We miss most events in the ocean because we don't have sensors in the ocean environment to continuously record what happens there. Since its inception, more than 50 projects at LEO-15 have been supported with funding from the National Science Foundation, NURP, and the National Ocean Partnership Program. LEO's Web site receives real-time data from satellites and the in situ sensors. An electro-fiber optic cable runs along the bottom of the ocean to two submerged nodes. The nodes are equipped with profiling instruments, which move up and down in the water column measuring temperature, salinity, and depth.
Scientists can control the nodes via the Internet onshore.
To get an idea of ocean events occurring between these nodes, two AUVs have been designed to travel between them measuring different oceanic processes. Extensive studies have already taken place at the 2,500 m site where six years of intensive sewage sludge dumping occurred. Having an observatory there would facilitate the study of the long-term effects of deep ocean dumping on the ecosystem. This is an important consideration in light of the pressing need to find alternative sources for waste disposal.