Study on 10 kVDC Powered Junction Box for A Cabled Ocean Observatory System

A cabled ocean observatory system that can provide abundant power and broad bandwidth communication for undersea instruments is developed. A 10 kV direct current （kVDC） with up to 10 kW power, along with l Gigabit/sec Ethemet communication, can be transmitted from the shore to the seafloor through an umbilical armored cable. A subsea junction box is fixed at a cable terminal, enabling the extension of up to nine connections. The box consists of three main pressure vessels that perform power conversion, power distribution, and real-time communication functions. A method of stacking modules is used to design the power conversion system in order to reduce the 10 kV voltage to levels that can power the attached instruments. A power distribution system and an Ethemet communication system are introduced to control the power supply and transmit data or commands between the terminals and the shore station, respectively. Specific validations of all sections were qualified in a laboratory environment prior to the sea trial. The ocean observatory system was then deployed at the coast of the East China Sea along with three in situ instruments for a 14-day test. The results show that this high voltage-powered observatory system is effective for subsea long-term and real-time observations.

Development of a High-Resolution Coastal Circulation Model for the Ocean Observatory in Lunenburg Bay

An advanced ocean observatory has been established in Lunenburg Bay of Nova Scotia, Canada as part of an interdisciplinary research project of marine environmental prediction. The development of a high-resolution coastal circulation model is one of important components of the observatory. The model horizontal resolution is 60 m and the vertical resolution is about 1 m. The coastal circulation model is used to simulate the semi-diurnal tidal circulation and associated nonlinear dynamics with the M2 forcing specified at the model open boundaries. The model is also used to simulate the storm-induced circulation in the bay during Hurricane Juan in September 2003, with the model forcing to be the combination of tides and remotely generated waves specified at the model open boundaries and wind stress applied at the sea surface. The model results demonstrate strong interactions between the local wind stress, tidal forcing, and remotely generated waves during this period. Comparison of model results with the surface elevation and current observations demonstrates that the coastal circulation model has reasonable skills in simulating the tidal and storm-induced circulation in the bay.

Development of a direct current power system for a multi-node cabled ocean observatory system

Due to the shortage of suitable research methods for real-time and long-term observation of oceans,an innovative approach that can provide abundant power and wide bandwidth is being developed worldwide for undersea instruments.In this paper,we develop a direct current(DC) power system which is applied to a multi-node cabled ocean observatory system named ZERO(Zhejiang University Experimental and Research Observatory).The system addresses significant issues ranging from terrestrial facility to subsea infrastructure,and focuses on using appropriate methods to deal with several key challenges,including delivery,conversion,distribution,and management of power,and heat dissipation in pressure vessels.A basic laboratory platform consisting of a shore station,a primary node in a water tank,and a secondary node in a deep-sea simulation chamber under 42 MPa pressure was built and fully tested.An improved secondary node was deployed in Monterey Bay in California for a deep-sea trial.An 11-day laboratory test and a half-year sea trial proved that the DC power system based on our proposed methods is viable for the underwater multi-node observatory system.

Development and Experiments of the Sea-Wing Underwater Glider

Underwater gliders, which glide through water columns by use of a pair of wings, are efficient long-distance, long-duration marine environment observatory platforms. The Sea-Wing underwater glider, developed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation, CAS, is designed for the application of deep-sea environment variables observation. The system components, the mechanical design, and the control system design of the Sea-Wing underwater glider are described in this paper. The pitch and roll adjusting models are derived based on the mechanical design, and the adjusting capabilities for the pitch and roll are analyzed according to the models. Field experiments have been carried out for validating the gliding motion and the ability of measuring ocean environment variables. Experimental results of the motion performances of the glider are presented.