Chapter 43 

 THE BENTHIC LABORATORY 



V. C. Anderson 



Marine Physical Laboratory 



San Diego, California 



The benthic lab, as used with Sealab II, is shown in Fig. 151. It is an unmanned, remotely 

 operated electronics complex housed in an oil-filled inverted dome, or "hive", mounted on the 

 sea floor near the Sealab habitat. This complex is connected through a single coaxial cable to 

 the benthic control console, one mile away on shore. 



Fig. 151. The benthic laboratory prior to its 

 placement at the Sealab II site 



In addition to control and monitor functions associated with the operation of the benthic 

 lab, the electronics provides for the multiplex and demultiplex of quite a number of television 

 video, audio communication, and digital telemetering channels to and from Sealab over the 

 single coax to shore. The ac power required to operate the benthic lab is also transmitted 

 over the same coaxial cable. 



The transmission system provides for the transmission of 36 audio communication chan- 

 nels, with a nominal 5-kHz bandwidth: 12 channels from shore to benthic, and 24 channels from 

 benthic to shore. Additional provisions are made for the transmission of five simultaneous, 



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