Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
A ROV is directly tethered (i.e, a wire connects it to the surface) while an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) has no wire as the vehicle is preprogrammed. The ROV that was previously used in this investigation was video only and it had a wire to the surface. It was also apparently too large in diameter to extend range into the deepest opening in the cave. A magnetic sensor equipped 7-1/2" diameter AUV (such as a Remis 100 vehicle) can provide an assessment of whether a metal tank is buried in there or not. The ROV that was utilized in this investigation is 1990s technology at best.
It is often in the Navy's interest to extend its capabilities with respect to applications in evaluating its prototype systems. This particular application provides a unique opportunity that may offer further insights into the use of underwater sensing devices under development. That this technology might prove whether there are buried metal tanks in Vortex or not is really secondary to whether these prototype systems can provide an assessment in such an overhead environment which may be of strategic military value in future operations. In other words, it is likely that spending an afternoon at Vortex with a NSWC-PCD magnetic sensor AUV may provide some confidence for use in other unknown future operations.
