July 13, 2021: USBL Tranducer Deployment
Image courtesy of Art Howard, GFOE, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Download larger version (jpg, 8.0 MB).
USBL is an acronym for ultra-short baseline. The USBL system on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer is used to determine the position of remotely operated vehicles Deep Discoverer and Seirios while the vehicles are in the water.
The accuracy of the system can vary greatly depending on many factors. A calibration is designed to maximize the accuracy of the system by identifying errors associated with the specific location of the USBL transceiver on the ship’s hull.
Prior to the start of the Océano Profundo 2018: Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands expedition, the transceiver on the hull of Okeanos Explorer was replaced recently. As this could have affected the accuracy of the system, the team decided to recalibrate the USBL system before the first dive of the expedition. In this image, the team prepares to deploy the USBL transponder for calibration.
From: You Gotta Keep ‘Em Calibrated.