Oceanographers May Bring Undersea World To Masses

Thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables are strung across the world's oceans, connecting continents like so many tin cans in this age of global communication. So the fact that about 800 more miles of fiber-optic cable soon will snake across the sea floor off the coast of the Pacific Northwest might not seem particularly revolutionary. Until you meet John R. Delaney, part oceanographer, part oracle. "This is a mission to Planet Ocean," said Delaney, a professor at the University of Washington. "This is a NASA-scale mission to basically enter the Inner Space, and to be there perpetually. What we're doing is bringing the ocean to the world."