Automated QA/QC and Time Series Analysis on OOI High-Definition Video Data

The Ocean Observatories Initiative's (OOI) Cabled Array (CA) is delivering high-definition video data since August 2015 via fiber optic cable from a statically positioned SubC 1Cam HD (CAMHD) video camera, deployed at the Mushroom hydrothermal vent in the Axial Seamount Hydrothermal Expeditions (ASHES) Field off the coast of Oregon (lat 45 degrees 56.0186'N, long 130 degrees 00.8185'W, depth 1,542 m). Over 20 TB of video data have been archived and are publically available via the OOI raw data repository. The CAMHD runs a 14-minute pan/tilt/zoom routine at eight even intervals throughout the day, producing 13GB of uncompressed HD video each time, with a focus on locations of scientific interest across the vent. Due to the amount of video data already collected, and the anticipated data volumes over the life of the project, automating analyses on the quality and consistency of these data, as well as developing tools for the automatic generation of value-added data products, is critical. In this paper we present results from automated analysis of CAMHD video data files for quality assurance purposes. Objectives include ensuring consistent file size, duration and naming convention on the archive, as well as producing time-series on frames of interest to analyze change in content or image quality over time. For example, we identified that an issue in the video streaming software, which has since been resolved, truncated similar to 25% of existing mp4 files on the archive. Analyses such as this allow scientists to rapidly understand the structure and quality of video data on the archive, laying the groundwork to create an array of customized analysis routines that meet a range of scientific needs.