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Prototype System Design of Mooring Buoy for Seafloor Observation and

Construction of Its Communication Link

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DOI: 10.2112/SI83-008.1

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 Journal of Coastal Research SI 83 41–49 Coconut Creek, Florida 2018

Prototype System Design of Mooring Buoy for Seafloor

Observation and Construction of Its Communication Link
Shaowei Zhang*, Wencai Yang, Yongzhi Xin, Ruixing Wang, Chen Li, Dusi Cai, and Huaining Gao

Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering

Chinese Academy of Sciences
Sanya 572000, China www.cerf-jcr.org

ABSTRACT

Zhang, S.; Yang, W.; Xin, Y.; Wang, R.; Li, C.; Cai, D., and Gao H., 2018. Prototype system design of mooring
buoy for seafloor observation and construction of its communication link. In: Liu, Z.L. and Mi, C. (eds.),
Advances in Sustainable Port and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, pp.
41–49. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.
www.JCRonline.org
A prototype system of mooring buoy for ocean seafloor observation is constructed, that, ocean buoy and
underwater junction box are combined together with an Electro-Optical-Mechanical (EOM) cable. So, the
seafloor observation data can transmit to the sea surface buoy through EOM cable, and finally, the data transmit
to the shore through satellite and wireless communication. On the other side, sea surface buoy offers power
with the wind and solar panel to underwater junction box. Compared to the traditional sea surface observational
buoy, we redesign the communication model, so as to transmit the seafloor data to shore in the real time mode.
The transmit communication is constructed as “Seafloor observation (underwater junction box) – Ethernet
(underwater junction box) – Ethernet/Optical Switch – EOM cable – Optical/Ethernet Switch – Ethernet (buoy) –
Beidou satellite/wireless communication (buoy)”. According to the energy transmission property of EOM cable
and the power supply demand of the seafloor, the wind/solar controller system and DC-DC convert modular is
designed. We give the detail design and test result. In the test, we transmit the sea surface video and seafloor
video in real time mode through wireless communication link. The reliability of the communication link is
verified, and the feasibility of launch and recovery process is verified.

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Ocean buoy, seafloor junction box, Electro-Optical-Mechanical (EOM) cable,
ocean observation.

