From the seafloor to the sea surface: A technical solution for the cabled EMSO-SN1 observatory in the Western Ionian Sea

The SN1 observatory is a cabled deep-sea observatory operating in real-time since 2005 in Southern Italy (East Sicily), at 2100 m water depth, 25 km from the harbor of the city of Catania. A structural enhancement of the SN1 observatory is undergoing in the framework of the Italian EMSO MedIT project, including the implementation of a multi-parametric monitoring system for observation in the water column dialoguing with the junction box in SN1. The new system is an inductive mooring collecting data from four water depths, and has been installed in its location on March 18, 2015. Coupling inductive modem, acoustic and fiber optic telemetries, this implementation is innovative and very challenging. The monitoring system of the water column is presented and its expected contribution to the knowledge of the deployment area is highlighted.