(1 bar = 1 kg/cm
2 ). The Nautile is 8 m long, 2.7 m wide, 3.81 m high and weighs
18 tons. In order to be lighter in weight, the Nautile was constructed with a
titanium-steel alloy and its floatability is due to the use of synthetic foam. It is
equipped with two vertical and two lateral thrusters, and one main axial motor with
a propeller, which can be oriented in different directions. Nickel-cadmium batteries power the engines. The sphere of the Nautile has a diameter of 2.10 m and is
equipped with 3 portholes about 12 cm in diameter. The maximum speed at the
bottom is usually less than 2 kn (1.7 kn). It is equipped with 7 projectors, which
can provide up to 2000 W of light. The Nautile is similar to the Russian-designed
submersible MIR, built in Finland, and the Japanese submersible, Shinkai. In a
good year, Nautile will be able to log about 170 dives (see Figs. 3.2 and 7.27).
The first scientific expedition of the Nautile took place in the Japan Trench in
1985 with Xavier Le Pichon as chief scientist. The support ships of the Nautile are
the N.O. LE NADIR, N.O. L’ATALANTE and N.O.‘‘LE POURQUOI PAS?’’. The
research vessel ‘‘Le Pourquoi Pas?’’ is a very suitable ship for multidisciplinary
purposes and sea-going capability. It is 107 m in length, 20 m wide, 6600 tons,
and is the largest French oceanographic vessel sponsored by both IFREMER and
the French Navy. ‘‘Le Pourquoi Pas?’’ is able to carry both the Nautile and the
ROV ‘‘Victor 6000’’.
Nautile has participated in many different types of expeditions including
locating old shipwrecks. The ‘‘Titanic’’ was one of the major diving targets of the
Nautile, which performed about seventy dives in depths of 3,970 m after the
Titantic’s discovery in 1985. So far, no other scientific objectives have attracted
more attention, used more ship time or had more dives than what has been done on
the Titanic site off the eastern coast of North America.
Pisces
The Pisces V and Pisces IV are three-person, battery-powered submersibles with a
maximum operating depth of 2,000 m (Fig. 3.2). Both submersibles are operated
by HURL (Hawaiian Undersea Research Laboratory) affiliated with the University
of Hawaii, USA. They were designed and built by Hyco International Hydrodynamics in Vancouver British Columbia in 1968–1970. The pressurized hull has an
inside diameter of 2.1 m and is made of a steel alloy with 3 forward-looking
acrylic windows, 15 cm in diameter. The two Pisces vehicles enable us to make
video recordings, to place instruments on the sea floor, and to conduct sampling.
They have two remote-controlled arms, which can be manipulated. These arms are
useful for placing thermometers in strategic places, or for picking up biological
and geological samples and placing them in a collection box, and they are even
helpful in maneuvering the submersible around areas that are otherwise difficult to
navigate. In Pisces V, a typical dive lasts up to 10 h. However, the vessel has an
emergency life support system that is capable of keeping the three-person crew
alive for as long as 140 h in case of emergency.
64
3 Diving into the Abysses
2 ). The Nautile is 8 m long, 2.7 m wide, 3.81 m high and weighs
18 tons. In order to be lighter in weight, the Nautile was constructed with a
titanium-steel alloy and its floatability is due to the use of synthetic foam. It is
equipped with two vertical and two lateral thrusters, and one main axial motor with
a propeller, which can be oriented in different directions. Nickel-cadmium batteries power the engines. The sphere of the Nautile has a diameter of 2.10 m and is
equipped with 3 portholes about 12 cm in diameter. The maximum speed at the
bottom is usually less than 2 kn (1.7 kn). It is equipped with 7 projectors, which
can provide up to 2000 W of light. The Nautile is similar to the Russian-designed
submersible MIR, built in Finland, and the Japanese submersible, Shinkai. In a
good year, Nautile will be able to log about 170 dives (see Figs. 3.2 and 7.27).
The first scientific expedition of the Nautile took place in the Japan Trench in
1985 with Xavier Le Pichon as chief scientist. The support ships of the Nautile are
the N.O. LE NADIR, N.O. L’ATALANTE and N.O.‘‘LE POURQUOI PAS?’’. The
research vessel ‘‘Le Pourquoi Pas?’’ is a very suitable ship for multidisciplinary
purposes and sea-going capability. It is 107 m in length, 20 m wide, 6600 tons,
and is the largest French oceanographic vessel sponsored by both IFREMER and
the French Navy. ‘‘Le Pourquoi Pas?’’ is able to carry both the Nautile and the
ROV ‘‘Victor 6000’’.
Nautile has participated in many different types of expeditions including
locating old shipwrecks. The ‘‘Titanic’’ was one of the major diving targets of the
Nautile, which performed about seventy dives in depths of 3,970 m after the
Titantic’s discovery in 1985. So far, no other scientific objectives have attracted
more attention, used more ship time or had more dives than what has been done on
the Titanic site off the eastern coast of North America.
Pisces
The Pisces V and Pisces IV are three-person, battery-powered submersibles with a
maximum operating depth of 2,000 m (Fig. 3.2). Both submersibles are operated
by HURL (Hawaiian Undersea Research Laboratory) affiliated with the University
of Hawaii, USA. They were designed and built by Hyco International Hydrodynamics in Vancouver British Columbia in 1968–1970. The pressurized hull has an
inside diameter of 2.1 m and is made of a steel alloy with 3 forward-looking
acrylic windows, 15 cm in diameter. The two Pisces vehicles enable us to make
video recordings, to place instruments on the sea floor, and to conduct sampling.
They have two remote-controlled arms, which can be manipulated. These arms are
useful for placing thermometers in strategic places, or for picking up biological
and geological samples and placing them in a collection box, and they are even
helpful in maneuvering the submersible around areas that are otherwise difficult to
navigate. In Pisces V, a typical dive lasts up to 10 h. However, the vessel has an
emergency life support system that is capable of keeping the three-person crew
alive for as long as 140 h in case of emergency.
64
3 Diving into the Abysses