A remembrance of Nereus from its expedition leader Casey Machado, who is currently out on the RV Thomas G Thompson. In Memory of Nereus I am sad to announce that yesterday, May 9th, at around 1am local time, Nereus was lost at sea. While working on the seafloor at 10000m depth, connection was lost suddenly to the vehicle, which at the time was believed simply to be a routine failure in the fiber tether. Acoustic communication also ceased immediately at that point and after almost a day of waiting in anticipation of various abort timers and corrodible links to drop weights, a small field of debris was spotted on the surface. Many chunks of polypropylene plastic were seen, most could fit easily in the palm of your hand. When brought aboard it was without a doubt pieces of Nereus? flotation structure. I learned later that at around the time of the loss of comms, a loud noise was heard below decks followed immediately by what was described as a popcorn like cascade of other lesser implosions. Nereus was lost doing what she was designed to do, exploring the deepest reaches of the ocean with a basket full of samples and a control room filled with scientists interacting actively for the first time with the Hadal seafloor. I am still stunned in disbelief by the whole experience and I feel as if I have lost a child. I?d greet Nereus each morning on deck, and wave goodbye to her as she was released to her long commute down to work each dive. She will be missed greatly. As I think back upon my career it is filled with many fond memories of Nereus and just as importantly the relationships I have built in the countless hours of work with her success as a common goal. Nereus was truly unique. She had a character and personality so big that she barely fit into her own shipping container and on many occasions frustrated all of us with her capricious nature. It was her actions and achievements however that would constantly guide us to take her shortcomings in stride. After learning to swim alongside kayakers off the sunny coast of northern Oahu, she then went on to wade deeper and deeper into the ocean. Undaunted, she went to earn her place beside a legend, Trieste, by exploring the deepest reaches of the Mariana Trench? a mutual achievement they were able to celebrate together at the Naval Museum in DC during Triestes 50th anniversary. Next she demonstrated that at times it is better to be two things rather than just one as she headed out on her own for the first real time as an AUV to sniff out the vents on the Mid Cayman Rise, though missing by only a short distance when returning to explore as an ROV, the information gather did help lead to the discovery of several new vents sites. With a taste of freedom, Nereus was ready to tackle a more ambitious autonomous goal, deploying subsea nodes and laying fiber cable across the seafloor--a task which she ran headlong into achieving, again proving to us that her versatility was a great asset to furthering the ideas of underwater technology. Continuing along a path of innovation, Nereus returned to Guam and eagerly carried an optical modem to the seafloor, becoming the first untethered ROV and helping to open the door to the next generation of vehicles. Now a seasoned seagoer, Nereus return triumphantly to the Mid Cayman Rise where she had explored years early and did not disappoint while showing off her new tricks, toys, and improvements. Nereus picked up where she left off (quite literally in the case of one very lucky sampler). While not as big or strong as the others who had visited the site before, Nereus showed she could hold her own, sampling hydrothermal vents like the best of them. It did not go unnoticed by the community, pretty soon Nereus had a full schedule for the upcoming year, and away we went. This last trip to explore the Kermadec trench was as ambitious as it proved to be difficult in so many ways. I think that we often take for granted just how challenging the things we accomplish can be. Even amidst the seemingly countless setbacks, Nereus still was able to deliver samples, stunning imagery, and a short glimpse into a place on earth barely ever explored? while the sting of her loss is still fresh, it can be easy to forget that this too is a noteworthy accomplishment. We do things no one else does, and the only reason that is possible is through the talent, dedication, and perseverance of all those involved. I want to thank everyone for the support given during this cruise, those of you on shore were a firm support to fall back on. As we move forward I urge that the memory of Nereus be a constant reminder for us to strive to not settle in what we do and armed with all the lessons we have learned, to continue to push what others may consider achievable. The legacy of Nereus does live on, as she is survived by the Nereids, who, though still young, will undoubtedly go on to accomplish great things. Goodbye Nereus, thank you for all you have taught me, I will miss you. With love, Casey
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 23:06:57 +0000
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