https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09872-5
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Two-year optical site characterization for the Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment (P-ONE) in the Cascadia Basin
1
Department of Physics, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
2
Ocean Networks Canada, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
3
Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
4
Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
5
Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
6
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
7
Max-Planck-Institut für Physik, Munich, Germany
8
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
9
Institut für Kernphysik, Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Germany
10
Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany
Received:
12
August
2021
Accepted:
23
November
2021
Published online:
6
December
2021
The STRings for Absorption length in Water (STRAW) are the first in a series of pathfinders for the Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment (P-ONE), a future large-scale neutrino telescope in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean. STRAW consists of two 
long mooring lines instrumented with optical emitters and detectors. The pathfinder is designed to measure the attenuation length of the water and perform a long-term assessment of the optical background at the future P-ONE site. After 2 years of continuous operation, measurements from STRAW show an optical attenuation length of about 28 m at 
. Additionally, the data allow a study of the ambient undersea background. The overall optical environment reported here is comparable to other deep-water neutrino telescopes and qualifies the site for the deployment of P-ONE.
© The Author(s) 2021
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