ROPOS engineers (left to right: Keith Shepherd, Bob Holland, Craig Elder) at the control center. The computers in the background are just a few of the many that are used in the operation of this high-tech remotely operated vehicle.

ROPOS can handle the pressure!

I don't know what time you usually wake up, but out here, time is sort of a relative thing. My sleeping quarters, and those of most of the other scientific personnel, are deep down in the belly of the R/V Thompson. In fact, it kind of sounds like a big growling hungry stomach when the bow thrusters are on. There are no portholes in our quarters, so I must rely upon my watch or my body's own rhythm to tell me the difference between morning and night. Ship time is very expensive, so out here, operations run 24 hours, 7 days a week. There are slower periods, but when they happen, everyone is scrambling to catch up or get ahead so that the crunch time will be less of a mental and physical drain.

When the RAS surfaced yesterday and was full of samples (thank goodness!), there was a flurry of activity among the scientists who couldn't wait to begin analyzing them. Then there was the engineering group who was anxious to check out the condition of the RAS machinery itself and to find out why the communication link failed (it turns out to have been a faulty cable that leaked seawater).

Castle vent and its anhydrite chimney (white mass in center) is a possible location for this years RAS deployment. The titanium tripod fluid intake shown will direct flow of the heated vent water into the RAS.

Everywhere I looked, people were measuring, pouring, swirling, sealing, labeling, storing, cleaning, and typing in data. This place looks like an anthill next to a picnic! You might think that all of this lab activity would have created a little down time for the crew, but no - they were busy preparing for the next part of the mission. While the scientists were busy processing water samples in the middle of the night, First Mate Phil Smith and the crew were busy bringing us to the site where ROPOS would take its next dive. At this hour, the name of our next dive sounds like Neptune is playing a trick on us: South Pillow Mound. I hear the name and imagine the fluffy white pillow waiting for me in my cozy little bunk down below. Boy, was I in for a big surprise! So when today began at 4:45 AM, ROPOS was just reaching the bottom near South Pillow Mound of Axial Volcano. Wait a minute, I thought, I've been duped! There are no pillows down here! Who's the wise guy? But then I took a closer look and was wide awake with wonder at a sight I imagine few people have seen before. "Pillow lava", formations unique to submarine volcanoes, are named this because of their pillow-like appearance.

The yellow housing hold the pressure sensor. It is placed upon the benchmark tripos, by the steady hand of ROPOS at South Pillow Mound.

One reason we're down here on this dive is so ROPOS can help Dr. Bill Chadwick measure the pressure at five benchmarks that were placed on Axial Volcano 3 years ago. The benchmarks are at locations that have been precisely navigated, and cover the distance from the center of the volcano's caldera to the Southern Pillow Mound (about 6 miles to the south). The pressure reading provides a precise depth at each benchmark. These pressure readings are compared over the years to indicate whether the volcano is inflating (shallower) of deflating (deeper), which gives Bill an idea what's happening beneath the volcano and whether or not another eruption is imminent. A pressure sensor is carefully placed on the benchmark and the pressure-sensor readings last 30 minutes. At each benchmark, ROPOS's mechanical arm will hold very still while it is collecting the pressure data. If ROPOS moves even the slightest bit, we must start all over again. Can you hold your arm out and completely still for 30 minutes? Try it! It's not as easy as it sounds! Luckily, ROPOS can handle the pressure! You know, with a little imagination, they really do look like pillows, especially at 5 AM.

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M.J., Age 17, Miller Place, New York, asks: What kinds of jobs do you use computers for on the ship?

ROPOS picks up equipment with one or both of its manipulator arms. It can lift 50-100 pounds. Could it pick up you? For heavier objects, some flotation can be added so ROPOS can move them.

• Guiding the ship's navigators Providing us with important environmental data (like the temperature and
  wind speed)
• Creating maps of the volcanic sites where we'll do our work
  Capturing, analyzing, and storing data
• Giving commands to ROPOS and receiving information from it
  Sending and Receiving information to and from shore (like this question and
  its answer).