INTRODUCTION the buoy is designed as communication intermediary, that buoy

Ocean information such as the temperature, salinity, ocean
current and oceanographic Meteorology can provide support for
ocean climate prediction, and provide effective data for analysis
of the underwater acoustic environment model. Also, these data
are useful for research of ocean circulation, internal isolation
waves, upwelling and other ocean phenomena. Therefore, it is
of great importance to obtain long-term and continuous ocean
environment information of temperature, salinity, ocean current,
and meteorology, seafloor currents to analyze and synthesize them
(Bo and Shelach, 2014; Li et al., 2014; Wu et al., 2014).
At present, the mainly acquiring and observing sea surface
and seafloor environments include buoys, cabled seafloor
observatory networks, and underwater vehicles. Ocean buoys
are deployed in ocean area within a depth of about 2000 m and
are mainly utilized for sea surface sample, such as meteorology,
ocean surface current, and wave. Underwater mooring buoyage
is the mainly moored profiling system for biological processes,
biogeochemical, and physical observation with good temporal
and vertical resolution. In (Paolo, Laura, and Giuseppe, 2006),
DOI: 10.2112/SI83-008.1 received 19 October 2017; accepted in
revision 21 January 2018.
*Corresponding author: zswsia@126.com
©
Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2018
collects the data for AUV and seafloor benthic platform with
acoustic communication. The cable seafloor observatory is
developed in Canada, USA, and Japan. This kind of system is
selected the shore based power supply with EOM cable. Through
the EOM cable and the underwater junction box, cabled seafloor
observation establishes the connection for the shore monitor and
the sample sensors. It is a huge cost for the EOM cable, system
launch, and system maintain. Also, it is difficult to change or
adjust the position of seafloor junction box after the system
once is completely constructed. So cabled seafloor observatory
system is not portable to migrate. These properties limited their
application for the surface and seafloor observation in deep sea
far from the shore.
Hybrid platforms and communications are combined together
to deal with these problems, to design a system that can make
real-time, synchronization, and three-dimensional observation
for the sea surface and the seafloor. On the other side, VSAT are
utilized for data transmission in real time mode.
CUMAS (Cabled Underwater Module for Acquisition of
Seismological data) is designed to extend the land surveillance
network toward the wide marine sector of the caldera system
in (Giovanni et al., 2009; Prospero et al., 2014). The system
launches in the Campi Flegrei caldera (southern Italy), one of the
most hazardous and populated volcanic areas in the world, within
42 Zhang et al.
Figure 1.  Prototype system of mooring buoy for seafloor observation.
Figure 1 Prototype system of mooring buoy for seafloor observation
100 meters
  depth. The scientific sensor include seismometer,
hydrophone, current, and water temperature. MBARI designs
the Buoy Based Seafloor Observatory System in (Chaffey, Bird,
and Erickson, 2005; Ed, Mark, and Walter, 2001; Hamilton and
Chaffey, 2005), that mainly utilizing for scientific observation in
the deep ocean. The system includes a 3 m diameter buoy, ocean
benthic platform, and EOM cable. Surface buoy can collects solar
and wind energy for powering instruments and data transmit to
shore-side with satellite. The EOM cable connect the buoy and
the ocean benthic instrument, so as to establish the power and
data link between surface and seafloor. Horizontal axis wind
turbine and solar panel are utilized for power collection. The wind
turbine has a rotor diameter of 1.2 m with 300 W output in 12.5
m/sec wind. The actual power is 60 W, which depends on the wind
speed. The wind turbine and solar provide 48 VDC power bus
for the battery. And through the DC-DC Converter, the system
provides 12 VDC for the buoy equipment, and 375 VDC for the
ocean benthic instrument. The Buoy based seafloor observatory
system is deployable and maintainable in waters up to 4000 m
deep. The EOM cable and the seafloor junction box is connected
with ROV and mateable electro-optical connectors.
The major component of the system mooring the buoy and
seafloor junction box is the EOM cable that provide high
bandwidth real-time communication. The cable utilizes in the
above system is different from the ocean observation network.
This kind of EOM cable requires high strength, excellent bending
property, watertight performance, and wear resistance. Vectran
fibers, nylon, polyester are selected as the strength member, and
the property are compared of the static and dynamic responses
of moorings property in (Hamilton et al., 2003; Han and
Grosenbaugh, 2006; Mark et al., 2006; Mark, Doug, and Dan,
2003). The traditional cable utilizing in the seafloor network are
armored EOM cable. The armored EOM cable is not suitable for
deep sea buoy mooring. because the net buoyancy of the buoy is
limited, the EOM cable has to design as net buoyancy to hang
in the water for long term. The problem is mitigated in shallow
ocean as shown in (Giovanni et al., 2009; Prospero et al., 2014).
Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, 2018
Anchoring rope and coaxial cable are roped together as the
mooring component in (Hamilton et al., 2003; Makris, Papoulia,
and Tsambas, 2014; Mark, Doug, and Dan, 2003), and analog
signals transmit through the cable, and transfer to digital signal by
the A/D converter at the buoy and seafloor.
DEOS in (Detrick et al., 2000) gives the design conception
of the moored buoy observatory, including the buoy, EOM cable
and seafloor observation network. And the C-Band satellite is
available in DEOS with continuous high-bandwith communication
(64-128 kbps) to offer cost-effective alternative. The buoy equips
with diesel generators to supply enough power up to 1000 W for
operating these benthic node. In (Clark, 2010; Clark and Kocak,
2011; Clark et al., 2009; George et al., 2010), detail description
of CSnet’s Offshore Communications Backbone (OCB), and
prototype system of Cyprus-TWERC. The CSnet consists of
five nodes that can be deployed in up to 3000m depth (Mi, et al.,
2016). The system is designed with a large ocean buoy connected
with the seafloor observation nodes with EOM cable. TWERC
serve as the prototype Tsunami Warning and Early Response
system of Cyprus.
In this paper, we design the prototype system for seafloor
and surface observation of South China Sea. In view of the
requirements of ocean meteorology, wave, flow and aquatic
acoustic environment information acquisition technology,
especially the requirement of long-term observation and real-time
transmission for sea surface and seafloor sample information, we
design the prototype system of mooring buoy seafloor observation.
The buoy is connected to the seafloor junction box with the EOM
cable. We design the seafloor junction box as a sample platform,
and also as the anchor for the buoy (Vukelic, 2016). First, we
give the general idea of the mooring buoy system. Secondly,
we describe buoys design including the mechanical design,
control and communication modular. Thirdly, we introduce
the seafloor video and seafloor junction box design. Lastly, we
give the experiment results, including launch and recovery
process. And final, we give the conclusion and future system
design plan.
 Prototype System Design of Mooring Buoy for Seafloor Observation and Construction of Its Communication Link 43

