Alas, poor Nereus, we hardly knew thee. RIP 2008-2014. (Woods Hole image)
The ROV Nereus, one of the world’s deepest diving vessels, operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) from the USNS Thomas G. Thompson, (T-AGOR-23), was lost Saturday of a suspected implosion while at depths of more than six miles.
“On Saturday, May 10, 2014, at 2 p.m. local time (10 p.m. Friday EDT), the hybrid remotely operated vehicle Nereus was confirmed lost at 9,990 meters (6.2 miles) depth in the Kermadec Trench northeast of New Zealand. The unmanned vehicle was working as part of a mission to explore the ocean’s hadal region from 6,000 to nearly 11,000 meters deep [LSZI- That's 36,000 feet!]. Scientists say a portion of it likely imploded under pressure as great as 16,000 pounds per square inch.
Nereus was built in 2008 by the Deep Submergence Lab at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) with primary funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to descend to the deepest parts of the ocean and to operate either autonomously or to be controlled remotely from the surface. WHOI engineers incorporated a number of novel technologies into its design for use in remote operations, including an optical fiber tether for use in remote operations, ceramic flotation, and lithium-ion batteries. Its mission was to undertake high-risk, high-reward research in the deepest, high-pressure parts of Earth’s ocean. At the time it was lost, it was 30 days into a 40-day expedition on board the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson to carry out the first-ever, systematic study of a deep-ocean trench as part of the NSF-sponsored Hadal Ecosystems Study (HADES) project under chief scientist Timothy Shank, a WHOI biologist who also helped conceive the vehicle.”
More here
Just saying, at this point, the HADES designation may have been an acronym too far..
