Line of action:

Status:

Execution date:

The overall objective of the project is to demonstrate the real operation of the LanderPick concept under the same demanding conditions for which the system was designed. In other words, the objective is the successful deployment in deep marine protected areas, using the LanderPick remote operation vehicle (developed in the ongoing LanderPick-1 project
), of a flotilla of small underwater multi-parameter observatories (landers) equipped with capture mesh and oceanographic instrumentation.

Specific objectives of the project:

(1) the continuation of the development and improvements of the LanderPick-1 vehicle and accessories,

(2) the manufacture and fitting out of landers until the creation of an operational fleet,

(3) the deployment and collection of a fleet of instrumented landers for a short-medium term experience in the Gaviera Canyon

(4) the deployment of a fleet of instrumented landers for a long-term experience at Banco de El Cachucho.

1. Revision/evolution/operation of the LanderPick-1 vehicle: According to the work experiences of the LANDERPICK-1 campaign, improvements or adaptations of the vehicle/hook system will be defined and executed.
2. Manufacture and preparation of landers: Includes the manufacture of 4 new landers, the adaptation of the 2 existing landers and the incorporation of sensors and/or electronics modules.
3. Lander deployment campaign in La Gaviera: Landers deployed in the axis of the La Gaviera Canyon to characterize the breaking of the internal tide on coral reefs.
4. Lander collection campaign in La Gaviera: Collection of landers, operation/feasibility analysis as well as scientific results.
5. Launch of landers in El Cachucho: In coordination with the planned monitoring campaign of El Cachucho, in summer 2021, the fleet of landers will be deployed covering the habitat of the sponge communities.
6. Reporting and Outreach: Report writing and outreach.

LanderPick-2 was the continuation of the LanderPick project and the first tests of the system were carried out in the real and demanding conditions of the deep marine protected areas of the Cantabrian Sea.

The project was structured in 6 activities that included the operation and evolution of the LanderPick vehicle and the manufacture of new landers that, once properly instrumented, had to be launched in the form of pilot experiences, one in the short term in the La Gaviera canyon (Avilés cannon system) and another in the long term in El Cachucho (central Cantabrian). is now to be collected after the end of the project.

The start in the Gaviera took place in April and the collection took place four months later, in August with success. The start on the Cachucho was delayed due to problems in the schedule of the oceanographic vessels and had to wait for almost the completion of the project in December 2021. Despite the delays, all the work was carried out successfully thus completing the objectives of the project. In addition, the deployment of landers in El Cachucho incorporated a hydrophone, the result of collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Valencia Group through INTEMARES ACTION C.2: “Pilot projects for monitoring marine species and habitats through the use of new technologies”. In the last phase of the project, outreach work was reinforced, including the publication of an informative article in the journal Quercus and participation in the AGU Fall Meeting international geophysics congress (USA).

The execution of the project was very successful despite the successive rescheduling of sea activities. The LanderPick system has proven its effectiveness by accumulating 13 starts and 7 recoveries between 200 and 1000 meters deep, all of them successful. At the time of completion of the project, six of the 7 landers manufactured are anchored in operation, 5 on the El Cachucho bank and another on the outer continental slope in front of Gijón, collecting oceanographic data that will allow us to better understand the evolution of environmental variables.

The results of the LanderPick projects were compiled in a publication in the journal Quercus. In addition, the online television channel Surf Channel echoed the project in two programs (the content can be consulted in the following links: program 14 and program 18).