deep-sea-rov-explorer

name	deep-sea-rov-explorer
description	Use when the user asks about ROV dives, deep-sea video, NOAA Okeanos Explorer, SeaTube, submersibles, hydrothermal vents, abyssal exploration, or specifies very deep targets (>1000 m, "deep sea", "midwater", "benthic"). Encodes how to query HYPERION (Okeanos Explorer) and SEATUBE (Ocean Networks Canada video archive), the dive metadata model, and depth filtering via CQL2.

Deep-sea ROV explorer

Two AQUAVIEW collections cover ROV / deep-submersible operations:

Collection	Source	What's in it
HYPERION	NOAA Okeanos Explorer	Dive metadata, navigation, sample logs, annotation streams
SEATUBE	Ocean Networks Canada (ONC)	ROV / submersible video archive with timestamped annotations

See dive-data-model.md for the per-dive data structure.

Quick collection picker

User wants…	Collection
US-led deep-sea expeditions (Pacific, Atlantic, GoM)	HYPERION
Northeast Pacific cabled-observatory video, BC waters	SEATUBE
Both	Search both collections

Pattern: "ROV dives near X" / "deep-sea video off Y"

search_datasets(
  collections=["HYPERION", "SEATUBE"],
  bbox=<bbox>,
  datetime="<start>/<end>",
  limit=25
)

Each item represents one dive (Okeanos) or one video segment (SeaTube).

Pattern: depth-filtered dives

"ROV dives below 2000 m off the West Coast."

search_datasets(
  collections=["HYPERION"],
  bbox=[-128, 40, -120, 48],
  datetime="<start>/<end>",
  filter="properties->>'cube:variables'->>'depth'->>'max' >= 2000",
  filter_lang="cql2-text",
  limit=20
)

Or filter on dive max_depth_m if exposed as a direct property:

filter="properties.dive:max_depth_m >= 2000"

(Inspect a sample item to confirm the property path.)

Pattern: feature-targeted (vents, seamounts, methane seeps)

The q field works well for feature types:

search_datasets(
  collections=["HYPERION"],
  q="hydrothermal vent",
  datetime="2010-01-01/2024-12-31",
  limit=30
)

Common feature keywords:

• "hydrothermal vent", "black smoker"
• "seamount", "guyot"
• "methane seep", "cold seep", "brine pool"
• "coral garden", "deep-sea coral"
• "abyssal plain", "abyssal hill"
• "trench" (Mariana, Tonga, Kermadec, Puerto Rico)
• "canyon" (Monterey, Hudson, etc.)

Dive metadata model

A typical dive item contains:

• Identity: dive ID (e.g., EX2204_DIVE05 for Okeanos), expedition ID, ship name
• Spatial: bbox of dive track (start → max-depth → end), max depth, dive duration
• Navigation: dense lat/lon/depth track, often as a separate asset
• Annotations: timestamped biological / geological observations
• Samples: physical samples collected (rock, sediment, biological), with sample IDs
• Video: master recording link (often HD or 4K)

For SEATUBE, items are usually individual video segments with annotations attached, not full dives.

Cross-reference with bathymetry

For context on what's at the dive site:

1. Get dive site bbox
2. search_datasets(
     collections=["BATHYMETRY"],
     bbox=<small bbox around dive>,
     limit=5
   )
3. Combine to interpret what features the dive crossed (canyon walls, ridge crest, etc.)

Common variables

For dives that include CTD-on-ROV data:

• temp — water temperature (°C)
• salinity — practical salinity
• oxygen — dissolved oxygen (μmol/kg or mg/L)
• depth — depth (m); same as pressure for practical purposes
• turbidity — typically NTU
• chlorophyll — fluorometer-derived

Output assets to expect

• Navigation tracks: CSV or NetCDF with timestamped lat/lon/depth
• Annotation logs: CSV with timestamp, observer, taxon / feature label, comments
• Sample manifests: CSV listing each sample collected with metadata
• Video links: typically links to NOAA Ocean Exploration archive or ONC SeaTube portal (streaming, not direct download)

Worked example

"List ROV dives by NOAA Okeanos Explorer with deep-sea video in 2023."

search_datasets(
  collections=["HYPERION"],
  datetime="2023-01-01/2023-12-31",
  q="ROV dive",
  limit=30
)

Then for each item:

• Summarize: dive ID, expedition, region, max depth, duration
• Pull video link from assets
• Optionally: count annotations to highlight scientifically dense dives

Pitfalls

• Live cruises lag in the catalog. Okeanos data appears in HYPERION after post-cruise processing — typically 3-12 months after the dive.
• Video files are large. Don't suggest downloading raw video unless the user asks. Provide the streaming link instead.
• SEATUBE is mostly Northeast Pacific. For Atlantic / Gulf coverage, prefer HYPERION.