Design of deep-sea chemical data collector for the seafloor observatory network

Abstract

This paper describes the design of a deep-sea chemical data collector for a seafloor observatory network. The control system of the data collector comprises the main control unit, energy supply distribution unit, serial port expansion unit, condition monitoring, power supply switching unit, and communication unit. The functions of the data collector include self-inspection, diagnosis, and isolation. It also transmits the collected data and the monitoring data in the data collector cabin to the shore station management system in real-time. The data is transmitted through the secondary junction box and the photoelectric composite cable. The data collector also includes optical dissolved oxygen, deep-sea methane, chlorophyll, turbidity, and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) sensors. In January 2017, the data collector integrated with domestic chemical sensors was used for the sea trial, in Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao. The experimental results demonstrate the reliability of the system and the data quality of all chemical parameters.

Keywords:

• Seafloor Observatory
• junction box
• marine chemical monitoring
• data collector

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to EditSprings (https://www.editsprings.cn/) for the expert linguistic services provided.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study is supported in part by National Development and Reform Commission Smart Ocean Major Project [No. 2019-37000-73-03-005308], Major Science and Technology Innovation Projects of Shandong Province (No.2019JZZY010812), in part by National High Technology Development Plan (No. 2013AA09A411), and Institute of Oceanographic Instrumentation Talent Training Fund Project (No. HYPY202108).