|
||||
探險家,電影人詹姆斯卡梅隆將深海探險者潛水艇捐贈給伍茲霍爾海洋研究所(WHOI)
與WHOI達成夥伴關係,促進技術發展,海洋探索和發現
探險家及電影人詹姆斯卡梅隆和伍茲霍爾海洋研究所(WHOI)建立合作關係,共同促進海洋科學技術的發展,也是2012年深海探險者計劃的歷史性突破,該計劃是由卡梅隆先生帶領的。卡梅隆先生史無前例的深潛至35,787英尺(約合11,000米),到達地球上最深的地方——馬裏亞納海溝。該次冒險是由卡梅隆先生與他的團隊設計的垂直升降潛水器完成的,此項技術也爲深海探險者提供潛水艇系統和科學平臺。該合作聲明的發佈時值此次冒險的一週年之際。
卡梅隆先生將深海探險者的技術轉移到伍茲霍爾,伍茲霍爾的科學家和工程師將與卡梅隆先生和他的團隊將潛水艇工程納入未來的研究平臺和深海的探索項目中來。在今夏潛水艇照計劃運到伍茲海爾之後,科學家和工程師將花費幾個月的時間全面記錄系統的組件技術。
卡梅隆先生說:“我們花費了7年時間設計和建造的深海探險者是爲給深海探險家們提供更多的選擇。我們的潛水艇是有科學驗證的概念的,我們與伍茲海爾的合作關係能將我們的技術提供給海洋學的研究”,“伍茲海爾是世界上海洋深淺領域的領導者,不管是有人還是無人深淺。我與伍茲海爾非正式的聯繫也有超過20年的時間,此次能與伍茲海爾建立正式的合作關係,我十分高興,並將深海探險者的深淺技術和科學平臺轉移給伍茲海爾。在伍茲海爾,深海探險者系統將得以發展,走得更遠。
“詹姆斯破紀錄的深淺鼓舞了我們,照亮深海的重要性”,伍茲海爾總裁兼董事Susan Avery說道,“在我們與深海的關係中,面臨衆多的挑戰,因此實施創新的方式是十分緊急的。此次合作就是一個新的範例,並且將會加速推進海洋科學和科技發展的進程。”
深海探險者系統證明人類控制的機器作爲科學平臺能有效的探索海洋的深處。由於海洋深處的極端環境和抵達的技術挑戰,海溝是地球上最少被探索的地方。深海探索者系統將創新方法納入深海探索的挑戰之中。該系統有幾項重要的革新,分別是懸浮方式,能源儲存,攝像技術和燈光系統的革新。這些革新幫助卡梅隆先生收集數據,樣本和圖像,最大化實現探險的科學價值。
詹姆斯卡梅隆同時也是WHOI海洋機器人中心的諮詢委員,此次新的合作將把學術界,聯邦政府和私人企業聯合起來,推進機器人科技的發展。
“我們十分高興卡梅隆先生加入諮詢委員會,該會因爲各個成員豐富的經歷及爲海洋科學做出了巨大的貢獻而富有盛名。”Avery說道,“這只是卡梅隆團隊與伍茲海爾保持合作關係的一部分。”
詹姆斯卡梅隆已經做了3,000小時的水下記錄,有過85次的潛水經歷,他們中的深度大都超過2英里,且有過8次海洋探險經歷。從他1988年的電影《深淵》開始,卡梅隆先生就推進了水下攝影的發展,也在衆多的故事片和海洋紀錄片中使機器人拍攝。1995年,他讓12個載人潛水器潛入泰坦尼克號的廢墟中進行電影的拍攝,該影片贏得了11項奧斯卡獎,包括最佳電影,最佳導演,並打破了全球票房的記錄。(泰坦尼克號的收入僅被卡梅隆2009年的電影阿凡達超過,該電影至今仍是全球最高票房保持者。)2002年5月,卡梅隆先生將他的機器人攝像機適用在拍攝紀錄片《探索DKM卑斯麥戰艦》中,拍攝了DKM卑斯麥戰艦的廢墟,其深度爲16,000英尺。他繼續發展和改善創新微型光纖假脫機ROV,該設備爲長時間水下記錄片的拍攝提供深海照明和攝像技術,用於拍攝包括2003年的《深海幽靈》和2005年的《深海異形》,以及不久之後的《深海挑戰3D》。該電影運用和依靠卡梅隆和他的工程師夥伴文思佩斯先生研發的3D技術和攝像系統,且已成爲他們的3D技術和服務公司,卡梅隆佩斯集團的基礎。
卡梅隆先生是國家地理協會的駐校探險家,也是深潛水先鋒協會的成員。他有過3年美國宇航局顧問委員的經歷,爲許多機器人航天探索項目做出了重大的貢獻。卡梅隆先生也是阿凡達聯盟基金會的創始人,該基金會爲非盈利機構,旨在應對氣候變化,自然破壞,原住民土地和文化的失落。
深海挑戰是詹姆斯卡梅隆和國家地理協會,及勞力士一起的聯合科學考察。更多信息: deepseachallenge.com
伍茲霍爾海洋研究所是一所私人的,非盈利組織,位於科德角,馬瑟諸塞州,致力於海洋探索,工程和高等教育。伍茲海爾操作着國家深淺設施,該深海探索運營機器,造福了整個美國海洋界。該設施包括載人機器Alvin,遠程遙控機器Jason和自動機器Sentry。www.whoi.edu.
