| on 29-04-2008 17:38 |
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A ship's technician has flown the flag for Wales not only thousands of miles from home, but deep under the sea.
Leighton Rolley, from Cardiff, used a robot to raise the Welsh dragon
some 3.5km (2.2m) below the surface near the Galapagos islands in the
Pacific Ocean.
The Welsh flag was unfurled at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean
He normally operates the robot to help scientists understand the Earth's crust and gather rock samples.
The biodegradable flag was anchored by weights and signed by members of the scientific party on the cruise.
The unfurling was witnessed by Dr Chris MacLeod from Cardiff University.
The school of earth and ocean sciences lecturer was on board the
RRS James Cook ship as part of a Cardiff University research project to
look at plate tectonics around the Galapagos Islands.
The ISIS deep sea robot took to flag to the sea bed
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Mr Rolley, who works for the Natural Environment Research
Council (NERC) which manages RRS James Cook, described the delicate
matter of unfurling the flag remotely as one of the most memorable
moments of his career.
"As the cruise was sponsored by Cardiff University it seemed a good idea at the time," he said.
"But I don't think many people will be bumping into the flag any
time soon. Some submersibles can carry a person to that depth but I
expect the next people to see it will be those like us remotely
controlling robots on research ships."
The flag had previously been raised above the ship and its
journey to the bottom of the sea has been recorded on Mr Rolley's
website.
Leighton Rolley works as a vessel systems technician on the ship
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The ISIS deep sea robot is normally used to grab rock samples
from the sea bed. A camera is also fitted on to it so scientists can
watch what is going on in the sea.
The submersible, which can dive to around 5km (3.1m), also has a rock drill to help recover deeper rock samples.
The research carried out by Dr MacLeod and others on RRS James Cook will help scientists understand how plate tectonics move.
RRS James Cook has been described as the "world's most advanced
research ship" by NERC and is also used to monitor climate change,
carrying scientists to remote corners of the globe.
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