Harris's Ocean NET System Collecting Rich Seafloor Data In Mediterranean

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Melbourne FL (SPX) Sep 01, 2004
An unmanned oceanographic data collection and telemetry system, designed and built by Harris Corporation's Maritime Communication Services (MCS) subsidiary, has been successfully collecting data for the past two months from its location in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the southern coast of Cyprus.

Ocean NET serves as the backbone for the Cyprus Coastal Ocean Forecasting Observatory System (CYCOFOS) and is being operated by Harris for the Cyprus Department of Fisheries and Marine Research.

The oceanographic and seismic seafloor data collected is beamed via satellite to Harris headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, where it is processed and forwarded to scientists around the world.

Development of coastal and ocean monitoring and forecasting activities in the Mediterranean is carried out and funded by the European Union and is part of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) initiative of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

"Ocean NET is a unique system that embodies many Harris technologies, and we are pleased to be working with the government of Cyprus in the deployment of this technology to aid scientific research," said Dr. Andrew Clark, president, Harris MCS.

"We also are looking forward to the potential opportunity of applying Ocean NET to other emerging oceanic data collection initiatives, such as the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)."

The President's Commission on Ocean Policy recently issued a strong recommendation that the U.S. invest in a sustained IOOS.

"With the demonstrated success of Ocean NET as part of Europe's GOOS initiative, Harris is in the unique position of being able to offer to the U.S. IOOS a substantial and proven portion of what will become a vital national asset," said Dr. Clark.

"Few organizations in the world possess the talent and technologies required to design, build, deploy and operate such a system."

In 2001, Harris launched another buoy-based observatory in the western Mediterranean for the Italian International Marine Centre.

The data collected is vital to developing a comprehensive, computer-based model that will aid in understanding the overall health and processes of the Mediterranean Sea.

In the future, seismic data that is continuously monitored by Harris sensors embedded in the seafloor at a depth of more than 1.5 miles will hopefully help scientists predict devastating earthquakes that are prevalent in the region.

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