Alternative techniques for deep-water monitoring

Abstract A cruise of the Soviet R/V “Dmitry Mendeleyev” in the Mediterranean Sea in 1989 is mentioned as the first step towards an international cooperation for high energy neutrino astrophysics in the Mediterranean. New proposals are considered related to carrying out common investigations connected with the construction of a large-scale neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean. In these investigations new techniques, which were developed in the last years or are being developed now by the Russian institutes, could be used, and in particular: (1) a system of multi-parameter non-tethered probes for deep-water hydrographic measurements, (2) a bottom-mounted acoustical antenna consisting of smart digital hydrophones, and (3) a deep-water scintillation spectrometer for the determination of the composition and for measuring the concentration of dissolved radionuclides. Given the necessity of making a best choice for the KM3 Neutrino Telescope construction, the idea of using light-weight flexible elements for making a “flexible tower” presented at the Taormina Workshop in 1997 is reviewed.