Kaikō ROV
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

was a
remotely operated underwater vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is a free-swimming submersible craft used to perform underwater observation, inspection and physical tasks such as valve operations, hydraulic functions and other g ...
(ROV) built by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) for exploration of the
deep sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combination of low tempe ...
. ''Kaikō'' was the second of only five vessels ever to reach the bottom of the
Challenger Deep The Challenger Deep is the List of submarine topographical features#List of oceanic trenches, deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, in the ocean territory o ...
, as of 2019. Between 1995 and 2003, this 10.6 ton unmanned
submersible A submersible is an underwater vehicle which needs to be transported and supported by a larger ship, watercraft or dock, platform. This distinguishes submersibles from submarines, which are self-supporting and capable of prolonged independent ope ...
conducted more than 250 dives, collecting 350 biological species (including 180 different bacteria), some of which could prove to be useful in medical and industrial applications. On 29 May 2003, ''Kaikō'' was lost at sea off the coast of Shikoku Island during Typhoon Chan-Hom, when a secondary cable connecting it to its launcher at the ocean surface broke. Another ROV, ''Kaikō7000II'', served as the replacement for ''Kaikō'' until 2007. At that time, JAMSTEC researchers began
sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...
s for the permanent replacement ROV, '' ABISMO'' (Automatic Bottom Inspection and Sampling Mobile).


Challenger Deep

Bathymetric data obtained during the course of the expedition (December 1872 – May 1876) of the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
survey ship enabled scientists to draw maps, which provided a rough outline of certain major submarine terrain features, such as the edge of the
continental shelves A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
and the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a Divergent boundary, divergent or constructive Plate tectonics, plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest mountai ...
. This discontinuous set of data points was obtained by the simple technique of taking soundings by lowering long lines from the ship to the
seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...
. Among the many discoveries of the ''Challenger'' expedition was the identification of the Challenger Deep. This depression, located at the southern end of the
Mariana Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deep sea, deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maxi ...
near the
Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...
group, is the deepest surveyed point of the
World Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and ...
. The ''Challenger'' scientists made the first recordings of its depth on 23 March 1875 a
station 225
The reported depth was 4,475
fathom A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an international standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally accepted non-SI unit. H ...
s (8184 meters) based on two separate soundings. On 23 January 1960,
Don Walsh Don Walsh (November 2, 1931 – November 12, 2023) was an American oceanographer, U.S. Navy officer and marine policy specialist. While aboard the bathyscaphe ''Trieste'', he and Jacques Piccard made a record maximum descent in the Challeng ...
and
Jacques Piccard Jacques Piccard (28 July 19221 November 2008) was a Swiss oceanographer and engineer, known for having developed submarines for studying ocean currents. In the Challenger Deep, he and Lieutenant Don Walsh of the United States Navy were the fi ...
were the first men to descend to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the ''Trieste''
bathyscaphe A bathyscaphe () is a free-diving, self-propelled deep-sea submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a '' Bathysphere'', but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable, as in the classic ''Bathysphere'' design. The floa ...
. Though the initial report claimed the bathyscaphe had attained a depth of 37,800 feet, the maximum recorded depth was later calculated to be . At this depth, the
water column The (oceanic) water column is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical ( pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined ...
above exerts a
barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013.2 ...
of , over one thousand times the
standard atmospheric pressure The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as Pa. It is sometimes used as a ''reference pressure'' or ''standard pressure''. It is approximately equal to Earth's average atmospheric pressure at sea level. History The ...
at sea level. Since then, only two manned vessels have returned to the Challenger Deep: the
Deepsea Challenger ''Deepsea Challenger'' (DCV 1) was a deep-diving submersible designed to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the deepest-known point on Earth. On 26 March 2012, Canadian film director James Cameron piloted the craft to accomplish this go ...
, which was piloted by director
James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
on March 26, 2012, to the bottom of the trench.; and the Limiting Factor, piloted by Victor Vescovo in 2019. In March 1995, ''Kaikō'' became the second vessel ever to reach the bottom of the
Challenger Deep The Challenger Deep is the List of submarine topographical features#List of oceanic trenches, deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, in the ocean territory o ...
, and the first craft to visit this location since the ''Trieste'' mission. The maximum depth measured on that dive was 10,911.4 meters, marking the deepest dive for an unmanned submersible to date. On 31 May 2009, ''Nereus'' became the third vessel to visit the bottom of the
Challenger Deep The Challenger Deep is the List of submarine topographical features#List of oceanic trenches, deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, in the ocean territory o ...
, reaching a maximum recorded depth of 10,902 meters.


RV ''Kairei''

RV ''Kairei'' ( かいれい) is a deep sea research vessel that served as the support ship for ''Kaikō'', and for its replacement ROV, ''Kaikō7000II''. It now serves as the support ship for '' ABISMO''. ''Kairei'' uses ''ABISMO'' to conduct surveys and observations of
oceanic plateau An oceanic or submarine plateau is a large, relatively flat elevation that is higher than the surrounding relief with one or more relatively steep sides. There are 184 oceanic plateaus in the world, covering an area of or about 5.11% of the o ...
s,
abyssal plain An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between . Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth's surface. They ...
s,
oceanic basin In hydrology, an oceanic basin (or ocean basin) is anywhere on Earth that is covered by seawater. Geologically, most of the ocean basins are large Structural basin, geologic basins that are below sea level. Most commonly the ocea ...
s,
submarine volcano Submarine volcanoes are underwater vents or fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. Many submarine volcanoes are located near areas of tectonic plate formation, known as mid-ocean ridges. The volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges ...
es,
hydrothermal vent Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hot ...
s,
oceanic trench Oceanic trenches are prominent, long, narrow topography, topographic depression (geology), depressions of the seabed, ocean floor. They are typically wide and below the level of the surrounding oceanic floor, but can be thousands of kilometers ...
es and other underwater terrain features to a maximum depth of 11,000 meters. ''Kairei'' also conducts surveys of the structure of deep sub-bottoms with complicated geographical shapes in subduction zones using its on-board multi-channel reflection survey system.


