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RV Investigator is an impressive research vessel that enables a wide range of marine and atmospheric research. The following videos are provided (below) to highlight some of the wide equipment, system and research capabilities of the vessel:

  1. Overview of equipment and capabilities of RV Investigator
  2. Trawling operations (net sampling)
  3. Mapping the seafloor
  4. CTD operations (ocean sampling)
  5. Weather radar on RV Investigator

Capability videos (animations)

1. Overview of equipment and capabilities of RV Investigator

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2. Trawling operations (net sampling)

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3. Mapping the seafloor

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4. CTD operations (measuring our oceans)

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5. Weather radar on RV Investigator

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RV Investigator is an impressive research vessel that enables a wide range of marine and atmospheric research. The following videos are provided (below) to highlight some of the wide equipment, system and research capabilities of the vessel:

  1. Overview of equipment and capabilities of RV Investigator
  2. Trawling operations (net sampling)
  3. Mapping the seafloor
  4. CTD operations (ocean sampling)
  5. Weather radar on RV Investigator

Capability videos (animations)

1. Overview of equipment and capabilities of RV Investigator

[Music plays and plankton floats around the screen and text appears: Marine National Facility]

[Music continues to play and the image changes to show a school of tuna swimming across the screen]

[Image changes to show an animation of the Investigator on the ocean and text appears: R.V. Investigator]

[The camera zooms in on the animation of the Investigator and then the camera pans in an anticlockwise direction and text appears: Investigator is a multidisciplinary vessel capable of oceanographic, biological, geoscience and atmospheric research]

[Camera continues to pans in an anticlockwise direction from an aerial view and measurements appear on the side and across the back of the boat: 94 metres, 18.5 metres]

[Image changes to show a side view of the animation of the Investigator moving from the right to the left of the screen and measurements appear vertically against the side of the boat: 37 metres, 10 storeys tall]

[Image changes to show a front view of the animation of the Investigator and a box appears on the right hand side of the screen displaying 60 outlines of people and text appears: 60 scientists and crew]

[Camera pans over the deck of the animation of the Investigator and then in a clockwise direction and text appears on either side of the ship: 10 Laboratories, 13 Container Laboratories]

[Image shows containers being put on the deck of the ship]

[Image changes to show a view of an animation of the Investigator moving towards the camera and text appears: Cruising speed of 11 knots, Up to 60 days at sea without refuelling]

[Camera zooms in on a side view of the animation of the Investigator and then the camera pans in an anticlockwise direction to show a rear view of the animation of the Investigator]

[Image changes to show an underwater view of the animation of the Investigator facing away from the camera and text appears: 3 diesel electric motors, 2 AC electric propulsion motors]

[Camera continues to pan in an anticlockwise direction showing an underwater view of the animation of the Investigator]

[Camera zooms in on the gondola below the hull of the animation of the Investigator and text appears: A large steel housing attached 1.2 m below the hull, called a gondola, contains solar technology.]

[Camera continues to pan in a clockwise direction showing the gondola]

[Image changes to show the retractable drop keels on the bottom of the animation of the Investigator and text appears: Two fully retractable scientific drop keels collect water samples, and contain sonar to study ocean biology]

[Camera continues to pan in an anticlockwise direction showing the retractable keels on the bottom of the animation of the Investigator]

[Image changes to show an aerial view of marine equipment being deployed from the rear of the deck of the animation of the Investigator and text appears: Investigator can deploy a diverse range of sampling equipment]

[Image changes to show the marine science equipment being towed underwater]

[Image changes to show a multi corer being deployed from the left hand side of the animation of the Investigator]

[Image changes to show the multi corer plunging beneath the surface of the water]

[Image changes to show a view of the hull of the animation of the Investigator and then the camera zooms in on the bow thruster and text appears: The ship’s retractable bow thruster is part of a dynamic positioning system that allows research to continue in most weather conditions]

[Camera continues to pan in an anti-clockwise direction showing the bow thruster]

[Image changes to show a front view of the animation of the Investigator and the camera zooms in on the communications equipment on top of the bridge and text appears: High speed satellite communications]

[Camera zooms up and over the bridge and pans in an anti-clockwise direction to show an aerial view of the animation of the Investigator on the ocean]

[Camera zooms out until the animation of the Investigator is just a speck in the ocean and then the image changes to show a view of Australia on the world globe]

[Camera zooms out again to show the globe in space surrounded by stars and text appears: Investigator enables a new era for Australia’s marine and atmospheric researchers, putting them at the forefront of global research, with the latest state-of-the-art scientific equipment]

[The image shows the globe very slowly spinning in an anticlockwise direction]

[Music continues playing and MNF and CSIRO logos and text appears: Marine National Facility, Supporting, enabling and inspiring marine science, Owned and operated by CSIRO on behalf of Australia]

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2. Trawling operations (net sampling)

[Music plays and plankton appear on screen with text:  Marine National Facility]

[Camera pans over a school of southern bluefin tuna]

[Image changes to show an animation of the RV Investigator]

[Text appears: RV Investigator Trawling]

[Image changes to show the winches on top of the Investigator and text appears: Investigator has a suite of winches to deploy nets down to 4,000 m.]

[Image changes to show a submerged net trawling through the water and text appears: The range of nest included: surface net, EZ net, bongo net, manta net, pelagic trawl net and drop net.]

[New text appears: The corer boom located on the aft starboard side can lift a maximum of 20 tonnes and can be used for deploying surface, bongo, drop and manta nets.]

[Image changes to show the Investigator with the EZ system trawling behind it. Text appears: The EZ system of multiple fine mesh nets can be opened and closed at different depths. It can be deployed using a 1,000 m fibre optic and conducting cable, through the A-Frame using the towed body winch.]

[Image changes to show a trawling net. Text appears: On the rear deck trawling nets can be deployed and retrieved using the A-Frame, stern gallows, trawl winches, utility winches and the net drum.]

[Image continues to show the trawling net. Text appears: Complementing the trawling capability are various spilt-beam and multibeam scientific echo sounders for use in shallow to deep waters.]

[Image changes to show the sounding system located underneath the Investigator. Text appears: All echo sounding systems are fully integrated to operate simultaneously and the nets are fully instrumented, so their behaviour can be recorded.]

[CSIRO logo appears with text: Big ideas start here www.csiro.au]

 

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3. Mapping the seafloor

[Music plays and plankton appear on screen with text:  Marine National Facility]

[Camera pans over a school of southern bluefin tuna]

[Image changes to show an animation of the RV Investigator]

[Text appears: RV Investigator Multibeam Surveying]

[Image changes as camera goes under the water to show the hull of the RV Investigator and text appears:  Investigator has a 13.5m x 9.5m gondola, fixed 1.2m below the hull]

[Image changes back to show a picture of the RV Investigator emitting acoustic signals and text appears:  The gondola is fitted with:  Kongsberg EM122 full ocean depth multibeam swath mapping system.   Kongsberg EM710 shallow water multibeam swath mapping system.   Simrad ME70 is a steerable multibeam (up to 45 beams) echo sounder, capable of 3-D images for biomass estimation, fish school characterisation and behaviour studies.  The gondola is fitted with:   Kongsberg SBP120 sub-bottom profiler.   Multi frequency hydrophone.   Skipper DL850 dual axis doppler log.   12 kHz transducer, for underwater communication, e.g. mooring releases and pingers.]

[Image changes to an aerial view of the RV Investigator and text appears:  Investigator can map the sea floor to full ocean depth.]

[Image changes to show the sea floor below RV Investigator, with an arrow appearing to mark a 30 kilometre width, and text appears:  The EM122 has a resolution of 1° x 1° and in deep water has a swath width of up to 30km.  The EM710 has a resolution of 0.5° x 1° and is capable of high resolution surveying to 1000 m.]

[Image changes to an underwater view of the hull of the RV Investigator and text appears:  Investigator’s hull was analysed using computer-based fluid dynamics to ensure the bubbles generated by the hull, and the pattern they formed sweeping down around the ship, wouldn’t interfere with the acoustic equipment.  This was then analysed during tow tank testing.  To further ensure the ship created fewer bubbles, the bow was specially designed avoiding both the use of a bulbous-shaped bow and tunnel thrusters.  Instead, Investigator has a soft nose stem and retractable azimuthing bow thruster.]

