MBARI's buoy based seafloor observatory design

There has been considerable discussion and planning in the oceanographic community toward the installation of long-term seafloor sites for scientific observation in the deep ocean. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has designed a portable mooring system for deep ocean deployment that provides data and power connections to both seafloor and ocean surface instruments. The surface mooring collects solar and wind energy for powering instruments and transmits data to shore-side researchers using a satellite communications modem. A specialty anchor cable connects the surface mooring to a network of benthic instrumentation, providing the required data and power transfer. Design details and results of laboratory and field testing of the completed portions of the observatory system are described