Vertical Mooring Measurement Package (VMM)

The Vertical Mooring Measurement Package (VMM) is located at two sites, one ~1.0 km east of Node 1A (Hydrate), and one ~1.0 km northwest of Node 3A (Axial). The VMM consists of a Basic Core Seafloor Mooring Measurements package located tens of meters from the base of the vertical mooring assembly, a Profiler Instrument Package that is located on a profiler that traverses from just off the seafloor to the base of a platform located at 200 m beneath the sea surface, a Float Instrument Package located on the 200 m subsurface platform, and a Winch Instrument Platform located on a winch that travels from the 200 m platform to just beneath the surface, as shown in the figure. The complete VMM is described in the following sections, as are the individual instrument packages.