Cabled Ocean Observatories in the Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea

As the global population grows and becomes increasingly dependent on the ocean´s resources, monitoring its physical and environmental conditions is more critical than ever: port authorities may wish to know tidal and current velocity information in order to schedule and guide shipping traffic; offshore drilling operators need real-time current velocities to determine the safety of their operations and to avoid costly delays; government ministries use knowledge of physical and biological conditions to manage and monitor the health of their fisheries resources and protect the people that use the ocean for recreation and income; coastal communities can greatly benefit from advance warning of approaching tsunamis; and coastal developers are often required to assess the impact of their developments on coastal water flow and quality. Ocean observation is clearly important to the modern world, yet many key regions of the ocean remain virtually uncharacterized and unmonitored. One such region is the northern Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman. Since 2003, Lighthouse has worked to develop, install, and operate cutting-edge, real-time ocean observing and monitoring systems off the coast of the Sultanate of Oman.