Page 14: of Marine Technology Magazine (April 2019)

Insignts Cables with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration land’s synthetic version was designed to have all the function- (NOAA) to decrease deployment infrastructure and costs for ality and capabilities of steel cable alternatives, yet at much tsunami warning buoys. Both projects needed cables which lighter weight, while also eliminating metal contamination.

were not commercially available off the shelf to provide the protection, accuracy and durability required. For US GEO- Future use

TRACES, a 14 mm Vectran cable was designed, manufactured US GEOTRACES has achieved the capability to lower the and supplied by Cortland for the deepwater oceanographic carousel deeper than ever before without weight concerns. research application. The use of Vectran, a high-performance The researchers can collect more samples faster and there is synthetic ? ber, provided the high-strength, low-stretch and virtually no risk of contamination from exposed metal com- ? exible properties needed as the cable’s strength member. ponents.

Within the core, Cortland supplied electrical and commu- The organization has now used the custom cable for dozens nication wiring with the capabilities to relay signals through of missions, in regions as diverse as the Arctic to the tropical deep ocean depths. Surrounding the entire cable construction waters of Polynesia. It has proven ideal for the expeditions, was an abrasion-resistant, extruded polyester outer jacket. carried out every two years since 2008. It is set to be deployed

The materials used were strong, but lightweight and ? ex- again in 2021. Near identical cables are now in use in China, ible. The outer coating was durable enough to handle deck and Germany, India and Antarctica.

overboarding activity on the vessel, and to withstand potential We’ve learned through experience that cables used in dy- damage from temperature changes, tension cycling, and ultra- namic subsea environments have to be custom designed and violet light. built for the speci? c harsh environments our customers en-

These protective elements allowed uninterrupted signals be- counter. The properties of synthetic strength members and tween surface and carousel for crucial real-time data monitor- outer jackets can make the difference to scienti? c expeditions, ing. US GEOTRACES could monitor temperature, pressure, particularly those performed over long-timeframes in remote conductivity and other sensed parameters throughout the low- locations and at great expense. Our teams aim to be an extend- ering process, and trigger sample bottles during ascent. Cort- ed part of these missions and take pride in their successes too.

Photo: Cortland April 2019 14

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