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Projects Supported by ESF
(Click on thumbnails for a full sized version of the
photos. To go to special project sites please click on the hyperlinked contents.)
The
SOEST Engineering Support Facility, or ESF is dedicated to facilitating
scientific endeavors through sound engineering practices. ESF
supported projects are listed below in reverse chronological order.
The ALOHA Observatory Project
was funded in 2002 by the National Science Foundation as a MRI Grant to
design, construct and install a cabled observatory at
Station
ALOHA north of the Island of Oahu.
At the time of funding, the cable of choice was the ANZCAN (Australia,
New Zealand, Canada) coaxial cable, retired by a consortium of telecom
companies headed by Teleglobe. With Teleglobe involved in Chapter 11
procedures, very little progress was made in transferring ownership of the
cable system to the Observatory. Late in 2002, it became obvious that the HAW-4 electro-optical cable, owned
and operated by AT&T, would be
retired in 2003, and that it would be a far better choice for observatory use,
since it runs closer to the observatory site, and it has the potential to
carry a much higher data bandwidth and more electrical power.
Development of observatory technology for HAW-4 would also be identical
to that needed for observatory use of other cables to be retired within the
next few years. Permission was
obtained in 2003 to transfer efforts to the HAW-4 system, providing that no
additional funds were needed. Discussions with AT&T engineers on methods to utilize the retired cabled
systems for observatories
(LINK to Workshop report)
made it obvious
that a significant engineering effort would be needed to allow the retired
optical systems to be used – roughly $1.5 M.
Once this effort was completed however, the technology could be used on
any of the retired SL-280/560 systems, allowing the re-use of more than 35,000
km of installed cable systems for ocean observatories.
Engineering efforts started in the
summer of 2005 with the design and construction of a "Proof Module" to be
deployed in 2006. The Proof Module consists of a communications
interface and a high frequency hydrophone, Work has also progressed on
observatory hardware such that we now have completed the prototype hardware
for the support of ocean sensors that will allow sensors and sensor systems to be
installed at the observatory and monitored and controlled via the Internet.
The hardware now available could be used in nearly any ocean
observatory system.
-
Ocean
Observatory System:
PI: Fred Duennebier
The
hardware designed and built for use at the ALOHA Observatory is available for
use in any cabled observatory. It is
designed to utilize the high bandwidth capabilities of fiber optic
telecommunications cables. The
equipment
provides scientists with sensor web connectivity from the deep ocean to the
scientist’s desk via the Internet.
-
CORK Experiment
PI: Jim Cowen
This project integrates a McLane PPS (phytoplankton sampler) and an iSea
electrochemical analyzer using a Rabbit 3000® microcontroller. A manifold was
designed and fabricated that distributes water samples from a
borehole to as many as three independent experiments. An inductively
coupled communications link was designed to verify instrument performance
after deployment by a mini-submarine. This link will allow researchers
to communicate with the experiment package, which will allow for instrument
re-configuration after examination of the first data sample. A backup
laser optical communications link is being developed to communicate with the
experiment package through the mini-submarine's view port without the
necessity of physical connections outside of the submarine.
-
Deep-Ocean Mass
Spectrometer:
PI: Gary Mcmurtry
During the first year of the NSF research project
"Collaborative research: Towards quantifying the carbon flux from margins
using novel submarine instrumentation", PI Gary McMurtry and graduate student
Arnaud Bossuyt, a Ph. D. candidate in the Ocean Resources & Engineering
Department at the University of Hawaii, began design work and construction of
a new mass spectrometer-based in situ analysis system for work in the deep
ocean environment over prolonged deployment periods. Our design goals were a
depth capability of up to 4,000 m water depth (400 bars hydrostatic pressure)
and autonomous operation for periods of up to six months to a year, depending
upon type of external battery system used or other deployment circumstances,
e.g., availability of a power cable or fuel cell power source. With the
superb assistance of the School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology (SOEST)
Engineering Support Facility technical staff, we finalized the instrument
design in late 2003 and began acquisition of the various components and
specialized test equipment for the system, now mostly complete. We chose a
membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS) sampling approach, which allows
for dissolved gases and volatile organics introduction into the MS vacuum
system. The MIMS approach and the hydrophobic, silicon-coated membrane chosen
both draw upon the previous experience of the PI with this technology in the deep ocean. We have now successfully tested the
membrane to 400 bars in a series of long-term hydrostatic pressure tests,
which extends the 200-bar working depth rating of this membrane, previously
proven by us and the manufacturer, by a factor of 2. Long-term deployment
capability of the moderately powered, approximately 100 W system, was
accomplished by power management of the embedded computer system and custom
electronics, with Windows-based and custom software now fully developed and
bench tested.
- Mass Spectrometer
PI: Scott Anderson
The ESF designed and developed a stable, quiet, and adjustable multiple
bias voltage source for the developmental mass spectrometer. The consultation,
design, rapid fabrication, and integration of the peripheral hardware allows
the researchers to fully focus on the research and development of the
instrument.
-
Biomass Evolved-Hydrogen Measuring
System
PI: Mike Cooney
This project started as a replication of another experiment, but quickly
evolved into a custom designed system. Fabrication included work in plastics,
gas flow, and pressure sensors.
- Benthic Boundary Observatory
PI: Geno Pawlak
This shallow water (diver depth) observatory is
located off of the old Look Lab site. Although the instrument was not
constructed by ESF staff, the ESF provided consultation and assistance in
circuit design and troubleshooting.
Page last
Modified 09/24/2008
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