MARS: Monterey Accelerated Research System. What Is MARS? The Undersea Cable Observatory Allows...
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Transcript of MARS: Monterey Accelerated Research System. What Is MARS? The Undersea Cable Observatory Allows...
MARS:Monterey Accelerated Research
System
What Is MARS?The Undersea Cable Observatory
• Allows scientists to monitor their instruments in real time
• Connects
equipment to a power supply
• Sends data
instantaneously to researchers' computers
Components
1. Underwater Cable
2. Science Node
The Science Node• Trawl-Resistant Frame • Yellow flotation block • Two titanium cylinders
Experiments• Eye-In-The-Sea • ALOHA Mooring • Seafloor
Seismometer • Benthic Rover • Deep Sea
Environmental Sample Processor
Eye-In-The-Sea
• Sensitive camera that records bioluminescent sea creatures
• Uses only red light for
illumination • Lures animals into
visibility
ALOHA Mooring
• Buoy, half-mile long cable, vertical profiler
• Other instruments can be
attached to float • Constantly measures
salinity, temperature, oxygen, and backscatter in water column
Seafloor Seismometer
• Part of 880 seismometer network
• Sits West of San
Gregorio Fault, monitors Pacific plate
• Gathers valuable
information about the earth's interior
Benthic Rover• Mobile lab that charts
deep-sea carbon cycles
• Measures oxygen
levels in sediment • Can function up to a
year
Deep-Sea Environmental Sample Processor
• Robotic DNA lab that tests for new life forms
• Contains all the chemicals,
computers, and containers of a full-size laboratory
• Has to deal with the cold and
extreme pressure of the deep sea
History• MBARI put team together: University of
Washington, NASA, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
• NSA approved grant in September 2002
• First Obstacle: drilling permits
• Second Obstacle: the medium voltage power system
• Finally put together on site in February 2008
• Power connector on TRF failed after 20 minutes
• Fully operational November 2008
The Future: Deep Sea Testbeds