 
Figure 2.  NO.A302351 EOM Cable (350m length) and load-bearing joint.
Figure 2 NO.A302351 EOM Cable (350m length) and load-bearing joint

Figure 3.  Surface buoy design and load-bearing joint installation location.
Figure 3 Surface Buoy design and load-bearing joint installation location
System Architecture of Buoy Mooring Seafloor Observation
System
The overall buoy mooring seafloor observation system is shown
in Figure 1, including three part as a buoy of 3m diameter, seafloor
junction box and EOM cable. We design the mechanical, power supply,
data sample and transmission modular of the buoy. Seafloor junction box
includes DC-DC converter, operation monitoring and management, data
sample and collection modular.
(1) Sea Surface Buoy
The main diameter of buoy is 3m, and the bottom diameter of
the buoy is 1.5 m. The displacement of the buoy is 4.2 Tons. At
the moment, the buoy carries Gill MetPak for meteorological
observation; from which we can get information of wind speed and
direction; air temperature; relative humidity; barometric pressure
and dew point. The data transmission modular includes a wireless
communication (ST5801GB-M1), Beidou communication, and
underwater acoustic communication. We put a mini camera on
the buoy to verify the reliability of the wireless communication.
The underwater acoustic communication is utilized to gather other
seafloor sample data from AUV, glider and independent seafloor
observation node.
(2) Seafloor Junction Box
The working depth designed of the seafloor junction box is 200
m. The junction box hosts several instruments including a C600
HD color zoom camera, and underwater lights and P20 Pan and
Tilt Positioner. The video format of C600 HD camera is 1080
i/720 p. The total weight of junction box is less than 300kg with
375 VDC and Optical fiber interface as input from EOM cable.
Through the DC-DC convertor, the junction box offers 12 VDC,
24 VDC, and 48VDC for the seafloor instrument. The data sample
formats mainly include serial port RS232, RS485, RS422, and
network data port. The 8-pin watertight access channel of the
junction box provides 8 instrument ports with replaceable various
interface.
(3) Cable
The cable connected between the buoy and seafloor platform
is composed of 3-optical fibers watertight connector, and 3-pin
watertight copper connector. Two optical fibers are utilized for
data transmission, and two copper wires are utilized for power
transmission. The diameter of EOM cable is 17.30 mm (Rochester
Engineered Cable NO.A302351), which is shown in Figure 2. The
breaking strength of EOM cable is 204.6 kN, and weight in the
water is 905 kg/km. The voltage rating @ 123 volts/mil is 2800
VDC, and the insulation resistance is 3000 MΩ.km.The batteries

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, 2018

44 Zhang et al.
Figure 4.  Buoy power system.
Figure 4 Buoy Power System
Table 1.  Types and technical characteristics of Beidou, ST5801GB-M1, Evologics S2C.
Wireless
ST5801GB-M1
Communication
Frequency:2.5/3/3.5/20/30/40/52 MHz;Support 5 G/2.4 G network transmission
Satellite
Beidou TS8512
Communication
Acoustic
Evologics S2CR 18/34
Communication
of the buoy offer 24 VDC power bus and a DC-DC converters
produce up to 370 VDC and -1 A. We design the cable load-
bearing joint, so as to connect the buoy and the cable.
SEA SURFACE BUOY DESIGN
The buoy includes the buoy frame and the buoy main body,
which is shown in Figure 3. The diameter of the buoy is 3 m,
and the total height is 5.4m. Wind and solar panel is utilized for
power supply. The solar array consists of eight, inclined oriented,
550 mm × 1200 mm modules, each rated at 100 W peak. The
diameter of the wind turbine is 1.32 m, and the height is 1.6 m,
and the peak power is 300 W in 12 m/sec wind. We design the
load-bearing joint at the cable tail shown in Figure 2. The bracket
and installation location on the buoys for the load-bearing joint is
shown in Figure 3. Through this method, we can achieve flexible
connection between the buoy and the cable.
The energy storage and distribution includes the solar, the wind
turbine and the battery blocks. We selected 24 blocks of 2 V 500 Ah
AGM lead-acid batteries. As a result, the batteries offer a nameplate
capacity of 1000 Ah @ 24 VDC. The 24 VDC bus voltage allows
Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, 2018
Control: TCP/IP
Voltage:12 –24 VDC,50 W
Work mode: Base Station,CPE,P2P(Bridge)
Transmission rate:10 MB/s, distance < 5 Km
Transmission rate: SIM Card, 9600 bps
Control:RS232
receive RNSS B1/GPS L1 satellite signal
Power:12-28 VDC, 5 W
Transmission rate:13.9kbit/s
Control:RS232
Bit error rate:<10 -10
Power:12 VDC, 1. W
Frequency:18-34 kHz
Transducer beam form: omnidirectional
peak current 16 A. Through the DC-DC converter, the sea surface
instruments are powered by 12 VDC bus, and seafloor load are
powered by 370 VDC bus. The sensors on the buoy include the
mini camera, MetPak (wind speed/direction; air temperature;
relative humidity; barometric pressure/dew point), and TCM2.5.
TCM2.5 is utilized to get the buoy azimuth and roll angle.
The data transmission modular include a Beidou communication,
wireless communication ST5801GB-M1 and Evologics S2C
acoustic communication. We use Evologics S2C to collect the
sample data from AUV and other seafloor observational platform.
The Beidou communication is utilized to transmit the data from
MetPak and TCM2.5. The ST5801GB-M1 is selected to transmit
the mini camera and the seafloor camera data. The nameplate
power supply of wireless communication ST5801GB-M1 is 50
W/ 24VDC, data transmission rate is 10 Mb/s within 5km. So
the battery give priority to supply power to the Beidou, MetPak,
Evologics S2C, and ST5801GB-M1 modular to verify the system
reliability, then supply power to the seafloor video system.
We have tested the transmission rate of the wireless
ST5801GB-M1 modular. The general idea is shown in Figure
 Prototype System Design of Mooring Buoy for Seafloor Observation and Construction of Its Communication Link 45

 
a) Transmission rate rest rate
a) Transmission experiment
test experiment b)
b)Transmission
Transmissionrate with
rate respect to distance
with respect to distance
Figure 5.  Transmission rate test experiment of ST5801GB-M1.

Figure 6.  Seafloor junction box and the frame design.  

