Hi Everyone,
Inspired by the recent call for proposals by NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration, we have submitted a preliminary proposal that involves Bristlemouth nodes and a Spotter buoy that will act as an information superhighway into the mesophotic zone. The mesophotic (40-150 m) is the frontier of coral reef science yet it is difficult to work there as it requires either technical diving (including saturation diving from an underwater habitiat, something I have logged 89 days doing over 10 missions), or visiting by research submersible. Our team from Northeastern University, CARMABI, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography hopes to develop a completely new method of working at these depths, one enabled by the BM system. Here’s a diagram of what we have in mind:
Our partnership with a Northeastern University spinout, HydroNet, makers of best-in-breed underwater modems capable of forming mesh networks, provides a key enabling technology to realize our ambition of manipulative real-time mesophotic experiments. By integrating the modems into the smart mooring at strategic locations, we can achieve a reasonable stand-off distance from the nearby Bristlemouth smart mooring cable, without extra cabling running laterally to the face of the reef drop-off.
We are building on our extensive experience running cabled instrumentation into the Aquarius underwater laboratory over the years. But BM + Spotter will be a game changer. If we are funded, we will be able to implement a system that intelligently responds to changing environmental conditions by altering sample rates and/or activating sampling devices after the divers leave. Needless to say, we are big fan of the BM design philosophy and capabilities.
Best fishes,
Mark