This page was last updated on 1 February 2013
Scientific cables are those submarine cables that have are being used for various scientific research purposes. These cables can be ones that are currently carrying traffic or that have been retired from service. However protection of these cables is just as important as for the commercial cables since important research and data collection relies on them. In the case of the OOI Cabled Observatory, this is an entirely new, purpose-built system.
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Cables in Powered Scientific Use: |
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Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Cabled Observatory (Pacific Ocean, northwest coast of the USA) |
The OOI Cabled Observatory is a component of the NSF Ocean
Observatories Initiative (OOI). It consists of nearly 900 kilometres of
fibre-optic cable (SL-17) installed in 2011 across the Juan de Fuca tectonic
plate (Pacific Ocean) off the northwest coast of the United States. Two
backbone cables run from a shore station in Pacific City (Oregon) out to the
ocean spreading centre on the Juan de Fuca Ridge and along the Cascadia
subduction zone to Hydrate Ridge. Connected to the cables at sites of greatest scientific interest, seven Primary Nodes installed in 2012 will distribute power and bandwidth (10 Gb/sec on each port) to an extensive network of sensors located on the ocean floor and in the water column (in progress). Starting in 2013, five nodes will be densely populated with instruments at Hydrate Ridge, Axial Seamount, and two shallow coastal sites west of Newport (Oregon). At each site, high-bandwidth data and video imagery will be transmitted via the Internet and will be accessible to users around the world, from scientists to educators, students, and decision-makers. Information about the OOI project can be obtained at: http://www.oceanobservatories.org Details specific to the OOI Cabled Observatory, which is managed by the University of Washington can be found at: http://ooi.washington.edu The OOI cable route as well as the Primary Node locations are depicted on current NOAA navigational charts and available upon request to the University of Washington. Contact: Cecile Durand Maintenance Operations Manager, University of Washington Ocean Observatories Initiative - Regional Scale Nodes Tel.: +1 206-685-9677 |
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ATOC-Kauai (Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii to offshore) |
This cable runs
from the US Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Barking Sands
clockwise around the island, ending at a point 800 m deep on the north slope.
The cable is used to connect an acoustic transmitter to shore in support
of the ATOC project (Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate; see http://atoc.ucsd.edu/).
Transmissions to receivers around the Pacific were used to demonstrate
the ability to measure large-scale ocean temperature acoustically.
This work is continuing as part of the Office of Naval Research funded
North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory (NPAL; http://npal.ucsd.edu).
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HAW-4 (Makaha to 23oN) |
The Hawaii end of the retired first-generation fiber-optic HAW-4 cable is now being used for the ALOHA Cabled Observatory (ACO; http://aloha.manoa.hawaii.edu). The shore station is at Makaha and the ACO node is at Station ALOHA (22 45N, 158W, 4728 m water depth) about 100 km north of Oahu (237 km cable length). The remaining portion of the cable is still connected in California at the Point Arena Cable Station. The ACO provides ~1000 W, 100 Mb/s and 1 us timing to ocean science instruments on the seafloor and in the water column. The ACO provides the infrastructure to support on-going science projects, complementing the Hawaii Ocean Timeseries (HOT) program that has been collecting data at Station ALOHA since 1988.
Contact: Dr. Bruce Howe, University of Hawaii |
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Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS)
Saanich Inlet Array (Patricia Bay, British Columbia) |
The 4 km ASN OALC4
(Single Armour Light) cable runs from the DFO Institute of Ocean Sciences to
the 100m isobath in Saanich Inlet. The cable terminates at a single trawl
resistant Node. Numerous scientific instrument platforms are located within
200m of the Node. Detailed location information is available in the Notice
to Mariners section of the VENUS website
www.venus.uvic.ca |
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Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS) Strait
of Georgia Array (Strait of Georgia, British Columbia) |
The 40 km ASN
OALC4 (Single Armour Light) cable runs from the Iona Waste Water Treatment
Plant to a point south of the mouth of the Fraser River. Two trawl resistant
Nodes are located on the cable in 300m and 170m. Numerous scientific
instrument platforms are located within 200m of the Node. Detailed location
information is available in the Notice to Mariners section of the VENUS
website www.venus.uvic.ca |
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Cables in Unpowered Scientific Use: |
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NPS Pt Sur
(Point Sur to Sur Ridge, 50 km) |
A retired US Navy acoustic cable with a
bottom mounted acoustic receiver on the seaward end. It is operated by the Naval Post-graduate School (NPS; see http://www.oc.nps.navy.mil/~icon/frames/acoustic_frame.html).
The acoustic receiver is used for ATOC (receiving signals from an
acoustic transmitter off Kauai), local acoustic tomography experiments, and
ambient sound studies. This is an armored submarine cable, 3.2-inch outside diameter
and 50 km long. |
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CAM-1 (Madeira to Portugal) |
Contacts: Dr. Fernando Santos and Dr. Agusta Flosadottir |
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PENCAN2-EXT (Gran Canaria to Tenerife) |
Contact: Dr. Pablo Sangrá |
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Key West - Havana 5 |
Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir |
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Florida - Bahamas (Bahama 1) |
Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir |
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HAW-1 |
Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir |
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TPC-2 (Makaha to Guam) |
Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir |
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TPC-1 (Makaha to Midway) |
Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir |
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COMPAC (Hawaii to Fiji) |
Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir |
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JASC |
Contact: Dr. Hisashi Utada |
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TPC-1 (Guam to Midway, cross connected at Wake) |
Contact: Dr. Hisashi Utada |
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TPC-1 (Guam to Phillipines) |
Contact: Dr. Hisashi Utada |
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TPC-1 (Guam to Ninomiya) |
Contact: Dr. Hisashi Utada |
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