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Pisces V
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pisces V is a deep‐submergence vehicle (DSV) of the Pisces class
built in 1973.
Pisces V is type of manned submersible ocean exploration
device, powered by battery, and capable of operating to depths
of 2000 m (6,280 ft), a depth that is optimum for use in the sea
waters around the Hawaiian Islands. It is used by scientists to
explore the deep sea around the underwater banks in the main
Hawaiian Islands, as well as the underwater features and Pisces V operated by NURP's Hawaii
seamounts in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, specifically center dives to 2000 m.
around Loihi Seamount.[1]
In August 2002, Pisces V and her sister Pisces IV discovered a World War II Japanese midget submarine
outside of Pearl Harbor which had been sunk by the destroyer USS Ward in the first American shots
fired in World War II.
Contents
 1 Uses
 2 Notes
 3 Further reading
 4 External links
Uses
The submersible is launched from a support vessel during
daylight hours, usually complete with video cameras and other
recording devices. It has two arms able to be manipulated. The
arms are useful in placing thermometers in strategic places,
picking up biological and geological samples and placing them in
a collection box, and are even helpful in maneuvering the
submersible around in places difficult to navigate. The Pices V
carry up to three persons, and a typical dive lasts up to 10
hours. However, the vessel has an emergency life support
system that is capable of keeping the crew alive for 140 hours in
Pisces V’s manipulator arm taking a
case of emergency.[1][2] sample of the "cauldron sponge".
The Hawaiʻi Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) has two of
these submersible vehicles, the Pisces V and the Pisces IV.[2] The
advantage of having two is that it allows preparation for an emergency. While one of the submersibles
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is underwater conducting its dive, the other remains at
readiness should there be an emergency, needing only to be
boarded on ship and hurried to the site of the problem. Such an
emergency could include the submersible becoming tangled in
fishing nets or entrapped in rocks or debris on the ocean floor.
In such cases, the second submersible could rush to the rescue.
There are also research expeditions where it is advantageous to
use the two vessels together.[1]
Pisces V being launched
In August 2002, Pisces V and her sister vessel Pisces IV
discovered a Japanese midget submarine; sunk on December 7,
1941 by the destroyer USS Ward in the first American shots fired in World War II, the submarine was
hit by a 4"/50 caliber gun shot and depth charged shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor began. The
submarine was found in 400 m of water about five miles off the mouth of Pearl Harbor.[3][4] This was
the culmination of a 61‐year search for the vessel and has been called "the most significant modern
marine archeological find ever in the Pacific, second only to the the finding of the Titanic in the
Atlantic".[3] In 2003, Pisces V visited the Japanese midget submarine it had found in Pearl Harbor the
year before. The U.S. State Department worked in conjunction with the Japanese Foreign Ministry to
determine Japanese wishes regarding the fate of the midget submarine.[5] The submersibles are used
by HURL as teaching devices. In 2008, two members of the Tampa Bay Chapter of SCUBAnauts were
invited to team with HURL and to visit the historic wreck of the Japanese submarine. One SCUBAnaut
said as he stepped on the Pisces V that "it looked and felt as if I were in a space shuttle preparing for
lift‐off".[6] A mock‐up of the control panel of the Pisces V can be visited by the public at the
Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo, Hawaii.[7]
On March 5, 2009, scientists discovered seven new species of bamboo coral, six of which may be of a
new genera, an extraordinary finding in a genera so broad. They were able to find these specimens
through the use of the Pisces V which allowed them to reach depths beyond those attained by scuba
divers.[8][9] They also discovered a giant sponge approximately three feet tall and three feet wide that
scientists named the "cauldron sponge".[10]
Notes
1. ^ a b c Shackelford, Rachel. "NOAA Ocean Explorer: Pisces IV and V". oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/technology/subs/pisces/pisces.html. Retrieved 2009‐05‐08.
2. ^ a b "HURL Pisces V Specifications". www.soest.hawaii.edu.
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HURL/pisces_V_specs.html. Retrieved 2009‐05‐08.
3. ^ a b "Japanese Midget Submarine". www.soest.hawaii.edu.
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HURL/midget.html. Retrieved 2009‐09‐13.
4. ^ "Ward". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage
Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w3/ward.htm. Retrieved 2008‐05‐13.
5. ^ Altoon, Helen (August 24, 2003). "Exploring the Deep: UH researchers who found a mini‐sub will dive
around the northwest islands". Honolulu Star‐Bulletin.
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/08/24/news/story6.html. Retrieved 2009‐05‐08.
6. ^ Christine Patrick, Fred Gorell. "NOAA Supports Young Explorers in Seafloor to Mountaintop to Outer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisces_V 2/19/2010

3. Pisces V ‐ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 3 of 3
Space Challenge". www.oar.noaa.gov. http://www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/2008/spot_deepclimb.html.
Retrieved 2009‐05‐08.
7. ^ "Mokupāpapa: Discovery Center". Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve.
http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/education/center.html. Retrieved 2009‐09‐13.
8. ^ Christine Patrick, Keeley Belva. "New Deep‐Sea Coral Discovered on NOAA‐Supported Mission ‐
insciences". insciences.org. http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=3008. Retrieved 2009‐05‐08.
9. ^ "Seven New Species Of Deep‐sea Coral Discovered". www.sciencedaily.com. March 6, 2009.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090305121657.htm. Retrieved 2009‐05‐08.
10. ^ "National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ‐ New Deep‐Sea Coral Discovered on NOAA‐Supported
Mission". www.noaanews.noaa.gov. March 5, 2009.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090305_coral.html. Retrieved 2009‐05‐11.
Further reading
 "Images from Ring of Fire cruise ‐ Pisces V submersible". www.gns.cri.nz.
http://www.gns.cri.nz/news/release/ring_of_fire_images/ringofffirepix.html. Retrieved 2009‐05‐
08.
 Embley, R. W.; de Ronde, C. E.; Massoth, Massoth, G. J., et al. "NASA ADS: Hydrothermal Systems
Systems on Kermadec Arc Volcanoes Revealed by PISCES V Submersible Dives".
adsabs.harvard.edu. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005AGUFM.V44A..04E. Retrieved 2009‐05‐
08.
 Jones, Anthony T.. "ScienceDirect ‐ Sedimentary Geology : Geochronology of drowned Hawaiian
coral reefs". www.sciencedirect.com. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?
_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V6X‐40W0X26‐
7&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1
&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=74805214c50880ac8852326998abf09b. Retrieved 2009‐05‐
08.
External links
 "PISCES ‐ Hawaii's submarine to explore the deep ocean! by AmakuaVideo ‐‐ Revver Online Video
Video Sharing Network". revver.com. http://revver.com/video/281449/pisces‐hawaiis‐
submarine‐to‐explore‐the‐deep‐ocean/. Retrieved 2009‐05‐08.
 Painting by Terry Kerby, HURL's operational director and chief sub pilot (December 20, 2003).
2003). "Japanese Midget Submarine". www.soest.hawaii.edu.
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HURL/midget.html. Retrieved 2009‐05‐08.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisces_V"
Categories: Pisces class DSVs | Ships built in Canada | 1973 ships | Submarines of the United States |
Active submarines of the United States | Hydrology | Physical geography | Geology of Hawaii
 This page was last modified on 15 February 2010 at 14:28.
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