Optical disk based acquisition system (ODAS) : description and report following the first deployment during the Prudhoe Bay experiment Spring 1987 (PRUDEX)

Abstract

This is a report on the use of one vendor's optical disk system for the archiving of data in the field. Two Optimem 1000 units are part of an acquisition system used by the Arctic acoustics groups at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during an ice-camp based experiment conducted during March of 1987 north of Alaska, (PRUDEX). Data recording and disk directory formats developed specifically for continuous recording of multichannel digital data are described as well as the acquisition system itself. A brief overview of available optical disk drive systems and their applicability to use in the field for storage of large volumes of data is given.