ROV Mission at Lake Lowell, 22 April 2019

On the way home from work, I stopped at Lake Lowell again to try my luck with the ROV. This time, I made sure to turn the camera down to a depression angle of 45 degrees. That way, it would have a closer look of the bottom of the lake when it touched down.  Good thing to, it's very dark four meters below the surface.

The Hobo datalogger shows how dark it is at the bottom of the lake next to the dock. The ROV made to excursions to the bottom.

It takes tine for the datalogger to cool down. U estimate there is a five degree difference in the surface and bottom temperatures, based on the timing indicated by the intensity chart.

The second ascent to the surface took several minutes longer than the first because the ROV got stuck at the bottom. Something down there, a piling perhaps trapped the ROV. I was concerned the ROV tether would break and the ROV would remain at the bottom. Fortunately, the cat 5 tether was stronger. However, several thrusters were ripped from the ROV's wet frame.

I didn't discover what trapped the ROV, but I did discover the bottom of Lake Lowell is sandy near the dock.