Explorer and filmmaker James Cameron GivesDEEPSEA CHALLENGER Sub to
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
Forms partnership with WHOI to accelerate technology development, ocean research and discovery
Explorer and filmmaker James Cameron and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have formed a partnership to stimulate advances in ocean science and technology and build on the historic breakthroughs of the 2012 Cameron-led DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition exploring deep-ocean trenches. The announcement comes on the one-year anniversary of Cameron’s unprecedented solo dive to 35,787 feet, almost 11,000 meters, to the deepest place on Earth—the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench—in the vertically-deployedvehicle he and his team engineered, the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible system and science platform.
Cameron will transfer the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER to Woods Hole, where WHOI scientists and engineers will work with Cameron and his team to incorporate the sub’s numerous engineering advancements into future research platforms and deep-sea expeditions. It will take scientists and engineers some months to fully document the system’s component technologies after the sub’s scheduled arrival in Woods Hole early this summer.
“The seven years we spent designing and building the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER were dedicated to expanding the options available to deep-ocean researchers. Our sub is a scientific proof-of-concept, and our partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a way to provide the technology we developed to the oceanographic community,” says Cameron. “WHOI is a world leader in deep submergence, both manned and unmanned. I’ve been informally associated with WHOI for more than 20 years, and I welcome this opportunity to formalize the relationship with the transfer of the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible system and science platform. WHOI is a place where the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER system will be a living, breathing and dynamic program going forward.”
“Jim’s record-breaking dive was inspirational and helped shine a spotlight on the importance of the deep ocean,” says Susan Avery, president and director of WHOI. “We face many challenges in our relationship with the ocean, so there is heightened urgency to implement innovative approaches. Partnerships such as this one represent a new paradigm and will accelerate the progress of ocean science and technology development.”
The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER system demonstrated the effectiveness of a human-piloted vehicle as a science platform for investigating the deepest part of the ocean. Due to the extreme pressures of these deep-sea environments and the technical challenges involved in reaching them, ocean trenches are among the least explored environments on the planet. The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER system incorporated innovative solutions to some of the challenges of accessing the oceans depths. Among several of the significant innovations are approaches to flotation, energy storage, camera and lighting systems that enabled Cameronto gather data, samples, and imagery in order to maximize science value from the expedition.
Jim Cameron will also serve on the advisory board for WHOI’sCenter for Marine Robotics, a novel collaborative model that enhances the development of robotic technologies by bringing together partners from academia, the federal government, and the private sector.
“We are delighted that Jim has agreed to join the Center’s Advisory Board, a group distinguished by its members’ deep experience and commitment to ocean science,” says Avery. “This is just one manifestation of the kind of sustained partnership developing between WHOI and the Cameron team.”
James Cameron has logged more than 3,000 hours underwater, is a veteran of 85 submersible dives, most of them to depths greater than two miles, and of eight oceanographic expeditions. Beginning with his film The Abyss in 1989, Cameron has advanced underwater cinematography and robotics during the production of numerous features and marine documentaries. In 1995, he made 12 manned-submersible dives to the Titanic wreck for his movie of the same name, which won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and broke the record for global box office. (Titanic’s earnings have only been surpassed by Cameron’s 2009 film, Avatar, still the box office leader.) In May 2002, Cameron piloted his robotic cameras inside the wreck of the DKM Bismarck, at a depth of 16,000 feet, for the documentary Expedition Bismarck. He has continued to evolve and improve on innovations in fiber-optic-spooling mini-ROV's, deep-ocean lighting and photographic technologies for subsequent underwater documentaries including Ghosts of the Abyss in 2003, Aliens of the Deep in 2005 and the forthcoming DEEPSEA CHALLENGE 3D. The film utilizes and builds on the 3D technology and camera systems Cameron and engineering partner, Vince Pace, developed in 1999 and that form the basis of their 3D technologies and services company, the CAMERON | PACE Group.
Cameron is an Explorer-in-Residence at National Geographic and a member of the Deep Submersible Pilots Association. He has contributed to a number of robotic space exploration projects and, for three years, served on the NASA Advisory Council. Cameron is the founder of the Avatar Alliance Foundation, a non-profit aimed at addressing climate change, the destruction of the natural world and the loss of indigenous land and culture.
DEEPSEA CHALLENGE is a joint scientific expedition by James Cameron, the National Geographic Society, and Rolex. Learn more at deepseachallenge.com.
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. WHOI operates the National Deep Submergence Facility, which operates deep sea exploration vehicles for the benefit of the entire US oceanographic community and includes the human occupied vehicle Alvin, the remotely operated vehicle Jason and the autonomous vehicle Sentry. www.whoi.edu.