Monterey Accelerated Research System

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing CA

Investigators

Abstract

P.I. McNutt, Marcia (MBARI) Proposal #: 0222650 Proposal Title: MARS: Test Bed for a High-Power, High-Bandwidth, Regional Cabled Observatory Project Summary The PIs propose to complete the design and then install an advanced cabled observatory in Monterey Bay that will serve as the engineering testbed for a future cabled ocean observatory. The Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) cabled observatory would provide remote, continuous, long-term, high-power, large-bandwidth infrastructure for multidisciplinary, in situ exploration, observation, and experimentation in the deep sea using cutting edge power and communication technologies. MARS will be located in Monterey Bay offshore the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and will include one science node on 62 km of submarine cable with expansion capability for more nodes in the future. It is proposed that the science node will provide 4 science ports, and each port will have a 100-Mbit-per- second, bi-directional telemetry channel. The node will have the ability to deliver a total of 10 kW of power to the 4 ports. "Extension" cables can be plugged into any science port to provide power and communications up to 100 km away from the original node using the most cost effective deployment vehicle from several options including MBARI's ROVs, ships of opportunity, or UNOLS class I, II, III or IV fleet vessels. MARS will make use of the tools, techniques, and products developed over the last several decades for high reliability submarine telecommunication and military systems to ensure that this system can operate over a 30-year lifetime with minimal life-cycle costs.