[Image changes to show seabed mapping images and text appears:  To maximize the performance of the acoustic equipment, the ship has been built to comply with DNV-Silent-R, to minimize the noise from the machinery on board.  This will increase the range of resolution of seabed mapping, sub-surface imaging, and marine ecosystem monitoring instruments.]

[CSIRO logo appears with text: Big ideas start here www.csiro.au]

 

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4. CTD operations (measuring our oceans)

[Music plays and plankton appear on screen with text:  Marine National Facility]

[Camera pans over a school of southern bluefin tuna]

[Image changes to show an animation of the RV Investigator]

[Text appears: RV Investigator CTD]

[Image changes to an aerial view of the RV Investigator and then moves down to the side of the ship where a door opens and the CTD comes out of the ship, suspended over the water on a mechanical arm]

[Camera zooms in on the CTD, and text appears:  CTD stands for conductivity, temperature, depth.  This device collects a wide range of data underwater to help scientists understand the characteristics of the ocean such as currents, its composition, and how it changes over time]

[Image changes back to the CTD suspended over the water and the mechanical arm lowers the CTD into the ocean]

[Image changes to show water sampling bottles on the CTD and text appears:  Water sampling bottles close remotely to collect water samples at different depths]

[Image changes to show the underside of the CTD and text appears:  The CTD unit gathers data using electronic sensors and sends data back to the ship]

[Image changes back to the RV Investigator and text appears:  Investigator uses its thrusters to maintain position above the CTD]

[Image changes to show the RV Investigator stationary above the water and the CTD descending down through the water.  Graphs appear to the right of the image and text appears:  AS the CTD descends through the water column electronics monitor many ocean properties like light levels, pressure and temperature.  Electronics also measure turbidity (how cloudy the water is with tiny particles)]

[Image changes to show an arrow indicating the depth of the water at 7 kilometres, the CTD returning to the surface of the water, and text appears:  As the CTD returns to the surface sampling bottles are closed remotely, to capture water at specific depths.  The water is then analysed to measure concentrations of nutrients like nitrate, phosphate and silicate.  It is also analysed for concentrations of trace elements like iron, which is important for plankton growth.  Onboard the ship, water samples can be analysed for the number and types of plankton]

[Image changes to show an aerial shot of the east coast of Australia surrounded by the ocean currents and text appears:  CTD data collected has allowed scientists map where cold and warm currents travel in the ocean, and to discover the southward movement of the East Australia Current (EAC).  As the EAC moves south, ecosystems are changing, bringing warmer water species to the seas around Tasmania]

[CSIRO logo appears with text: Big ideas start here www.csiro.au]

 

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5. Weather radar on RV Investigator

[Music plays and plankton appear on screen with text:  Marine National Facility]

[Camera pans over a school of southern bluefin tuna]

[Image changes to show an animation of RV Investigator]

[Text appears: RV Investigator Weather Radar]

[Camera zooms in on the weather radar and text appears: The weather radar on top of Investigator sends and receives microwave pulses.]

[Camera zooms in on the radar emitting microwave pulses]

[Text appears: The radar sends 800 pulses every second.]

[Camera zooms out on Investigator and shows the area where the radar can collect data. Text appears: Data is collected within a 150 km radius from the ship and 20 km into the atmosphere.]

[Camera pans skyward to show precipitation. Text appears: The pulse has a vertical and horizontal signal, called dual polarisation. The returning signal reveals the quantity, location, size and shape of any precipitation.]

[Image changes to show pictures of water, snow and ice. Text appears: Scientists will be able to see if a cloud is made from water, snow or ice]

[Image changes to show an aerial shot of landmasses surrounded by ocean. Text appears: Land-based radars already collect data for scientists. The radar on Investigator will record the first data from the oceans around Australia. Footnote appears: Stuart Ramsden, National Computational Infrastructure, & Todd Lane, the Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, University of Melbourne.]

[Image changes to show weather systems moving over the landmasses and surrounding oceans. Text appears: The data will be used to improve climate models and weather predictions for Australia.]

 [CSIRO logo appears with text: Big ideas start here www.csiro.au]

 

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