The National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding the installation of a deep-sea observatory installed on the Monterey Bay sea floor in California. The first step of this project was completed last week when a 32-mile (52 kilometers) cable was installed 900 meters (3,000 feet) below the ocean surface. This cable will provide electrical power to scientific instruments which will perform experiments in the deep sea. It will also carry data back and forth between the instruments and the scientists and engineers from around the world. The Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) observatory should be fully operational by the end of 2007.
This project is the result of a multi-institution effort, but is managed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) for several reasons, including its location.
Below is a computer-generated view of Monterey Bay showing the route of the MARS cable, which starts at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, California. The MARS observatory (red square) will be located on a sloping undersea plateau called 'Smooth Ridge,' about 35 kilometers (20 miles) from shore and 900 meters (3,000 feet) below the sea surface." (Credit: MBARI)
Now, let's turn to the MBARI news release about this first step towards the completion of MARS, "Cable laid for new deep-sea observatory" (April 4, 2007) for more details.
Slightly thicker than a garden hose, the MARS cable is buried about three feet below the seafloor along most of its route, so that it will not be disturbed by boat anchors or fishing gear. The cable itself contains a copper electrical conductor and strands of optical fiber. The copper conductor will transmit up to 10 kilowatts of power from a shore station at Moss Landing, California, to instruments on the seafloor. The optical fiber will carry up to two gigabits per second of data from these instruments back to researchers on shore. This will allow scientists to monitor and control their instruments 24 hours a day, and to get an unique view of how environmental conditions in the deep sea change over time.
Below is another image showing the variety of experiments that will be powered by this cable and performed by scientists 900 meters below the surface of Monterey Bay. "MARS will serve as an engineering, science, and education test bed for even more extensive ocean observatories in the US and Canada." (Credit: David Fierstein, MBARI)
But is MARS a local effort or does this project have more ambitious goals? Here is MBARI's answer.
In addition to supporting oceanographic research within Monterey Bay, MARS will serve as a testing ground for technology that will be used on even more ambitious deep-sea observatories. Such observatories will use thousands of kilometers of undersea cables to hook up dozens of seismographs and oceanographic monitoring stations. They will provide scientists with new views of seafloor life as well as a new understanding of the global tectonic processes that spawn earthquakes and tsunamis.
For more information, please visit the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) home page. And don't miss these two image galleries, the first one about this cable installation and the second one showing how MBARI tests components of MARS.
Sources: National Science Foundation news release, via EurekAlert!, April 6, 2007; and various pages at the MBARI website
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