TDI-Brooks International, Inc. was awarded a four year contract with a $2.2 million allowance for maintenance, as needed, of NDBC marine observing systems in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean.

One of the buoys TDI-Brooks will maintain is the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) System. The DART system is a transportable, real-time, deep-ocean tsunami measurement system that provides early detection and real-time reporting of tsunamis in the open ocean.  It consists of an anchored seafloor tsunameter, also referred to as a Bottom Pressure Recorder (BPR), and a companion moored surface buoy for real-time communication.  An acoustic link transmits data from the BPR on the seafloor to the surface buoy.  Redundant dual payloads housed in the surface buoy are equipped with Iridium satellite modems that provide two-way communications to shore side systems. 

DART stations are positioned to provide adequate warning time to the United States and other foreign countries in the event of a tsunami.  The 39 NDBC DART stations typically are serviced annually and require one day on station.  In addition to its primary facility at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, NDBC maintains spare equipment and components in a warehouse in Guam.  Other typical logistical ports include San Diego, Kodiak, Papeete, and the Galapagos Islands.

The DART network
DART buoy during servicing