ALOHA


   ALOHA Cabled Observatory (ACO)

The ALOHA Cabled Observatory (ACO) is one of but a handful of seafloor observatories connecting deep ocean science directly to the researchers who are invested in their results. On June 6th, 2011, the observatory, a collection of instruments at Station ALOHA 4700 m below the sea surface, established communications and power connection with Oahu providing rare oceanographic data for several years to come. The observatory has hydrophones for listening to the ocean and a camera for watching it. The dissolved oxygen content, salinity, temperature and current profile of the water are constantly recorded and communicated to land. A retired AT&T telephone cable makes this connection between Station ALOHA and Oahu. The constant and long-term data from ACO will be analyzed to discover patterns of ocean circulation, ocean-atmosphere interactions, seismology, climate change and other oceanographic topics.