The technology company Kongsberg Maritime is building two ocean observatories for CAGE. Observatories will be deployed off coast of Svalbard next year, to monitor the methane leaks from the seabed.
By: Maja Sojtaric
“It is the first time that research is being done on the entire methane emission system from the seabed to the atmosphere. To measure these emissions we need a lot of instruments that are on the forefront of development. “ says Benedicte Ferré, who is the team leader at CAGE responsible for the observatories.
Recently CAGE signed a contract with Kongsberg Maritime to build two observatories that will eventually sit on the seabed off the coast of Svalbard for an entire year. The observatories will include several instruments, be self-contained and wirelessly connected to the surface, sending data on a regular basis to CAGE scientists. Instruments will monitor methane release from the seabed to the water column as well as CO2, ocean acidification and circulation.
The data from these observatories will give significant data that will help understand processes related to climate change.
“We need a company on the forefront of technology to build this pioneering instrumentation. Kongsberg was a good choice for us, among other things because of their experience with relevant industries.” says Ferré.
Kongsberg is better known for its extensive development of infrastructure for maritime and oil and gas industries. The contract with CAGE is a further step into development of environmental observation for the company.
“Kongsberg have recent years gone through several major R&D programs within subsea environmental monitoring, and underwater sensor networks. The observatories to be delivered to CAGE, fit very well into the track record as a hands-on exercise in environmental monitoring and our environmental team are very excited to start this collaboration with CAGE, said Arild Brevik , Kongsberg Maritime Subsea Division upon signing the contract.
