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Chester Nonprofit, Goodwin College Team Up To Test Water Quality
Submarine To Aid Testing Of Sound's Water
Peter Marteka | Nature's Path
September 12, 2008
From the 1970s through the mid-1990s, there was a ride at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom known as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Submarine Voyage." Visitors would board a replica of Capt. Nemo's Nautilus submarine and ride around under the "sea," observing everything from treasure to mermaids to that giant killer squid with the huge eye.
Memories of the ride came back to me Wednesday as I stepped into the interior of the Marian S201, a two-man submarine, as it was docked at a marina in Westbrook. But this was no amusement ride. The submarine was on a short break from its mission traveling under the surface of Long Island Sound collecting water quality data for Goodwin College, a 1,400-student school in East Hartford.
During its three-week mission, the crew of two — Keith Armistead, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy's submarine force, and Justin Pittman, a former Navy SEAL, will travel from Groton to Stamford, towing something called a water quality sonde. The device, a long tube with sensors, will collect data about dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll concentrations, temperature, blue-green algae concentrations (an indication of toxic bacteria) and salinity. It is hoped that the data will help determine sources of pollution entering the Sound from the state's rivers.
I'm pretty sure very few colleges and universities have two-man submarines for environmental research. So how exactly did this college that is building a campus along the Connecticut River get a 30-foot submarine? A simple phone call from ProMare Inc., a Chester nonprofit that promotes marine research and exploration worldwide, to college President Mark Scheinberg.
"They had this vessel and they were looking to do something meaningful in our home state," Scheinberg said as we stood over the submarine, admitting we would probably both faint if the top hatch was closed and the sub went underwater.
"This is an environmental study that is real and will be available for anyone to use," he said. "Taking a submarine around the Sound is something that engages the imagination."
And this is the state that is the home of the submarine. The Turtle, the first submarine used in battle, was invented in 1775 by Nutmegger David Bushnell. The USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, is now a museum moored on the Thames River. And submarines are still being built by Electric Boat in Groton.
Armistead, chief pilot of the Marian, has operated the submarine, owned by Submergence Group LLC of Chester, around the globe. He noted that the submarine travels 30 feet below the surface, but is capable of going down to 1,000 feet. The 10-ton sub can travel underwater for 48 hours with a range of 225 nautical miles. He said the Long Island Sound journey will take place in four "hops" — Groton to Westbrook, Westbrook to Branford, Branford to Stratford, and Stratford to Stamford.
"I've found the Sound to be very challenging due to the tidal flows," he said. "There's only one way for the water to go in and one way for it to go out. We definitely plan our trips so we get pushed."
The sub, powered by 90 lithium-ion batteries, carries on its side a box with the sonde, which was donated by Yellow Springs Instruments of Ohio. Scheinberg said the last time a similar study was done was in the 1970s.
"We are dealing with major issues out in the Sound," he said. "There's algae blooms, temperature gradients, lobster die-offs and problems with effluent. We are hoping to come back with great data to check the health of the rivers and how that in turn affects the health of the Sound."
Scheinberg said the college plans to share its findings with environmental agencies and groups monitoring Long Island Sound. The college is also hoping to conduct similar missions annually to provide a base for future analyses. Bruce Morton, program director of the college's environmental studies programs, scheduled to begin in January, called the mission a "trial balloon."
Chester Nonprofit, Goodwin College Team Up To Test Water Quality
Submarine To Aid Testing Of Sound's Water
Peter Marteka | Nature's Path
September 12, 2008
From the 1970s through the mid-1990s, there was a ride at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom known as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Submarine Voyage." Visitors would board a replica of Capt. Nemo's Nautilus submarine and ride around under the "sea," observing everything from treasure to mermaids to that giant killer squid with the huge eye.
Memories of the ride came back to me Wednesday as I stepped into the interior of the Marian S201, a two-man submarine, as it was docked at a marina in Westbrook. But this was no amusement ride. The submarine was on a short break from its mission traveling under the surface of Long Island Sound collecting water quality data for Goodwin College, a 1,400-student school in East Hartford.
During its three-week mission, the crew of two — Keith Armistead, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy's submarine force, and Justin Pittman, a former Navy SEAL, will travel from Groton to Stamford, towing something called a water quality sonde. The device, a long tube with sensors, will collect data about dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll concentrations, temperature, blue-green algae concentrations (an indication of toxic bacteria) and salinity. It is hoped that the data will help determine sources of pollution entering the Sound from the state's rivers.
I'm pretty sure very few colleges and universities have two-man submarines for environmental research. So how exactly did this college that is building a campus along the Connecticut River get a 30-foot submarine? A simple phone call from ProMare Inc., a Chester nonprofit that promotes marine research and exploration worldwide, to college President Mark Scheinberg.
"They had this vessel and they were looking to do something meaningful in our home state," Scheinberg said as we stood over the submarine, admitting we would probably both faint if the top hatch was closed and the sub went underwater.
"This is an environmental study that is real and will be available for anyone to use," he said. "Taking a submarine around the Sound is something that engages the imagination."
And this is the state that is the home of the submarine. The Turtle, the first submarine used in battle, was invented in 1775 by Nutmegger David Bushnell. The USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, is now a museum moored on the Thames River. And submarines are still being built by Electric Boat in Groton.
Armistead, chief pilot of the Marian, has operated the submarine, owned by Submergence Group LLC of Chester, around the globe. He noted that the submarine travels 30 feet below the surface, but is capable of going down to 1,000 feet. The 10-ton sub can travel underwater for 48 hours with a range of 225 nautical miles. He said the Long Island Sound journey will take place in four "hops" — Groton to Westbrook, Westbrook to Branford, Branford to Stratford, and Stratford to Stamford.
"I've found the Sound to be very challenging due to the tidal flows," he said. "There's only one way for the water to go in and one way for it to go out. We definitely plan our trips so we get pushed."
The sub, powered by 90 lithium-ion batteries, carries on its side a box with the sonde, which was donated by Yellow Springs Instruments of Ohio. Scheinberg said the last time a similar study was done was in the 1970s.
"We are dealing with major issues out in the Sound," he said. "There's algae blooms, temperature gradients, lobster die-offs and problems with effluent. We are hoping to come back with great data to check the health of the rivers and how that in turn affects the health of the Sound."
Scheinberg said the college plans to share its findings with environmental agencies and groups monitoring Long Island Sound. The college is also hoping to conduct similar missions annually to provide a base for future analyses. Bruce Morton, program director of the college's environmental studies programs, scheduled to begin in January, called the mission a "trial balloon."