What
does it look like, at the
bottom of the ocean? The OFOBS of the AWI Deep Sea Group explores unknown areas,
that no one has ever seen before. From the data captured by the OFOBS, the scientists create high-resolution
maps of the seabed, micro-bathymetries.
Exploring the Seafloor (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
The OFOBS - Ocean Floor Observation Bathymetry System is a multifunctional sled with a camera, a side scan sonar and a forward-looking scanning sonar. The equipment rack is made of titanium. Electronics and telemetry are protected in titanium vessels.
Exploring the Seafloor (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
The high-tech device is sent on its mission to the seabed using a special crane on "Polarstern". The OFOBS can work in water depths up to 6,000 meters.
Concentration in the winch control room
The ship is traveling at slow speed of 0.2 to 1.2 knots, over a distance of just 1,800 meters. Here, the scientists previously spotted an anomaly in the records of the ship's echosounder. There might be a rock from Earth’s mantle exposed here.
Winch Control Room of "Polarstern" (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
The search for traces begins: Phillip Kle from the deck crew watches the winch that tows the OFOBS.
Geoscientist Crispin Little during the OFOBS-Mission (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
The ocean floor in view: Crispin Little from the University of Leeds in England observes the images that the OFOBS sends to the monitors.
Geoscientist Crispin Little during the OFOBS-Mission (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
"This is a barren setting on the ocean floor, but I'm always thrilled to explore unknown areas and be the first person to see something no one has seen before," says Crispin Little.
Geoscientist Crispin Little during the OFOBS-Mission (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Only a short deployment of about five hours is planned this night. Everything that Crispin Little sees during the "sleigh ride" over the ocean floor, every stone, every anemone, every lily, every interesting structure, he painstakingly records in the log, so that other scientists can work with the data later.
Paul Wintersteller is watching the OFOBS-Mission (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
While Crispin Little writes the log, Paul Wintersteller tracks the incoming data from the side scan sonar. "This allows us to measure the seabed very precisely. Every 20 centimeters I get a data point. With the vessel’s own multibeam sonar, we work in a size range of about 30 meters and cannot capture such small seabed structures," says the geoscientist.
Everything is under control
Falko Möller from the deck crew has a shift at the winch control desk and controls the winch and the tow wire. The advantage of the OFOBS is that the device can be deployed even in bad weather and high seas.
Nightshift (2019/2019)Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Mission complete. The OFOBS is back on deck.
Geoscientist Miriam Römer cleans the high-tech sled with fresh water, so that the salty seawater does not remain on the device. The geoscientist says: "Unlike the ship's echosounder, the OFOBS also lets us watch the area we're exploring. And, of course, if we really see what the structures are like, we get a much better picture of the seabed than a map can offer us, "says the geoscientist.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Holger von Neuhoff
TEXT: Stephanie von Neuhoff
