complete failure (i.e. both redundant components have failed) before undertaking a repair. Because of the down-time involved in making a repair, proactively replacing failed units actually results in more unavailable time than waiting for a failure, even though a longer outage will be experienced when a complete failure occurs. Overall network availability is expected to be in the range of 96% to 97%, which is surprisingly good considering that a node repair may take weeks or months. One of the exciting aspects of NEPTUNE is the potential to utilize the technology in other applications. The availability of broadband communications and generous amounts of power at locations hundreds of kilometers from shore opens up many new possibilities for both scientific research and for equipment development and qualification. Communications systems for remote monitoring and control of well heads, continuous seismic monitoring of oil fields, and communications to high risk work areas are some of the areas in which NEPTUNE Canada technology could be used, and in which NEPTUNE Canada could be used as an equipment proving ground. Military and port security applications are also possible; use of an off-the-shelf solution which can support hydrophone arrays and other sensors would reduce or eliminate development effort for new sensor networks. Given NEPTUNE Canada’s position as a research facility, it is likely some of these new concepts and applications will be tested on NEPTUNE Canada itself before deployment elsewhere. Can UVic successfully complete this demanding project? All the key pieces are in place: an experienced project team, an industry-leading supplier, support from the academic community and funding agencies, and realistic objectives. However, it is too soon to celebrate; much work lies ahead. UVic and Alcatel are committed to delivery of a working system by 2009. If NEPTUNE Canada achieves the goals it has set for itself, it will open up both a new realm of Oceanography and new markets for the submarine cable industry. New challenges and new ways of thinking can provide a much needed boost to both morale and the bottom line.
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NEPTUNE Canada Update
By Chris Barnes, Steve Lentz, and Peter Phibbs
2008 saw continuing efforts to develop and qualify the power delivery subsystem. Setbacks can be expected in the development of new underwater devices such as NEPTUNE Canada’s 10kV equipment, and the setbacks experienced in 2008, while relatively modest in nature, have resulted in a decision to defer deployment of the nodes, junction boxes and instruments until summer 2009. (The backbone cable, repeaters, and branching units were installed in 2007.) Ships are now being secured for the deployment of five primary nodes, along with fourteen junction boxes and as many as 130 instruments, during the summer of 2009. This installation program will require two vessels, a stern working cable ship and a research vessel. The ROPOS ROV, operated by the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility, will be a vital participant in the deployment activities. The readiness of two key components led to the decision to defer deployment to 2009. The Medium Voltage Converter (MVC), which converts backbone cable voltages of 6 to 10kV to a working level of 400V, and the connector which delivers 10kV DC to the node have required further design effort and qualification testing. Prototypes of the MVC have been tested and shown to meet all primary design requirements; however, additional testing has revealed some concerns as to the reaction of the MVC to faults elsewhere in the system. These concerns have led to some minor redesign and, of course, a repeat of most of the time consuming qualification tests. Similarly, the 10kV connector has been successfully tested, but concerns about design margin and operational life have led to some rework and a restart of the three
month long accelerated aging tests. The need to resolve these technical challenges led to a mutual decision on the part of NEPTUNE Canada and its prime contractor, Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, to postpone installation. 2008 saw successful progress on a number of fronts. All the terminal equipment and power feed equipment has been delivered and installed. The Junction Boxes (JBs), which provide an intermediate connection point between up to ten individual instruments and the primary nodes, have been designed and manufactured by Oceanworks, Inc. of Vancouver, Canada. Successful integration tests between the JBs and primary nodes were completed in July of 2008 and the first JB was deployed on the VENUS observatory in December. Fabrication and assembly of the primary nodes by Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks with the support of its subcontractors L3 Maripro and Texel is progressing well. The Vertical Profiling System (VPS), which consists of a base platform and a float containing science instruments which can be raised and lowered through the water column, has been manufactured by NGK of Japan and delivered to Victoria BC. In addition, transitional operational funding was secured from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education. NEPTUNE Canada is an exciting and innovative project which demonstrates how commercial submarine telecom technologies can be adapted for other