A Study of the Remote Control for the East China Sea Seafloor Observation System

Abstract

Seafloor observatories enable long-term, continuous, real-time, weather-independent, and multidisciplinary scientific observation and research that will promise major breakthroughs in ocean sciences. China has started to establish a seafloor observation system in the East China Sea (ECSSOS), and the purpose of this paper is to describe the remote control for ECSSOS. Technological development in system architecture and remote communication was first performed in this paper. Based on this work, an overall framework for the remote control solution for ECSSOS was developed, adopting a client-server architecture containing three components, that is, a control center, a shore station, and observatory facilities, as well as two strands of information flow, that is, flow of observation data and flow of control commands. To implement the present solution, operational data flow and the core module were further designed and the corresponding remote control subsystem for ECSSOS was developed against all design specifications. This backbone system has been put into operation in China's first seafloor observatory in 2009, and in this paper the practical performance is evaluated addressing both the general descriptions and results from case studies. Given the successful trial in the Xiaoqushan seafloor observatory, the remote control solution proposed in this paper could be a useful reference implementation to the following construction phases of ECSSOS.

A Sensor Control Model for Cabled Seafloor Observatories in the East China Sea

“…The available record showed clearly that there was considerable variability on time scales that were not captured by a routine boat survey. An initial analysis of some in situ observation data sets from the Xiaoqushan Seafloor Observatory demonstrated that long-term measurements contributed to comprehensive studies on the mechanisms of ocean dynamics and environmental variations under different weather conditions [ 23 ]. Another initial outcome was the observatory data record and analysis of the tsunami induced by the 2010 Chilean earthquake [ 32 ], which also confirmed the practical performance of ESOCS from the perspective of data acquisition and application.…”

“…The guaranteed data source provides subsequent information service platforms with the information base for data processing, data storage, data analysis, data application, and close-loop observation. As stated above, current sensor control systems for seafloor observatories are application-oriented and focus on specific engineering requirements rather than general model research [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. In this paper, we propose a sensor control model for cabled seafloor observatories to provide a theoretical specification for designing, developing and deploying a sensor control system.…”

Development of a Plug-and-Play Monitoring System for Cabled Observatories in the East China Sea

“…With the monitoring architecture and GOE Control Method proposed, ESOMS was designed as a web-based, module-integrated monitoring system [ 16 ]. In terms of hardware communication ( Figure 1 ), the decision was taken that communication between the monitoring PC and the junction box complied with TCP/IP protocol [ 17 , 18 ] while RS232/485 serial communication was used between the junction box and various sensors attached [ 19 ].…”

A Sensor Web Prototype for Cabled Seafloor Observatories in the East China Sea

“…China has also been actively designing and deploying seafloor observatory systems in the East China Sea and is in preparation for its China National Scientific Seafloor Observatory [20][21][22]. The Xiaoqushan Seafloor Observatory is the first cabled observatory established in the East China Sea, which has totally performed continuous measurement and satisfactory operation for more than five years since put into service in April 2009.…”