Scientific cables are those submarine cables that have are being used for various scientific research purposes. These cables can be ones that are currently carrying traffic or that have been retired from service. However protection of these cables is just as important as for the commercial cables since important research and data collection relies on them. In the case of the OOI Cabled Observatory, this is an entirely new, purpose-built system.

Cables in Powered Scientific Use:
ATOC-Kauai Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii to offshore	This cable runs from the US Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Barking Sands clockwise around the island, ending at a point 800 m deep on the north slope. The cable is used to connect an acoustic transmitter to shore in support of the ATOC project (Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate; see http://atoc.ucsd.edu/). Transmissions to receivers around the Pacific were used to demonstrate the ability to measure large-scale ocean temperature acoustically. This work is continuing as part of the Office of Naval Research funded North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory (NPAL; http://npal.ucsd.edu). The 50 km long cable is SD List 1 coaxial submarine cable (1.25-inch outside diameter, 17,000-lb breaking strength). The portion of the cable inshore of 10 km is armored. Contact: Dr. James A. Mercer, University of Washington
China - US Segments S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6	The Ch-US system gathers data in real-time for scientific research. The data collected is used for Ocean Management, Disaster Mitigation (early warning for tsunami) and Environmental Monitoring Segments S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6. Total length 3,319km. Segment S2 - Okinawa, Japan to Branching Unit 1 - 315km. Segment S3 - Branching Unit 1 to Branching Unit 2 - 41km. Segment S4 - Okinawa, Japan to Branching Unit 2 - 309km. Segment S5 - Branching Unit 2 to Branching Unit 3 - 1061km. Segment S6 - Tanguisson Point, Guam to Branching Unit 3 - 1593 km. Contact: Mr. Jose Barrios Ocean Networks, Inc. Director - Permitting e-mail: Jose.Barrios@OceanNetworks.com Website: www.OceanNetworks.com
Columbus-2 Segment A	The Columbus II Segment A system gathers data in real-time for scientific research. The data collected is used for Ocean Management, Disaster Mitigation (early warning for tsunami) and Environmental Monitoring West Palm Beach, USA to Cancún, Mexico. 640km. Contact: Mr. Jose Barrios Ocean Networks, Inc. Director - Permitting e-mail: Jose.Barrios@OceanNetworks.com Website: www.OceanNetworks.com
G-P Guam-Philippines Western Pacific Ocean	The G-P (Guam-Philippines) system gathers data in real-time for scientific research. The data collected is used for Ocean Management, Disaster Mitigation (early warning for tsunami) and Environmental Monitoring Tanguisson Point, Guam -- Batangas, Philippines - approx. 3,600 km. Contact: Mr. Jose Barrios Ocean Networks, Inc. Director - Permitting e-mail: Jose.Barrios@OceanNetworks.com Website: www.OceanNetworks.com
HAW-4 Makaha to 23oN	The Hawaii end of the retired first-generation fiber-optic HAW-4 cable is now being used for the ALOHA Cabled Observatory (ACO; http://aloha.manoa.hawaii.edu). The shore station is at Makaha and the ACO node is at Station ALOHA (22 45N, 158W, 4728 m water depth) about 100 km north of Oahu (237 km cable length). The remaining portion of the cable is still connected in California at the Point Arena Cable Station. The ACO provides ~1000 W, 100 Mb/s and 1 us timing to ocean science instruments on the seafloor and in the water column. The ACO provides the infrastructure to support on-going science projects, complementing the Hawaii Ocean Timeseries (HOT) program that has been collecting data at Station ALOHA since 1988. Contact: Dr. Bruce Howe, University of Hawaii