Figure 6 Seafloor junctionTable
box2. and the frame design
5. The wireless ST5801GB-M1 modular are located in our Types and technical characteristics of C600 camera, L300 lights
institute and boat, separately. And we drive the boat away and P20 PTZ.
from the coastal. The transmission distance varies from 1km to
 
5 km. Figure 5 gives the test results, that the red curve is the Camera ROS Resolution:1080i HD
C600 Field of View (water):80° (Diagonal)
measured transfer rate versus distance, while the blue line is the
Sensitivity:0.1 lux
numerical fit result. When the distance is less than 1km, wireless Zoom Optical: 30x, Digital: 10x
transmission signal is strength and stability with the transmission Size:91.44 mm x 256.54 mm
rate as 50 Mb/s. While the distance varying from 1km to 2.5 km, Video User Selectable:1080i, 1080P, 720P
for the mismatch setting of the wireless transceiver mode, the Depth Rating 6,000 meters, Housing Material
Titanium
transmission is instability. Due to the distance from 2.5 km to 3 Control:RS-232,Voltage:10-36 VDC
km, as the increasing of the distance, the transmission rate drops
Light ROS Light type: LED
sharply as the wireless signal strength becomes weak. Due to the L300 Voltage:24 VDC
distance from 3 km to 4 km, we enhance the power supply ( > 24 Power: 79 watts, 3.3Amps
W), the transmission rate rises up to 30 Mb/s. Due to the distance Size:127 mm x 66 mm x 84 mm
is from 4 km to 5 km, the transmission rate keeps stable as 30 Weight in water:0.7 kg
Mb/s with the power supply as 24 W. Dimming options: DC: RS485
Color temperature: 6300° Kelvin
At the moment, the power system offers about 80 W at 24-
hr continually, so we have to intermittent open and close the PTZ ROS Payload:20 lbs (9 kg)
P20 Torque:10 lb/ft (13.5 N-m)
ST5801GB-M1 modular and the seafloor camera, junction box. Accuracy:+/- 1.5° (90 arc minutes)
Scan Range:0-360° (both axes)
SEAFLOOR JUNCTION BOX Power:24 VDC, 1.7 A
Seabed observation platform is based on the seafloor junction Control:RS485
box. The junction box includes the DC-DC modular, and data
transmission modular. We equipped the junction box in the support 200 m depth water pressure. The frame of seafloor junction box
frame as max length 2200 mm  1650 mm, and height 940 mm. are with four rings for its launch and recovery. We connect the
The diameter of the titanium cylinder of the junction box is 320 ring and cable load-bearing joint with two wire ropes as shown in
mm, and length is 1060 mm. the seafloor junction box can endure

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, 2018

46 Zhang et al.

Figure 7, so as to achieve flexible connection between the junction
box and the EOM cable.
The seafloor junction box is less than 300 kg, and offers 8-pin
watertight connectors (SubConn MCBH8F) with 12/24/48 VDC
optional, and RS232/RS485 serial port optional. Separately
internet pin connector with the data transfer rate 10/100 Mbps
is utilized to transform the video and acoustic data. The seafloor
junction box and the video system are fixed on the grid of the
frame. The DC-DC converter, data sample and transmission
modular are fixed in the main pressure titanium cylinder. The
load-bearing joint separates EOM cable as 3-pin optical fibers,
and 3-pin copper wires, which are vulcanized with optolink
04BCR TI and BH3F(TI) watertight connector and EOM cable.
Through those two connectors and EOM cable, we establish the
power and data transitions links between seafloor junction box
and sea surface observational buoy separately.
The instruments hosted on the seafloor platform include a
C600 ROS camera, two L300 led lights and a P20 Pan and Tilt
Positioner as shown in Figure 7. Detail information of video
system is shown in Table 2. The video recording format of the
camera is 1080 i/720 p. The video data is transmitted to the
surface buoy through the internet and fiber. And lastly, the
seafloor video transmit to the shore station with the wireless
modular. Considering the limitation of the power supply, we
control the camera and light to open and close from the shore
station.
The transmit communication from seafloor to sea surface is
constructed as “Seafloor observation video (underwater junction
box) – Ethernet (underwater junction box) – Ethernet/Optical
Switch – EOM cable – Optical/Ethernet Switch – Ethernet (buoy)
– Beidou satellite/wireless communication (buoy)”.
LAUNCH , RECOVERY AND EXPERIMENT OF THE
SYSTEM
Launch and Recovery
At the moment, we design the prototype system of mooring
buoy for seafloor observation. During 2017.06.15-2017.07.09, we
carry out the test in the shore near Sanya, China. The experiment
include the system launch and recovery process, meteorological
observation, wireless test, and the buoy status monitoring. We do

 
Figure 7.  Seafloor junction box and the frame design.
Figure 7 Seafloor junction box and the frame design

 
Figure 8.  Launch of the sea surface buoys.

