The article was prepared for the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Marine Technology Society, held in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Steven L. Miller
NOAA’s National Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington
515 Caribbean Dive, Key Largo, Florida 33037
smiller@gate.net
1.0 Background | 2.0 New Communication Technology | 3.0 The Future
The most striking improvement in Aquarius 2000 operations is related to integration of new communication technology. Wave Wireless Networking, a telecommunications and data communications manufacturer, installed a SPEEDLAN 10ptp wireless link product between the Key Largo shore base and the Aquarius undersea laboratory’s Life Support Buoy offshore. The SPEEDLAN 10ptp is a 10 Mbps wireless point–to–point bridge that provides a secure wireless connection between locations — at a lower cost and with more than four times the speeds of leased T1 lines. An umbilical connects the 33–foot–diameter Life Support Buoy to the Aquarius, which sits in 63 feet of seawater on a sand plain adjacent to a coral reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. These conditions provided a number of challenges including a harsh and humid marine environment, a link distance of about 9 miles, and an unstable antenna platform on the buoy.
The system, in use during missions, provides a low–cost, high–performance communication network for video and telemetry. The telemetry system provides real–time video, audio, and data transmission from inside Aquarius (or out on the reef) back to the watch desk located on shore — seven miles away. Aquarius staff designed and installed the life support monitoring programs used in the telemetry system. Continuous monitoring data are provided back to shore that allows staff technicians inside Aquarius to run operations without routine surface–based support. However, if an emergency should develop, the ability to monitor operations in real–time allows immediate response if surface–support is needed.
The ability to receive audio and data transmissions back on shore provides unique opportunities for media access and public outreach. While peer–reviewed science programs are the foundation of the Aquarius 2000 program, the underwater laboratory is also used as a presentation platform to capture the attention and imagination of the public about the advantages of underwater living and the thrill and fun of science. Further, explanations about why science is important and the need to conduct research are a large part of what the program presents to the public.
As part of the first mission in 1998, a live press conference was conducted with shore–based journalists watching the aquanauts live on a large video monitor, with the aquanauts on speaker telephone receiving and answering questions. A live interactive telecast was also conducted on NBC’s Today Show, plus mission dispatches and a chat session were conducted on MSNBC’s Internet site. These capabilities are further being developed to enhance the center’s Aquarius 2000 Internet activities, using the Aquarius 2000 homepage. The world’s first underwater homepage was developed in 1996 during the JASON VII Expedition, with help from Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS). EDS installed a microwave telemetry system that was used to support five live broadcasts daily from Aquarius, as well as access to the Internet server inside Aquarius for 12 days; over two million hits were recorded. Nearly one million hits were recorded in the first six months of 1999.
Improved communication links also directly benefit the science program by providing the ability to transmit data to colleagues for review and comment. Announcements can be posted related to episodic events of wide interest, like ocean upwelling, coral bleaching, and reproductive events (i.e. mass coral spawning). The use of remote sensing, using Aquarius and its buoy as a base, for oceanography will increase the value of Aquarius by providing continual information about the ocean, including water temperature, salinity, current speed and direction, tides, wave height and period, and possibly a suite of other parameters including chlorophyll (by fluorescence), dissolved oxygen, and meteorological conditions.
The unique combination of offshore power and continuous underwater human presence will allow new equipment tests as well as routine maintenance of sensors and computers that would otherwise be impossible. The nearly constant human presence also permits ground truthing of experimental equipment by using conventional means to gather data (especially related to biology and chemistry); this is particularly relevant for data generated by satellite systems. Off–the–shelf software (LabView) is used for monitoring science experiments so a wide variety of equipment and sensors can use the Aquarius 2000 system.
Aquarius 2000 provides a window to our world’s oceans for both the public and scientists. Operations in the next several years will be defined by a combination of science, education, and outreach events. As in previous configurations, science provides the foundation and credibility for the Aquarius 2000 program. However, scientists will take an important step by helping to translate their work and results for broad public distribution. A major goal of the Aquarius 2000 program is to utilize the new communication capabilities to reach audiences significantly beyond traditional academic circles.
1.0 Background | 2.0 New Communication Technology | 3.0 The Future
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