INFN IDMAR Cable	The IDMAR electro optical cable has 48 fibres and 2 power conductors. The main segment is approximatively 95 km long, laid in direction SE from the harbour of Capo Passero (Sicily). The cable split into two segments of 10 km length, directed NE and SE. The NE branch is terminated at 3550 m water depth with a Cable termination frame hosting a 40 kW medium voltage converter (363 VDC output voltage offshore) system and an electro-optical distribution system with 16 optical (2 or 4 fibres) and 16 electrical (2 conductors) ROV mateable connectors. The SE is branch will be equipped with a similar CTF in the coming years. The cable shore end is hosted in a shore station managed by INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud that also hosts the power supply systems and data centres for the experiments. Further information at https://www.lns.infn.it/en/marine-infrastructures.html https://www.km3net.org/research/research-infrastructure/ Contact: Giorgio Riccobene ICPC representative of INFN-LNS Tel: +39 095 542304
INFN NEMO Cable Mediterranean	A 100 km long electro optical cable (20 optical fibers, 1 conductor and power return through sea) is laid in direction SE from the harbor of Capo Passero (Sicily). The cable is terminated at 3550 m water depth with a Cable termination frame hosting a 10 kW medium voltage converter (375VDC output) and an electro-optical distribution system with 5 ROV mateable hybrid connectors (2 conductors, 4 fibers). The cable shore end is hosted in a shore station managed by INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud that also hosts the power supply systems and data centers for the experiments. The cable serves a large section of the KM3NeT-ESFRI neutrino telescope infrastructure and other scientific users including EMSO. Further information at: https://www.lns.infn.it/en/marine-infrastructures.html https://www.km3net.org/research/research-infrastructure/ https://emso.eu/observatories-node/western-ionian-sea/ Contact: Giorgio Riccobene ICPC delegate INFN-LNS Tel: +39 095 542304
INFN-INGV Catania Test Site Mediterranean	The main segment of the electro optical cable (10 optical fibers, 6 conductors) runs for 20 km direction E from the harbor of Catania (Sicily), then a Y-JB splits the cable into two 5-km long branches terminated with two termination frames named “Test Site North” and “Test Site South” at depths of ca. 2100 m. Test Site North is equipped with 2 hybrid ROV mateable connectors reached by 4 fibers and 2 conductors. Test Site South is equipped with 2 hybrid ROV mateable connectors reached by 6 fibers and 4 conductors. Connection details are available upon request. The cable shore end is hosted in a shore station managed by INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud that also hosts the power supply systems and data centers for the experiments. Several geophysical, oceonographycal and acoustic experiments are carried out at the Catania Test Site, that is a regional node (Western Ionian Sea) of the EMSO-ERIC. Further information at: https://www.lns.infn.it/en/marine-infrastructures.html https://emso.eu/observatories-node/western-ionian-sea/ Contact: Giorgio Riccobene ICPC delegate INFN-LNS Tel: +39 095 542304 Contact: Giuditta Marinaro EMSO Western Ionian node Tel: +39 06 51860603
Ocean Networks Canada - North East Pacific Time-series Underwater Networked Experiments (NEPTUNE) Offshore Vancouver Island, British Columbia	The 812 km loop of ASN OALC4 cable runs from the Shore Station at Port Alberni to the deep ocean off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Five trawl resistant Nodes are located on the cable in depths from 100m to 2,600m. Numerous scientific instrument platforms are located on extension cables that run up to 10km from the Nodes. Detailed location information is available in the Notice to Mariners section of the Ocean Networks Canada website http://wwwoceannetworks.ca/ Contact: Adrian Round Director Observatory Operations Ocean Networks Canada Tel: +1 250-472-5364
Ocean Networks Canada - Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS) Saanich Inlet Array Patricia Bay, British Columbia	The 4 km ASN OALC4 cable runs from the DFO Institute of Ocean Sciences to the 100m isobath in Saanich Inlet. The cable terminates at a single trawl resistant Node. Numerous scientific instrument platforms are located within 200m of the Node. Detailed location information is available in the Notice to Mariners section of the Ocean Networks Canada website http://wwwoceannetworks.ca/ Contact: Adrian Round Director Observatory Operations Ocean Networks Canada Tel: +1 250-472-5364
