Major Milestone: First Node Installation Completed!

Saturday, July 14, 2012
Into the Water
Node Launch

Node PN1A is launched from the back deck of the TE SubCom Dependable. Note black cable tails that curve down from the node on the righthand side of the photo. The two ends of cable segments are spliced into the node at these tails.

--Photo courtesy of L3-MariPro

Acoustic Release

Acoustic release that releases the node once the node is in place on the seafloor.

--Photo by Cecile Durand

By 4 pm today, Primary Node 1A had been successfully landed perfectly flat on the seafloor to within an incredibly-precise 35 meters of the intended position at a depth of ~2,900 meters. Testing before, during, and after deployment confirmed the node was functioning as designed. It now rests in its intended home for the next 25 years!

This is a major milestone for the OOI Regional Scale Nodes program, one that is the result of a great deal of preparation and significant team effort by the entire OOI team and crew on the TE SubCom Dependable and the OOI shore support group. Confidence is building but we remain focused on the challenging deployments ahead. Node placement accuracy, but also cable burial, will be critical on the nodes closer to shore.

--Cecile Durand, OOI Marine Maintenance Manager, University of Washington, at sea aboard the TESubCom Dependable.