Travel with the Dp hunter, a research ship on an expedition to collect samples of fossilized coral off the coast of Tahiti
Watch a research ship collect samples of fossilized coral off the coast of Tahiti....
Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz
Transcript
NARRATOR: The research vessel DP Hunter off the coast of Tahiti - it's on a scientific mission to take cores from a coral reef, made up of the skeletons of coral that died at the end of the last ice age. But before that drilling can start, the ship must be brought into position. The fossilized coral is just 100 meters from the reef of the living coral. Manoeuvring the ship this close to land and to an important eco-system is no easy task. But with the help of a satellite navigation system called dynamic positioning, the crew can automatically maintain the DP Hunter's position. The DP system is made up of several GPS receivers installed on the roof of the ship's bridge and a computer that compares the data these provide with depth measurements. The computer assesses and corrects the ship's position via 12 automatically controlled propellers. The big ship never moves more than five meters from the intended position.
CAPT. WILLIAM A. ROGER: "We're actually less than, at this present time, 1,000 feet from the coral reef where it shelves off from 100 meters straight up to zero. And I don't want to get into the zero. So our time - if something does go wrong - our time of reaction needs to be instant. It would take time - if we lost everything - it will take time to get the main engines up so we need to make sure that we're on the ball."
NARRATOR: The 35-meter drilling rig was erected on the DP Hunter's deck especially for this expedition. The so-called moonpool that leads from the deck down to the bottom of the hull is a portal to the underwater world. In a sense, the researchers are on a journey through time - the deeper they drill, the more ancient the layer of fossilized corals they're penetrating. The drill shaft is inserted down through the moonpool as far as the seabed. The casing shoe, or nose, of the drill is set into the seabed and weighted. The drill then burrows into the porous rock, slowly and steadily. Core samples of coral are extracted and transported in core barrels up the inside of the drill shaft meter by meter, until they reach the deck. The core barrels, some full, some slightly less full, arrive on the deck at a rate of about one every 15 minutes. These coral that died over 23,000 years ago were witnesses to a dynamic change in the climate - a change that might be repeated. Scientists have been itching to get hold of these core samples. Over 30 researchers study the samples on board the ship.
DR. HOLGER KUHLMANN: "The expedition has been very successful up to now. When the first core samples came up on deck everyone in the team ran over to have a look. We were all thrilled. The scientists were able to tick off some of the items on their lists, so the mood on board has been very good."
NARRATOR: After 41 days and nights aboard the DP Hunter, the last core sample is fetched on board. The crew have taken a total of 620 meters of coral. Now the real work begins. Scientists from all over the world will be kept busy for a long time analyzing these fossilized witnesses of the distant past.
CAPT. WILLIAM A. ROGER: "We're actually less than, at this present time, 1,000 feet from the coral reef where it shelves off from 100 meters straight up to zero. And I don't want to get into the zero. So our time - if something does go wrong - our time of reaction needs to be instant. It would take time - if we lost everything - it will take time to get the main engines up so we need to make sure that we're on the ball."
NARRATOR: The 35-meter drilling rig was erected on the DP Hunter's deck especially for this expedition. The so-called moonpool that leads from the deck down to the bottom of the hull is a portal to the underwater world. In a sense, the researchers are on a journey through time - the deeper they drill, the more ancient the layer of fossilized corals they're penetrating. The drill shaft is inserted down through the moonpool as far as the seabed. The casing shoe, or nose, of the drill is set into the seabed and weighted. The drill then burrows into the porous rock, slowly and steadily. Core samples of coral are extracted and transported in core barrels up the inside of the drill shaft meter by meter, until they reach the deck. The core barrels, some full, some slightly less full, arrive on the deck at a rate of about one every 15 minutes. These coral that died over 23,000 years ago were witnesses to a dynamic change in the climate - a change that might be repeated. Scientists have been itching to get hold of these core samples. Over 30 researchers study the samples on board the ship.
DR. HOLGER KUHLMANN: "The expedition has been very successful up to now. When the first core samples came up on deck everyone in the team ran over to have a look. We were all thrilled. The scientists were able to tick off some of the items on their lists, so the mood on board has been very good."
NARRATOR: After 41 days and nights aboard the DP Hunter, the last core sample is fetched on board. The crew have taken a total of 620 meters of coral. Now the real work begins. Scientists from all over the world will be kept busy for a long time analyzing these fossilized witnesses of the distant past.