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In partnership with SubCom, JASCO Applied Sciences, and Shoals Marine Laboratory, the University of New Hampshire activates a $6.2 million SMART cable for real-time cabled acoustic and oceanographic observatory off Appledore Island.
In August 2026, researchers at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and their industrial partners deployed the Appledore Cabled Ocean Observatory in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. Anchored near the Isles of Shoals and connected directly to shore facilities on Appledore Island, the underwater platform combines high-bandwidth subsea fiber-optic telemetry with real-time acoustic and oceanographic sensing suites.
Spearheaded by Dr. Jennifer Miksis-Olds, director of UNH's Center for Acoustics Research and Education (CARE), and supported by a $6.2 million grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), the project bridges a crucial data gap in marine monitoring. By delivering continuous power and uncompressed, real-time data streams, the cabled system expands the regional Atlantic Ecology Observation Network (AEON) to track marine mammals, ambient ocean noise, water chemistry, and climate dynamics.
Located 10 miles offshore and three miles east of Appledore Island, the system’s sensors will detect human and marine mammal activity, wind and precipitation, sea ice dynamics, and oceanographic features, with implications for national security, energy development, and commercial fisheries. In addition, it will shed light on the connections between coastal measurements and the overall Gulf of Maine environment, complementing and extending existing oceanographic infrastructure.
The SMART subsea cable for the Appledore Cabled Ocean Observatory extends approximately 3 miles from the shore terminal at the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island out to the underwater instrument platform housing the Underwater Listening System (ULS) and oceanographic sensor suite in the Isles of Shoals. It serves as a short-haul, high-bandwidth conduit delivering continuous power to the node while streaming uncompressed, real-time acoustic and environmental data back to shore facilities
1. System Architecture & Technical Specifications
| System Component | Specifications & Deployment Details |
|---|---|
| Facility Designation | Appledore Cabled Ocean Observatory (Cabled Acoustic & Oceanographic System) |
| Geographic Location | Isles of Shoals archipelago, Gulf of Maine (Offshore Appledore Island, NH/ME) |
| Subsea Cable Infrastructure | Submarine fiber-optic and power cable donated and installed by subsea contractor SubCom |
| Shore Terminal & Power Landing | Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) on Appledore Island (jointly operated by UNH and Cornell University) |
| Primary Sensor Package | Underwater Listening System (ULS), hydrophone arrays, CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) sensors, current meters, and bioacoustic transducers |
| Total SMART Subsea Cable Length | Approximately 3 miles |
| Primary Funding Agency | U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) ($6.2M research initiative) |
| Regional Observing Network | Integrates into the Atlantic Ecology Observation Network (AEON) grid |
2. Stakeholder Coalition & Partner Ecosystem
The deployment represents a public-private collaboration uniting subsea cable manufacturing, marine technology integration, and academic research institutions:
Role: Scientific Lead & Principal Investigator
Led by Dr. Jennifer Miksis-Olds at the Center for Acoustics Research and Education, directing overall research objectives, data processing pipelines, and AEON integration.
Role: Cable Manufacturer & Marine Operations
Donated the subsea cable and executed marine deployment operations, laying the fiber-optic link between the seafloor platform and Appledore Island.
Role: Acoustic Engineering & Platform Design
Engineered and constructed the custom Underwater Listening System (ULS) platform, optimizing hydrophone layout for acoustic signal processing.
Role: Island Host & Data Hub
Provides terrestrial landing facilities, microgrid power infrastructure, and data acquisition hardware on Appledore Island to relay telemetry back to mainland servers.
Role: Systems Engineering & Federal Sponsor
OSI provided system engineering and integration oversight, supported by major grant funding from the Office of Naval Research.
3. Research Capabilities & AEON Network Synergy
Unlike traditional battery-powered autonomous landers that require periodic retrieval and store data offline, the Appledore cabled architecture delivers continuous power and real-time streaming capabilities:
Captures broad-spectrum passive acoustic data to track vocalizations of endangered marine species—including North Atlantic right whales—and measures anthropogenic noise levels generated by regional commercial shipping and vessel traffic.
Acts as the stationary, cabled anchor node within the wider Atlantic Ecology Observation Network (AEON). While AEON utilizes mobile and untethered landers across the offshore Gulf of Maine down to Cape Cod, Appledore supplies a high-density reference baseline.
Long-Term Operational Outlook
The deployment of the Appledore Cabled Ocean Observatory establishes a critical physical asset for Northwest Atlantic marine science. By coupling commercial subsea cable technology with academic research, UNH and its partners have established an open platform for real-time oceanographic modeling, maritime situational awareness, and long-term ecosystem health tracking in the Gulf of Maine.
