solutions to governments, the commercial sector and academia for immediate exploitation.
Answering the Scientific Call for Oceanographic Research by Ken du Vall & Jeffrey M. Snider
Marine scientists are routinely frustrated by the lack of comprehensive and readily available data needed to characterize marine regions. All too often, the only information available for these regional characterizations include isolated studies or sparse data points scattered across many years or even decades. The pressure for time series, real-time studies of the world’s oceans has increased greatly in light of the recent global warming and climate change debates. Lighthouse Research and Development Enterprises Inc. of Houston Texas continues to bring advanced technology and marine monitoring
In 1995, Lighthouse R & D fielded its first cabled-seabed environmental monitoring system designed to provide scientists with real-time, time series data on the dynamic marine environment in the Gulf of Oman. Initial development of the Lighthouse Oceans Research Initiative (LORI) was to support identification of deep ocean currents and to provide the oil and gas industry with an understanding of the impact the ocean environment, has on deepwater field development projects. The data collected by LORI is initially supporting the construct of two numeric models. The first model is current phenomenon that supports a prediction capability and the second model will support the creation of oil spill migration programs. Current oil spill migration models identify surface conditions such as the direction and speed of both current and winds, whereas LORI provides information on the entire water column. Sub sea blowouts, pipeline ruptures and tanker accidents in 3000 meters of water highlight the importance of understanding fluid migration throughout the water column. Oil containment assets utilizing the new models can be more accurately deployed during mishap incidents to minimize the impact on our coastal marine environment. Lighthouse R & D selected the Gulf of Oman for installation of its prototype cabled seabed observatory in support of its global research initiative due to the
dynamic marine environment and the challenging location. Previous research in the region provided only a snapshot of environmental information and the data indicated there were some significant current phenomena occurring that was poorly understood, or studied. Many scientists agreed that a multi-year dedicated time series research project would be needed to fully characterize this environment. In addition to environmental perturbations, the pristine Al Batinah coast is under heavy development and is at constant risk of oil spills, vessel discharges and other effluents that are associated with the marine traffic transiting the Gulf of Oman. A fiber-optic cable utilizing standard telecommunications technology was the best solution for collecting longterm real-time physical oceanographic data from multiple sensors demanding high bandwidth and uninterrupted power. The main cable trunk line travels out from an unmanned shore facility approximately 65 kilometers to a water depth of 1100 meters. The system has four Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) compatible nodes, each supporting an individual sensor mooring placed in 50, 200, 500 and 1100 meters of water. The system incorporates eight Doppler acoustic current meters configured for full physical oceanographic data collection. Measured parameters include oxygen content, turbidity, conductivity, temperature, pressure, salinity, current speed and current direction. This comprehensive snapshot of coastal marine conditions is downloaded every 60 minutes, 24 hours a day and transmitted real-time to the corporate office in Houston for reformatting, archival and immediate re-transmission back to Oman. The system also provides operators with a full duplex capability for sensor management and supports the monitoring of system health. Operators have the ability to reconfigure the sample rate of sensors if there is an annual or seasonal event that scientists wish to focus on. Data from the LORI system is allowing scientists to identify trends throughout the annual cycle. By identifying what is normal in the marine environment, 35