Regional Cabled Array facility uses fiber network 24/7 to transmit real-time to global user community
SEATTLE, WA and KIRKLAND, WA — NOVEMBER 30, 2017 – Wave Broadband, a gigabit broadband and fiber services company, today announced its partnership with the University of Washington’s Regional Cabled Array facility, the cabled ocean observatory component of the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). The underwater observatory uses Wave’s fiber network to deliver real-time data and two-way command and control capabilities 24/7 from the floor of the Pacific Ocean more than 300 miles off the Oregon Coast, to the school’s engineers, scientists, and students as well as to a global user community.
The University of Washington (UW) operates and maintains the Regional Cabled Array, which includes a 521 km-long high power and bandwidth cable that crosses the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate off the coast of Oregon, reaching the most active underwater volcano “Axial Seamount” on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The Regional Cabled Array is launching a new era of scientific discovery and understanding of the oceans by maintaining a permanent year-round presence in the Northeast Pacific Ocean.
Data flowing 24/7 from the Cabled Array will help scientists better understand global warming, biogeochemical and geological processes, and ocean acidification along the Cascadia Margin – one of the most biologically productive areas in the oceans. “We rely heavily on fiber connectivity from Wave Business to not only quickly transfer our data from the Oregon Coast shore station to UW for analysis, but to also, in real time, control and communicate with our underwater instruments to respond to oceanic events,” said Deborah Kelley, professor at the University. “Wave is a critical partner to our success.”
The observatory took over five years to build and consists of more than 900 kilometers of modified submarine telecommunications cable, advanced moorings, and over 150 instruments that deliver data at the speed of light to shore via the cable. The project serves global researchers, students, educators, policymakers, and the public.
Wave’s role in the project is linking its fiber network to the University at a landing station in Pacific City, Oregon. From there it connects the research information back to the team, to the OOI data portal at Rutgers University, and to the rest of the world.
“We’re excited to partner with the UW and the Cabled Array program to empower real-time sharing of the data at the speed of light,” said Patrick Knorr, EVP of Business Solutions at Wave. The company’s unique infrastructure provides the enormous data capacity needed at transport speeds up to 100 Gigabits per second with no points of failure between Pacific City and the data centers where the massive amount of information is stored and distributed.
Wave provides custom solutions to government agencies, educational institutions, and medical facilities with unique connectivity needs. The company’s experience in developing customized solutions that scale with business needs make it an ideal partner for the Cabled Array project, which is designed to expand over its 25 years of operation, pending Congressional approval.
ABOUT THE OCEAN OBSERVATORIES INITIATIVE (OOI)
The National Science Foundation-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is an integrated infrastructure program composed of science-driven platforms and sensor systems that measure physical, chemical, geological, and biological properties and processes from the seafloor to the air-sea interface. The OOI network was designed to address critical science-driven questions that will lead to a better understanding and management of our oceans, enhancing our capabilities to address critical issues such as climate change, ecosystem variability, ocean acidification, and carbon cycling.
An example of the kind of observations made is when, in 2015, scientists across the U.S. “watched live” for the first time as Axial Seamount erupted. Data streaming from the cabled array showed more than 8,000 earthquakes over a 24-hour period with a 7-plus foot drop in the summit of the volcano and more than 30,000 explosions that occurred more than a mile beneath the ocean’s surface.
The OOI Program Office is managed and coordinated at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL) in Washington, D.C.
ABOUT WAVE BROADBAND:
Wave is a leading provider of fiber and broadband services on the West Coast. Wave delivers a range of solutions for businesses, including custom fiber networks, high-capacity Internet access, data transport, phone services, and dark fiber to meet the specific bandwidth needs of our customers along the West Coast. Wave is in the process of merging with 2 other companies to become the 6th largest internet and broadband services provider in the U.S. For more information, visit http://wavebusiness.com.
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