Figure 8 Launch of the sea surface buoys

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, 2018

 
 Prototype System Design of Mooring Buoy for Seafloor Observation and Construction of Its Communication Link 47

 
Figure 9.  Launch of the seafloor junction box.

Figure 9 Launch of the seafloor junction box

Figure 10.  The shore station monitor (sea surface and seafloor video).
Figure 10. The Shore Station monitor (sea surface and seafloor video)
not utilize the ROV for the seafloor cable installation, so we have
connected the buoy, cable, and seafloor platform at the mother
ship or wharf. The system has to launch the seafloor junction box
and the EOM cable, while the weight of the junction box and
seafloor mooring anchor block is as much as 3 T. So it is difficult
to launch the seafloor junction box and the EOM cable in deep sea
without the hydraulic winch. Considering this situation, we launch
the system in the shore about 18 m depth near our institute. It is
convenient with the mooring buoy system to verify the effective
of the wireless communication, and the acoustic communications.
The overall status of the mooring buoy system after launched is
shown in Figure 1. In the experiment, the EOM cable is about
350m, so the surplus cable are wreathed with “8” format on the
seafloor frame as shown in Figure 9.
The weight of the seafloor junction box is less than 300 kg, so its
weight is not enough to anchor the buoy. We bind the EOM cable
and the anchor chain together with Kevlar rope each 5 m. The
length of the anchor chain is about 1m less than the EOM cable at
each bundled section. So the fiber optical fiber of the EOM cable
will not be pull off while the anchor chain are bearing pull force
from the seafloor anchor block. The fix connection of the buoy
bottom and cable joint is shown in Figure 8. At the seafloor, there
is -2 T anchor chain playing the role of anchor block to moor the
buoy. We have launched -50 m EOM cable on the seafloor far
from the anchor block, so as to avoid the influence of the drift of
the anchor block and buoy. The entire launch process is shown as
follows:
At the wharf, we install the wind turbine, solar panels and
sensor on the buoys. Then, we utilize a crane to lift the buoy at a
suitable height. At last, we fix the EOM cable joint on the bottom
of the buoy, and hang the buoy to the sea surface. The lifting
capacity and height of the “A” frame of the mother ship is limited,
so it is difficult to lift the buoy from the mother ship to the sea
surface.
We tow the buoy to the predetermined location. And we launch
mixture of the anchor chain and the EOM cable about 50 m. Then
we launch the seafloor anchor block.
The mother ship go to the upstream about 100 m from the buoy,
and we launch the seafloor junction box to the benthic, which is
shown in Figure 9.
We recovery the system with the opposite order. First, we let
the divers link the seafloor junction box with Kevlar rope to the
sea surface. Then, we lift the seafloor junction box to the mother
ship. And lastly, we tow the buoy to the wharf, and decouple the
connecting between the buoy and EOM cable with the help of
crane.
THE SHORE STATION AND EXPERIMENT RESULTS
The shore monitor interface shown in Figure 10, mainly are
utilized for test the sea surface and seafloor video transmission,
wind turbine-solar energy generation and energy consumption
of wireless communication and junction box. And we utilize the
recording software to record the seafloor video, so as to verify
the load capacity of the seafloor node, stability of wireless and
fiber communication. From the shore monitor interface shown in
Figure 10 and Figure 11, we get continuous meteorological data
including: Wind speed, wind direction, temperature, air pressure,
and leakage point. For TCM 2.5, we get the gesture angle of the

