Buoyant cable arrays for spatial measurements in the deep ocean

Moored horizontal cable spans have been supported at mid-water depths by subsurface buoys and floats (Ocean Telescope, Atlantic Test Bed). These large arrays require a ship fitted with specialized cable handling equipment and must be deployed slowly due to the large number of floats that must be attached to the cables. For some applications, the high cable tensions required to resist deflections are not needed and the horizontal distribution of sensors can be achieved by use of a buoyant cable moored at each end. This type of array can be deployed from a small ship and does not require heavy cable handling machinery due to its light weight and smaller size. Because of the sensitivity of the "soft" array to ocean currents, the prediction of array deflections is quite important. Analysis methods to compute array configurations with transverse and longitudinal currents are shown.