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NSF PR 98-55 - September 24, 1998
Media contacts: |
Cheryl Dybas, NSF |
(703) 306-1070 |
cdybas@nsf.gov |
|
Justine Gardner-Smith,
WHOI |
(508) 289-3339 |
Program contact: |
Larry Clark, NSF |
(703) 306-1584 |
hclark@nsf.gov |
This material is available primarily for archival
purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information
may be out of date; please see current contact information
at media
contacts.
Scientists 'Plug into' Power and Communications Outlet
on the Seafloor
First Permanent U.S. Deep Seafloor
Observatory Installed
Scientists and engineers funded by the National Science
Foundation (NSF) and affiliated with the Incorporated
Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), the University
of Hawaii and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
(WHOI) have successfully created the first permanent
deep ocean seafloor observatory in the United States.
The observatory will be able to observe ocean processes
over periods of years.
By connecting a junction box to a retired telephone
cable on the seafloor in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean between Hawaii and California, the observatory
is placed in 5.0 kilometers (16,400 feet) of water
almost halfway between Hawaii and California. The
facility rests on a relatively featureless part of
the seafloor between the Murray and Molokai Fracture
Zones.
"As oceanography continues to evolve from an exploratory
endeavor, requiring long-term, multi-parameter measurements,
the ability to make observations of ocean processes
over periods of years is becoming increasingly important,"
says Larry Clark, program director in NSF's division
of ocean sciences, which funded the project. "Recent
technological advances and the 'retirement' of seafloor
telecommunications cables have enabled the establishment
of seafloor observatories that are connected to shore
by a dedicated cable. The ability to continuously
receive and record oceanographic data and communicate
with scientific instruments on the seafloor promises
to advance ocean science knowledge and predictive
capabilities."
Named the Hawaii-2 Observatory, or H2O, the project
was coordinated through the Incorporated Research
Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) in Washington,
D.C., under the direction of Rhett Butler, global
seismic network program manager. In addition, scientist
Fred Duennebier at the University of Hawaii designed
the power supply and built a seismic instrumentation
package that attaches to the junction box, which was
designed and built at WHOI. A seismometer and a standard
hydrophone are the first instruments to be installed
at the site. Now that power is flowing through the
cable, the instruments will immediately begin listening
for seismic events such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
"It was a risky operation, but something we have wanted
to do for a very long time," notes scientist Alan
Chave of WHOI. "Up to now we have been limited by
technology and logistics in supporting a permanent
undersea geophysical observatory. Now we have the
technology -- with the remotely operated vehicle Jason,
the titanium junction box, and the cable providing
the power and communications source to link us back
to shore. The two-way digital signals carried by the
cable are unique in that they allow us to 'talk to'
our instruments on the seafloor, so that we can program
and troubleshoot them from land."
The unique junction box and cable termination of titanium
were installed by splicing into the middle of the
submarine telephone cable connected to AT&T's Makaha
cable station on the island of Oahu.
In the future, scientists from universities and research
laboratories around the world will be able to plug
instruments into the junction box (with the help of
a submersible or ROV), then unplug the instrument
when their experiment is complete.
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