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, 2018

48 Zhang et al.
Figure 11.  Data from meteorological, TCM2.5, power supply of seafloor, power generate of solar.
Figure 11. Data from meteorological, TCM2.5, power supply of seafloor, power generate of solar
buoys. The max pitch angle of the buoy is almost 27°, so we may
redesign  the buoy frame to reduce the total height.
The solar generates about 2 kWh/day (average 10 W/panel),
while the wind turbine is about 0.1 kWh/day. it seems failure
to verify nameplate power of the wind turbine in the shore,
since there is almost no wind. We control the PTZ angle to
change the light and seafloor camera. The power of wireless
communication, and the seafloor junction box is about 25 W,
and 140 W continuously. The seafloor power consumption is
mainly due to the lights, and junction box consumption. It seems
impossible to open the seafloor junction box all the time for the
power consumption of junction box. Due to the power limitation,
we open and close the seafloor node intermittently every day. And
we only get as much as two days consecutive video recording
data of the seafloor benthic node. But we get the sea surface mini
camera video all the time, as shown in Figure 10, to verify the
effective of the wireless communication. In the experiment, we
test the acoustic commutation between the buoy to seabed in situ
observation platform, and achieve the goal that the buoy play
the role of information intermediary collecting sample data from
other platform.
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORKS
We have designed the prototype system of the mooring buoy
for seafloor observation. And through wireless communication
(distance within 5 km), EOM optical fiber communication, we
achieve the seafloor video transmits to the shore monitor center in
Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, 2018
real-time mode. We utilize the acoustic commutation to collect the
sample data from other benthic observation platforms. Through
the experiment, we verify the effective of the system of mooring
buoy for seafloor observation.
In the experiment, the anchor chain and the EOM cable are
roped together to moor the buoy. This method is suitable for
the shallow water. For the deep ocean, the EOM cable have to
redesign as net buoyancy cable to mooring the buoy, which is
similar to the traditional Kevlar rope mooring method.
Compared to the traditional observation buoy, the system
enhances the energy supply with the wind and solar modular. This
method enhances the load capacity of the buoy, so the types and
quantities of sensors and communication instruments that the buoy
carried are greatly increased. The system integrates communication
instruments including BeiDou, wireless, acoustic, and optical fiber
communication, so as to realize the real-time communication for
ocean three-dimensional observation, and real-time transmission
of underwater camera video and acoustic image within 5 km.
In the future, we have to enhance the observation ability of the
buoy with carrying the ADCP, AXYS wave sensor, YSI water
quality sample sensor. So the buoy can be provided with sea
surface hydrology, meteorology, water quality observation ability
as the traditional ocean buoy.
On the other side, we have to establish the satellite, wireless,
acoustic, and optical fiber communication, so as to gather and
transmit the seafloor, sea surface observation data. And on the
other side, the buoy plays the role of data collection platform, to
 Prototype System Design of Mooring Buoy for Seafloor Observation and Construction of Its Communication Link
gather the data from AUV and other isolated benthic observation
nodes.
Our goal is to moor the system in 1000 m for long term
observation and real-time data transmission. So we have to use
the net buoyancy EOM cable replace the mooring armored cable.
Because the weight of armored cable may daggle the buoy under
water surface, and lead the loss of the buoy. On the other side,
we plan to utilize the hydraulic winch to launch the benthic
observational platform and EOM cable, instead of ROV wet mate
connectivity technology to reduce the cost.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is supported by Natural Science Foundation of
China NSFC NO.51809255: Research on tracking strategy of
ocean cold eddy-upwelling with AUVs; National Key Research
And Development Plan of China NO.2018YFC0307906, China
Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Grant No. XDA13030301; Institute of Deep-sea
Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NO.
SIDSSE-QN-201403 and NO.SIDSSE-201202), and Hainan NSF
(No.20165206 and ZDYF2016190). And the authors would like to
thank reviewers, for their careful work.
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