During a seabed observation dive (depth 400 m) in the western Weddell Sea near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, underwater video recordings of the benthos and oceanographic CTD data of the surrounding area were recorded. A modified Ocean Module V8Sii ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) was launched from RV Polarstern and surveyed a portion of the seabed with a maximum extent of 110 by 35 m. The device was equipped with two cameras of different resolutions: an HD camera (Kongsberg oe14-502, 720p50) and a 4k camera (SubC Imaging Mk6, 2160p25). Environmental data was recorded with a CTD (SeaBird 19plusV2), which included sensors for chlorophyll a (Wetlabs FLRT), oxygen (SEB 43), pH (SEB 18) and PAR (Biospherical), in addition to standard instruments for conductivity, temperature and pressure. The ROV's position was recorded using iXblue's GAPS USBL (Ultra-Short Baseline). In addition, the ROV's path across the seabed was recorded using a DVL from RD instruments (see metadata). The global orientation with respect to magnetic north was determined with an internal IMU device.
The video footage gives a comprehensive impression of the unique local cold-water ecology of the seafloor. To determine the true image scale on the high-resolution footage, a series of reference lasers were used to indicate 10 cm on the recorded objects. An additional altimeter (Tritech) provided acoustically measured distances to the HD camera (see metadata).