Ocean Networks Canade: Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS) Strait of Georgia Array Strait of Georgia, British Columbia	The 40 km ASN OALC4 cable runs from the Iona Waste Water Treatment Plant to a point south of the mouth of the Fraser River. Two trawl resistant Nodes are located on the cable in 300m and 170m. Numerous scientific instrument platforms are located within 200m of the Node. Detailed location information is available in the Notice to Mariners section of the VENUS website www.oceannetworks.ca Contact: Adrian Round Director Observatory Operations Ocean Networks Canada Tel: +1 250-472-5364
Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Cabled Observatory Pacific Ocean, northwest coast of the USA	The OOI Cabled Observatory is a component of the NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). It consists of nearly 900 kilometres of fibre-optic cable (SL-17) installed in 2011 across the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate (Pacific Ocean) off the northwest coast of the United States. Two backbone cables run from a shore station in Pacific City (Oregon) out to the ocean spreading centre on the Juan de Fuca Ridge and along the Cascadia subduction zone to Hydrate Ridge. Connected to the cables at sites of greatest scientific interest, seven Primary Nodes installed in 2012 will distribute power and bandwidth (10 Gb/sec on each port) to an extensive network of sensors located on the ocean floor and in the water column (in progress). Starting in 2013, five nodes will be densely populated with instruments at Hydrate Ridge, Axial Seamount, and two shallow coastal sites west of Newport (Oregon). At each site, high-bandwidth data and video imagery will be transmitted via the Internet and will be accessible to users around the world, from scientists to educators, students, and decision-makers. Information about the OOI project can be obtained at: http://oceanobservatories.org Details specific to the OOI Cabled Observatory, which is managed by the University of Washington can be found at: http://ooi.washington.edu The OOI cable route as well as the Primary Node locations are depicted on current NOAA navigational charts and available upon request to the University of Washington. Contact: Cecile Durand Maintenance Operations Manager, University of Washington Ocean Observatories Initiative - Regional Scale Nodes Tel.: +1 206-685-9677
Offshore Communication Backbone (OCB) Eastern Mediterranean	The Offshore Communication Backbone (OCB) is an Ocean Observing System operating in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is a modular seafloor communications network that is deployed in 2,000 meter water depths, and is directly connected to the Internet. Contact: Leonard T. Whitlock General Manager CSnet International Inc. www.csnetinternational.com 3270 South Highway A1A, Suite 201 Melbourne Beach, Florida 32951 USA Tel: +1 404 455 7626 (USA) Chart - Transverse Mercator Depths In Meters [?]
Cables in Unpowered Scientific Use:
CAM-1 Madeira to Portugal	Contacts: Dr. Fernando Santos and Dr. Agusta Flosadottir
COMPAC Hawaii to Fiji	Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir
Florida - Bahamas Bahama 1	Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir
JASC	Contact: Dr. Hisashi Utada
Key West - Havana 5	Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir
NPS Pt Sur Point Sur to Sur Ridge, 50 km	A retired US Navy acoustic cable with a bottom mounted acoustic receiver on the seaward end. It is operated by the Naval Post-graduate School (NPS; see http://www.oc.nps.navy.mil/~icon/frames/acoustic_frame.html). The acoustic receiver is used for ATOC (receiving signals from an acoustic transmitter off Kauai), local acoustic tomography experiments, and ambient sound studies. This is an armored submarine cable, 3.2-inch outside diameter and 50 km long. Contact: Dr. Chris Miller, Naval Postgraduate School
PENCAN2-EXT Gran Canaria to Tenerife	Contact: Dr. Pablo Sangra
TPC-1 Guam to Midway, cross connected at Wake	Contact: Dr. Hisashi Utada
TPC-1 Guam to Ninomiya	Contact: Dr. Hisashi Utada
TPC-1 Guam to Phillipines	Contact: Dr. Hisashi Utada
TPC-1 Makaha to Midway	Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir
TPC-2 Makaha to Guam	Contact: Dr. Agusta Flosadottir