Subsea Acoustics & Environmental Monitoring

The idea and mythology behind METAS[subsea-acoustics] – Subsea Environmental Monitoring  was born in the mid 1990s at the Institute of Marine Research. It has since evolved from studying of fish and its behavior’s to detection of oil and gas leakage as well as stationary real time environmental monitoring. From years of acoustic surveying with vessel acoustics, we discovered that the collection of data along transects created two types of uncertainties: Fish were disturbed by the survey vessel and stock estimates affected accordingly. Mixing of spatial and temporal variability hid properties of ecosystem dynamics that were essential to understanding marine ecosystems. X-net® system is a modular sensor deployment and retrieval system for environmental monitoring and surveying. The infrastructure is expandable to as many connection points as needed and can be adapted according to the requirements of a given project. The system uses fibre optics for communication between nodes and can support power supply of 3.0 kV AC.

The system is designed to allow maximum flexibility in customization with minimal engineering expense [subsea-acoustics] – Subsea Environmental Monitoring .

• X-Node® which is a ‘docking station’ for an X-Frame ®, providing power and communications distribution to the X-Frame in a cabled set-up. The X-Node will step down system voltage to 220 VAC for supply to the X-Frame. The X-Node is not designed for easy retrieval, as a docking station it is intended to be a permanent resident on the sea bed until the project is complete.
• X-Frame® is the deployable unit which houses all of the sensors, cameras, data collection & storage, and any battery systems. The X-Frame is easily retrievable using an ROV running tool or using the Metas Landing and Retrieval Tool (X-LRT) which allows installation without the support of an ROV.
• X-SAT® is a secondary external sensor platform for cameras, flash and specific sensors. It is linked to an X-Frame with a wet mate connector for power and signal.
• [subsea-acoustics] – Subsea Environmental Monitoring
• X-LRT® is the Landing and Retrieval Tool for X-Frames, which allows installation of an X-Frame on an X-Node or base unit without the support of an ROV.