Nonlinear adaptive control of an underwater towed vehicle

This paper addresses the problem of simultaneous depth tracking and attitude control of an underwater towed vehicle. The system proposed uses a two-stage towing arrangement that includes a long primary cable, a gravitic depressor, and a secondary cable. The towfish motion induced by wave driven disturbances in both the vertical and horizontal planes is described using an empirical model of the depressor motion and a spring-damper model of the secondary cable. A nonlinear, Lyapunov-based, adaptive output feedback control law is designed and shown to regulate pitch, yaw, and depth tracking errors to zero. The controller is designed to operate in the presence of plant parameter uncertainty. When subjected to bounded external disturbances, the tracking errors converge to a neighbourhood of the origin that can be made arbitrarily small. In the implementation proposed, a nonlinear observer is used to estimate the linear velocities used by the controller thus dispensing with the need for costly sensor suites. The results obtained with computer simulations show that the controlled system exhibits good performance about different operating conditions when subjected to sea-wave driven disturbances and in the presence of sensor noise. The system holds promise for application in oceanographic missions that require depth tracking or bottom-following combined with precise vehicle attitude control.     

Discrete time-delay control of an autonomous underwater vehicle: Theory and experimental results

A discrete time-delay control (DTDC) law for a general six degrees of freedom unsymmetric autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is presented. Hydrodynamic parameters like added mass coefficients and drag coefficients, which are generally uncertain, are not required by the controller. This control law cancels the uncertainties in the AUV dynamics by direct estimation of the uncertainties using time-delay estimation technique. The discrete-time version of the time-delay control does not require the derivative of the system state to be measured or estimated, which is required by the continuous-time version of the controller. This particularly provides an advantage over continuous-time controller in terms of computational effort or availability of sensors for measuring state derivatives, i.e., linear and angular accelerations. Implementation issues for practical realization of the controller are discussed. Experiments on a test-bed AUV were conducted in depth, pitch, and yaw degrees of freedom. Results show that the proposed control law performs well in the presence of uncertainties.     

Robust control for an autonomous underwater vehicle that suppresses pitch and yaw coupling

Attitude control systems for autonomous underwater vehicles are often implemented with separate controllers for pitch motion in the vertical plane and yaw motion in the horizontal plane. We propose a novel time-varying model for a streamlined autonomous underwater vehicle that explicitly displays the coupling between yaw and pitch motion due to nonzero roll angle and/or roll rate. The model facilitates the use of a multi-input multi-output H_∞ control design that is robust to yaw-pitch coupling. The efficacy of our approach is demonstrated with field trials.     

Stable isotope analysis of some representative fish and invertebrates of the Newfoundland and Labrador continental shelf food web

We examined stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of 17 fish and 16 invertebrate taxa common to the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) continental shelf food web. Particular sampling emphasis was placed on Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and related prey species (e.g. shrimp, Pandalus borealis, and capelin, Mallotus villosus). We found highly significant (p < 0.0001) differences between near-shore (bays) and offshore (shelf edge) δ¹⁵N signatures for cod, ‘other fish’ (pooled) and invertebrates (pooled). In contrast, there were only minor differences in δ¹³C signatures of ‘other fish’ (p < 0.05) and no difference for cod and invertebrates among the two habitats. We sampled at two times of the year (January and June) and found no systematic effect of season on both δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in cod, ‘other fish’ and invertebrates. We calculated isotopic fractionation factors for cod from the entire shelf (mixed diet) and for cod with diets composed mainly of capelin or shrimp. These values ranged between 2.2‰ and 3.9‰ for δ¹⁵N and −0.4‰ and 0.8‰ for δ¹³C and, for δ¹⁵N, may reflect diet-related differences in bioenergetic status. We discuss potential mechanisms for near-shore versus offshore enrichment of δ¹⁵N signatures, and demonstrate the implications of this spatial variation on δ¹⁵N-derived trophic position estimates.     

