The VENUS Instrument Platform just before deployment.
The VENUS Instrument Platform in place in Saanich Inlet. Note the orange oil-filled cable.
The VENUS Instrument Platform in place in Saanich Inlet.
The VENUS Instrument Platform is a galvanized steel structure for housing instruments near the seabed. This platform was designed to accommodate a host of oceanographic sensors, and one or more VENUS SIIMs. The main structure of the VIP is supported by four legs with large square feet. If the VIP feet become entrenched in the seabed over time, an ROV can free the main structure by removing pins at the top of each leg.
Instruments are mounted with PVC brackets to internally supported fiberglass boards.
There are several advantages to mounting the instruments on fiberglass boards versus directly to the metal frame:
- Fiberglass boards are easy to drill and provide ample surface area for instruments
- Galvanic corrosion and general corrosion is minimized
- The galvanizing on the steel does not have to be disturbed to accommodate future sensors
The VENUS SIIM on the Platform has 70 metres of oil-filled hose directly connected to it. At the far end of the oil-filled hose is a wet-mate connector that plugs in at the node port. The VIP is deployed with this oil-filled hose coiled up on a bracket. Once the structure is on the bottom, an ROV is deployed. The ROV uncoils the hose from the bracket, swims the 50 to 60 m between the VIP and the node, and mates the wet-mate connector, providing power and Ethernet communications to the SIIM and VIP instruments.
