CRED Optical Validation Data at Asuncion Island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 2003, to Support Benthic Habitat Mapping
Optical validation data were collected using a Tethered Optical Assessment Device (TOAD), an underwater
sled equipped with an underwater digital video camera and lights. Data were collected in the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), around 18 different islands and banks, to support Benthic Habitat Mapping efforts
during NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette cruise OES0307, from August 22 through September 21, 2003.
Ascuncion Island is an active volcanic cone and has a land area of 7.3 square km. The island is protected from
development by the CNMI Constitution, as it has been declared a wildlife conservation area. It is home to nesting
colonies of Sooty and Gray-backed Terns (Sterna fuscata and S. lunata, respectively). The seafloor off Ascuncion
Island features high densities of sea pens in the vicinity of the 100 m isobath in some areas.
Optical validation data were collected using the Tethered Optical Assessment Device (TOAD), a sled equipped with
underwater video camera and lights. These data are used to provide ground-truth validation for benthic habitat maps
based on multibeam echosounder surveys. Camera sled deployments were conducted at night, usually between 1800 and
midnight. The duration of each tow varied but averaged about 40 minutes of bottom time at a given location. The
camera sled was deployed from the port J-frame mounted amidships on the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. At each station
the ship was positioned with the wind on the port side and drifted downwind; occasional light turns were applied to
the ship's screws if necessary to reduce the ship's motion. The TOAD was lowered slowly to the bottom by the deck
crew using a capstan. The operator monitored a live video feed from the camera and began recording data on a video
tape recorder. When the camera reached bottom the deck crew was notified by radio to stop lowering. The operator
continued to monitor the vehicle and provided commands to raise or lower it to keep the camera just above the bottom.
Equipment Description: The TOAD was deployed from the lower arm of the vessel's port side J-frame. The TOAD is a
camera sled based on the Guildline MiniBat model 8820 tow body. The frame has been extensively modified from its
original configuration and was equipped with an ROS model 54-00100-13 color underwater video camera as the primary
data collection instrument. The ROS camera was mounted to point at approximately a 45 degree angle toward the
seafloor. A Deep Sea Power and Light model 2050 MultiSeaCam low-light color video camera was also mounted on the
sled and aimed straight ahead. The signal from this camera was fed to a second video monitor to provide warning of
underwater obstructions the sled might be headed for. Illumination was provided by two 500 W DeepSea Power & Light
Multi-SeaLite model 1050 underwater lights mounted on the original sled frame. The lights were located near the
base and each side of the sled to provide the maximum possible horizontal distance from the ROS camera. Cable between
the sled and the surface consisted of a underwater electrical cable (cable 2, black in color) with an internal kevlar
strength member to support the sled frame. The cable was led from the camera sled over a 22-inch diameter sheave
hung from the J-frame, and from there around a gypsy head mounted on the alternate CTD winch, amidships on the
vessel's port side. All TOAD surface components were located in the Dry Lab in an equipment rack on the after bulkhead.
Name & address of person collecting data:
John Rooney
NOAA IRC
NMFS/PIFSC/CRED
1845 WASP Blvd., Building 176
Honolulu, HI 96818
Data Files: Video data were recorded on a video tape recorder. The position of the camera sled was recorded in
WGS-84 using Guildline MiniBat In-Tow data acquisition software and a data feed from a shipboard Northstar Chartplotter.
File naming convention: Each tow is given a name consisting of a 3-letter designator for the island area followed
by a two-digit year and three-digit tow number, which increments by one for each new tow around that island. For Ascuncion Island the designator
is "ASU."During OES0307 (NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette's 7th cruise in calendar year 2003) the consecutive numbers
started at ASU03001. Video tape labels, the navigation files (*.glo) and paper log forms are annotated with the tow
name and number, e.g., ASU03002. If the navigation file is edited during processing the file name has a suffix 'a'
added. For example, for a navigation data file named "ASU03002a.glo," the 'a' would indicate that metadata were
extracted from the navigation data and recorded to a file with the same name as the navigation file except that a
file type of '.met' was appended; for example, 'ASU03002a.glo.met.
Time Correlation: All times are based on UTC. Two clocks were manually synchronized prior to starting data collection;
the clock in the video character generator that was used to annotate the video tape, and the clock in the TOAD data
acquisition computer. These clocks were set to UTC at the beginning of each evening's operations.
Resource Description: Digital video imagery that is geo-referenced to navigation files.