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Wire-Following Profler for The Ocean Observatories Initiative McLane Upgrades Profler���s Communications and Electronics By Michael Mathewson ��� Cleo Zani I n September 2011, McLane Research Laboratories Inc. (East Falmouth, Massachusetts) was awarded the contract for coastal and global wire-following proflers (WFP) to be used by the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). The contract included proposed improvements to the existing McLane Moored Profler (MMP), production of frst-article proflers and options for additional proflers to populate the OOI���s Coastal Pioneer, Global and Endurance Arrays. To meet OOI specifcation 3310-00003 for wire following proflers, McLane proposed four improvements to the commercially produced MMP: integration of a faster inductive modem, an electronics Schematic of the profler communications, mission planner and data fow for the OOI Wire upgrade, creation of a mission Following Profler. The Mission Planner (lower left box) includes the functionality of the Deployplanner and the addition of a ment Planner and Unpacker. motion sensor. Inductive Modem The faster inductive modem was proposed for the Coastal In order to shorten this data transfer time without deciprofler only, but the remaining three features would be inmating the data, the profler required a faster inductive mocluded in both Coastal and Global WFP. dem. The existing MMP uses the Sea-Bird Electronics Inc. Manufactured by McLane under the Woods Hole Ocean(Bellevue, Washington) Inductive Modem Module (IMM) for ographic Institution (WHOI) license, the neutrally buoyant inductive data transfer to a surface or seafoor controller with MMP autonomously profles the water column in a time sean effective transfer speed of 1,000 to 1,200 baud. ries along a fxed mooring and is driven by a magnetically Since the transfer of engineering, CTD and current-meter coupled drive motor. data fles occurs at the end of a profle, the inductive transProfling depth, time intervals and pressure stops are usfer speed is directly related to the minimum time between er-defned, and profling patterns can span specifc seasons profles. The proposed MLM-1000 inductive modem, manuor time frames. factured by RBR Ltd. (Kanata, Canada), was integrated into Integrated sensors include CTD, acoustic current meters, the profler and feld tested. Since the head end modem card chlorophyll a, turbidity, photosynthetically active radiawas similar in size to the existing profler interface board, tion (PAR) and dissolved oxygen. An underwater inductive the mechanical ft and connections in the electronics chassis modem provides real-time communication between the were straightforward. profler and a surface buoy or seabed node. Over the past In addition, the transparent link architecture allowed decade, more than 150 proflers have been delivered and McLane to port the existing inductive modem protocol and deployed around the world. www.sea-technology.com FEBRUARY 2013 / st 15