2007-04-16 | SCIENCE
Thirty-Two Mile Cable Installed for First Deep-Sea Observatory

Thirty-two miles of cable have been installed in California's Monterrey Bay in order to provide scientists with 24-hour access to deep sea instruments and experiments. Without having to rely on batteries for power and data storage, experiments will be able to operate on the sea floor continuously for months or even years. The project, dubbed the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) observatory, is managed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

MARS will provide important information about how environmental conditions in the deep sea change over time. In addition, the project has developed important technology for more ambitions deep sea observatories, where thousands of kilometers of cables could power seismographs and oceanographic monitoring stations. Such projects will provide astrobiologists with unique views of deep sea life, such as the ecology of deep sea vents. Seismic studies will also yield a new understanding of global tectonic processes, which can have an important effect on our planet's climate and ultimately it's habitability.

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