![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IVER3BodyIVer.jpg\" "\\"The")
The IVER3 AUV, operated by Michigan Tech, will monitor the Straits of Mackinaw (Credit: Michigan Technical University\/Great Lakes Research Center)<\/p><\/div>\n
Meadows and team sent the robot on a trial dive in last September, with mixed results.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe flows in the straits periodically can be very strong, so it\u2019s not possible to just send an older-generation autonomous vehicle merrily on its way and have it keep the object of interest within view,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news is we have serial number 1 of the third generation,\u201d he added. \u201cThe bad news is we have serial number 1 of the third generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The robot followed the pipeline for long stretches and brought back useful sonar images. But it struggled with the straits\u2019 strong and chaotic flows. The research team is working to model the little-understood currents and upgrade navigation algorithms to help IVER 3 keep the pipeline in view across the waterway\u2019s five-mile width. They\u2019ll take it out for another spin if this year\u2019s spring melt ever arrives in northern Michigan.<\/p>\n
![\"Side](\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IVER3BodySonar.jpg\" "\\"Side")
Side scan sonar images collected by the IVER 3 under the Straits of Mackinac during a trial run (Credit: Michigan Technological University\/Great Lakes Research Center)<\/p><\/div>\n
Those currents and the pipeline\u2019s proximity to Mackinac Island and other tourist attractions raise concerns among environmentalists and others about the damage an oil spill would inflict on the region. Few paid much attention to the pipeline until recent spills brought increased public attention to the way oil is transported. Most notably, Enbridge\u2019s own Line 6B spilled an estimated 843,000 gallons of heavy crude\u2014and perhaps more than a million gallons\u2014into the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cA significant rupture would cause an Exxon-Valdez scale oil spill spreading through Lakes Huron and Michigan, the heart of the largest freshwater seas in the world,\u201d the National Wildlife Federation wrote in a report on Line 5.<\/p>\n
Enbridge was responsible for more than 800 oil spills totaling close to 7 million gallons between 1999 and 2010, according to a separate NWF report.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IVER3BodyStraits.jpg\" "\\"The")
The Mackinac Bridge spans the Straits of Mackinac (Credit: Doug Kerr, via Flickr)<\/p><\/div>\n
Company spokesperson Jackie Guthrie said Enbridge regularly monitors Line 5, and noted that it does not carry the heavy crude that has proven difficult to clean up after the Kalamazoo spill.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnbridge has invested millions of dollars in advanced monitoring and inspection practices and continues to make progress toward achieving our goal of zero incidents,\u201d she said in an email. \u201cAll of our pipelines, including Line 5, are monitored in real-time, 24-hours a day. Routine aerial and right-of-way patrols are conducted…We also monitor for corrosion using internal inspection devices and other technologies to detect early signs of corrosion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond monitoring the pipeline, Meadows said IVER 3 could also be useful for inspecting a wide range of underwater features, from electric transmission lines and municipal water intakes to fish spawning reefs. He also said the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 raises the possibility of using autonomous underwater vehicles to search for downed airplanes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An underwater robot operated by Michigan Tech will monitor an oil pipeline the runs under the Straits of Mackinac where lakes Huron and Michigan meet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":17388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[60,346],"class_list":["post-17384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakes-reservoirs","tag-featured","tag-lakes-reservoirs"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\n