Cabled Ocean Science Observatories as Test Beds for Underwater Technology

Owners of underwater systems for telecommunications, oil and gas production, exploration, or military use typically require a proven history of performance and/or extensive development and qualification prior to deployment. As a result, suppliers of such systems normally take a cautious and deliberate approach to the introduction of new technologies. Development involving the construction of a prototype and deployment at sea may last years. Even incremental improvements may require extensive qualification tests stretching over eighteen months or more. Entirely novel approaches may be shelved due to the cost of trials or test deployments. Science communities around the world are installing, or proposing to install, a new generation of cabled infrastructure that will provide standard communications and power interfaces in the deep ocean. The first of these large scale observatories, NEPTUNE Canada, is scheduled for final deployment in 2008. While the primary goal of cabled ocean observatories is observation of the ocean environment, engineering research is also encouraged, and facilities can be made available for use demonstration and qualification of new technologies. The primary interfaces to NEPTUNE Canada are the node science ports. Each science port provides optical Gigabit Ethernet connection and up to 9 kW of power at 400 volts DC. These interfaces are suitable for connection of equipment within a few kilometres of the node. For longer extensions, a power interface providing a direct connection to backbone power at 5 to 10 kV, and long reach optics are available. The NEPTUNE Canada physical infrastructure consists of an 800 km loop beginning and ending at Port Alberni British Columbia. NEPTUNE nodes are located at depths ranging from 100 m to 2700 m, which encompasses the range at which most commercial subsea activity takes place. There are active hot volcanic vents, outcrops of gas hydrates and existing ODP drill holes adjacent to the planned node sites. These- capabilities make the new generation of ocean observatories, and NEPTUNE Canada in particular, an ideal test bed for any application requiring high bandwidth communication and hundreds or thousands of watts of electrical power. Communication between the nodes and shore is provided via Ethernet and wavelength division multiplexed optics. A 10 Gb/s backhaul link from Port Alberni to Victoria provides a connection to the Internet. VLANs and VPNs can be established to provide direct access to connected equipment.