IMI30: Advantages of a Shared-Use, NSF Supported Facility
The IMI-30 will be shared between investigators following the model that currently exists for the DSL-120 and HAWAII MR-1 sonars. The sonar will be operated by HMRG, which has been operating shared-use sonars (SeaMARC II and MR-1) continuously since 1982.
The FUMAGES meeting identified a key difficulty with operating shared use equipment: "The present funding model for much of the "common use equipment" has resulted in a gradual degradation of many MG&G capabilities. It is not unusual for equipment systems to be maintained as part of a specific ship operation. In some cases, systems are supported as independent cost centers. In either case, a use hiatus results in system degradation, loss of technician expertise, and ultimately a complete loss of the system capability. This problem affects "standard" ship-board equipment as well as portable equipment".
By creating sonar systems that share electronics designs, data acquisition hardware and processing software, HMRG anticipates that performance for our entire facility will improve. The IMI-30 will share subsurface electronics designs with the DSL-120 and the MR-1, and the topside acquisition and data processing hardware and software will be identical to that of the MR-1 and DSL-120. This design will enable engineering and data processing personnel to maintain familiarity across all platforms. By operating two similar systems HMRG will maintain a more constant workload, and thus minimize the loss of institutional knowledge during periods when one system is used more often than the other. This improves the probability of successful surveys for both systems. These benefits will be shared by WHOI/DSL as well, due to the ongoing collaboration between our two sonar groups.
HMRG has instituted a maintenance schedule for MR-1 hardware, and an operational training program for data technicians, which have enabled 34 consecutive successful surveys since 1991. HMRG will implement the same policies for the IMI-30.
An important benefit of having IMI-30 within the NSF instrument pool is that technical advances that result from the development of this system can directly benefit the DSL-120 and HAWAII MR-1 systems, and vice-versa.