints of a whaling expedition to the Antarctic Ocean and is a fascinating visual record of the Japanese whaling industry. Using this album as a case study, this thesis project is a study of the cataloguing process and preservation of a photographic album. The goal of this project is to make the album more accessible to researchers through translation, cataloguing and digitization, as well as to provide a preservation strategy through condition assessments. This paper summarizes the research conducted on the album, outlines the cataloguing process, the condition assessment of the album and provides a treatment proposal and a handling guideline for the album. The paper also includes a Romanization chart and a translation table of the album texts as aids for further research.

A note on observations of southern right whales at Campbell Island, New Zealand

Southern right whales were observed at Campbell Island, in New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic ocean, over four field seasons (1983, 1994, 1995 and 1997). Whales were present in both the winter and autumn of 1994. An average of 7-21 whales were seen each season, with a maximum of 44 whales per day in July 1995. Individual whales were resighted in the area over periods of several days to two months. A change to shorter residence periods occurred between the early 1980s and 1990s. Some interchange occurs between Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands, with a recent decrease in number at the former and an increase at the latter.