Regular habitat switch as an important feeding strategy of an opportunistic seabird species at the interface between land and sea

During deteriorated prey availability, purely pelagic, specialised seabird species have to alter their feeding strategy by extending foraging radii and/or time spent at sea or reducing feeding intervals of chicks. In contrast, more generalised species such as the opportunistic black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) breeding at the German North Sea coast, can be assumed to react on prey shortages by switching foraging habitats. The coastal zone of the German North Sea provides a rich habitat mosaic consisting of the offshore zone, tidal flats and terrestrial habitats. Thus, we expected distinct temporal and spatial patterns of habitat switch in accordance with prey availability and environmental constraints. We carried out ship-based and aerial surveys as well as dietary analyses and observations on flight activity. We found a significant switch from terrestrial to marine feeding sites both on a daily basis (related to tidal cycle) and over the whole breeding season. Most likely, the latter switch is the result of lower prey availability in the terrestrial habitats and an increasing quality (in terms of prey abundance and energy intake) of the marine area. While there was only moderate variability in habitat use among different years, we revealed significant differences in the diet of birds from different colonies. The high dietary plasticity and flexible feeding strategy, switching between terrestrial and marine prey is certainly of major importance for the success of an opportunistic avian top predator in a complex coastal zone. It is suggested that – compared to situations elsewhere – the number of breeding pairs of black-headed gulls in the German North Sea coast are still stable due to the switch of foraging habitats performed by individuals in this region.     

Development of the AUV ‘ISiMI’ and a free running test in an Ocean Engineering Basin

The Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) has developed a small AUV named ISiMI. The mission of ISiMI is to work as a test-bed AUV for the development and validation of various algorithms and instruments required to enhance the AUV's functions. The design concept of ISiMI is that of a vehicle small enough to cruise the Ocean Engineering Basin (OEB) of KORDI and to be handled by one or two people. The downsized design and the cruising ability in its tank enable fast experimental feedback on AUV technologies and a shorter development period for new technologies. This paper presents a review of our research work on the development of ISiMI, with a performance evaluation by simulation and an experimental test. After the design and implementation of ISiMI, including its positioning system in the OEB, are presented, a series of test results in the OEB and discussions of the results are presented, with comparisons of the simulation and experimental outputs.     

红球藻虾青素资源开发历程与趋势展望

经30多年不懈努力与系统创新研发,我国已成功地实现红球藻虾青素资源的规模化生产,开发出新资源食品和功能性生物制品。期间,我们结合微藻产业现状与国情,围绕红球藻资源开发的产业化链条,针对上中下游重要环节的关键性瓶颈问题,开展了基础理论探索、新技术开发、产业化推广与新活性功效发掘等系列工作。借建所70周年所庆成果专刊出版之际,全面回顾总结我们在该藻种质资源、基于细胞周期调控的二步串联培养模式、关键参数优化与控制、光反应器培养设施创制、生物污染危害和防控原理与策略、活性物质开发与新功能挖掘、产业标准与体系建设等方面所取得的进展,同时展望发展趋势,以期促进红球藻以及整个微藻产业的健康可持续发展。     

Day–night and depth differences in haemolymph melatonin of the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.)

Few studies have been conducted to quantify and understand the role of melatonin in invertebrates, and particularly in crustaceans and in deep-sea animals. In this study, we examined day–night differences in haemolymph melatonin of the burrowing decapod crustacean Nephrops norvegicus (L.) during exposure to cycles of monochromatic blue light (480 nm) and darkness cycles of 10 and 0.1 lx. These differential intensity conditions simulate illumination at the depth of the shelf (80–100 m) and of the slope (300–400 m), where these lobster populations are chiefly found in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Our objectives were: (a) to verify the presence of melatonin in the haemolymph of this species using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) and fluorescence HPLC (HPLC); and (b) to study the relationship between diel variations in melatonin concentration and locomotor rhythms, in order to examine whether the former influences behaviour. Melatonin was identified in LC–MS/MS by Q1 and Q3 mass peaks at an elution time of 3.7 min, and it was also detected by HPLC. Melatonin concentration was found to be two orders of magnitude higher at 10 lx (4.8±5.3 ng ml⁻¹) than at 0.1 lx (0.06±0.03 ng ml⁻¹). Also, the increase at daytime in 10 lx was absent in 0.1 lx. When the locomotor rhythm of animals exposed to both photoperiod regimes was compared, the diel periodicity was found to be preserved, but the timing of activity shifted from night to day. Extrapolating these data to the field, we interpret our results to mean that locomotor activity preserves its diel character, but not its phase and amplitude, in a bathymetric range where haemolymph melatonin reduces its concentration and rhythmic fluctuation.