Timeline and fate of ''Kaikō''

In February 1996, ''Kaikō'' returned to Challenger Deep, this time collecting
sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
and
microorganism A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic scale, microscopic size, which may exist in its unicellular organism, single-celled form or as a Colony (biology)#Microbial colonies, colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen ...
s from the
seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...
at a depth of 10,898 meters. Among the novel organisms identified and collected was '' Moritella yayanosii'' and '' Shewanella benthica''. These two species of bacteria appear to be obligately barophilic. The optimal pressure conditions for growth of ''S. benthica'' is 70 Megapascals (MPa), while ''M. yayanosii'' grows best at 80 MPa; no growth at all was detected at pressures of less than 50 MPa with either strain. Both species appear to contain high levels of
docosahexaenoic acid Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega−3 fatty acid that is an important component of the human brain, cerebral cortex, skin, and retina. It is given the fatty acid notation 22:6(''n''−3). It can be synthesized from alpha-linolenic acid or ...
(DHA) and
eicosapentaenoic acid Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; also icosapentaenoic acid) is an omega−3 fatty acid. In physiological literature, it is given the name 20:5(''n''−3). It also has the trivial name timnodonic acid. In chemical structure, EPA is a carboxylic acid wi ...
(EPA),
omega-3 fatty acid Omega−3 fatty acids, also called omega−3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their ...
s which could prove to be useful in the treatment of
hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...
and even
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. In December 1997, ''Kaikō'' located the wreck of '' Tsushima Maru'' on the sea floor off the coast of
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
. ''Tsushima Maru'' was an unmarked Japanese passenger/cargo ship that was sunk during World War II by , a
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
. In May 1998, ''Kaikō'' returned again to Challenger Deep, this time collecting specimens of '' Hirondellea gigas''. ''Hirondellea gigas'' (Birstein and Vinagradov, 1955) is a
crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
of the Uristidae
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of marine
amphipods Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphip ...
. In October 1999, ''Kaikō'' performed a robotic mechanical operation at a depth of 2,150 meters off the coast of Okinawa near the Ryukyu Trench, connecting measuring equipment with underwater cables on the sea floor. On this mission, another bacterial species, '' Shewanella violacea'', was discovered at a depth of 5,110 meters. This organism is notable for its brilliant violet-colored
pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
. Certain compounds found in ''S. violacea'' may have applications in the
cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...
industry (development of products for lightening of skin tone) and also in the
semiconductor A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...
industry (development of chemicals to be used in production of semiconductors). In late November 1999, ''Kaikō'' located the wreckage of H-2 No. 8, a
NASDA The , or NASDA, was a Japanese national space agency established on October 1, 1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education, Culture ...
rocket ( satellite launch system), on the sea floor at a depth of 2,900 meters off the
Ogasawara Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total area of but only two of the islands are permanen ...
. H-2 flight F8 was conducted on 15 November 1999. The rocket, which was carrying a Multi-Functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) payload, self-destructed after experiencing an engine malfunction shortly after it was launched. In August 2000, ''Kaikō'' discovered hydrothermal vents and their associated deep sea communities at a depth of 2,450 meters near the
Central Indian Ridge The Central Indian Ridge (CIR) is a north–south-trending mid-ocean ridge in the western Indian Ocean. Geological setting The morphology of the CIR is characteristic of slow to intermediate ridges. The axial valley is 500–1000 m deep; ...
. The Central Indian Ridge is a divergent
tectonic plate Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed durin ...
boundary between the African Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate located in the western
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. On 29 May 2003, ''Kaikō'' was lost at sea during Typhoon Chan-Hom, when a steel secondary cable connecting it to its launcher at the surface broke off the coast of Shikoku Island. In May 2004, JAMSTEC resumed its research operations, using a converted ROV as its vehicle. The ROV, formerly known as ''UROV 7K'', was rechristened ''Kaikō7000II''. The ''7000'' designation indicates that this vessel is rated for diving to a maximum depth of 7,000 meters.


Development of ABISMO

While the temporary replacement ROV (''Kaikō7000II'') has a remarkable performance record, it is only rated to 7,000 meters and cannot reach the deepest oceanic trenches. For this reason, JAMSTEC engineers began work on a new 11,000-meter class of ROV in April 2005. The project is called ''ABISMO'' (Automatic Bottom Inspection and Sampling Mobile), which translates to ''abyss'' in Spanish. Initial sea trials of ''ABISMO'' were conducted in 2007. The craft successfully reached a planned depth of 9,760-meters, the deepest part of
Izu–Ogasawara Trench The , also known as Izu–Bonin Trench, is an oceanic trench in the western Pacific Ocean, consisting of the Izu Trench (at the north) and the Bonin Trench (at the south, west of the Ogasawara Plateau). It stretches from Japan to the northernmost ...
, where it collected core samples of sediment from the seabed.


See also

* * * * * * * * * * *


References


Further reading

*


External links


JAMSTEC's Kaikō page

Marine Biology: The Deep Sea
– General resource on deep sea creatures


R.I.P. A.B.E: The pioneering Autonomous Benthic Explorer is lost at sea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiko Deep sea fish Marine biology Research submarines of Japan Physical oceanography Remotely operated underwater vehicles Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology