China's TRIDENT deep-sea neutrino telescope hits sea-testing milestone

Chinese scientists completed sea testing of the Tropical Deep-sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT) at 3,500 meters in the South China Sea, validating key Phase I hardware including the SPIDER subsea deployment system, underwater acoustic positioning, and deep-sea wet-mate connectors. Phase I aims to deploy 10 detection strings (~700 m tall) to form a compact array that detects high-energy neutrinos, with the Hybrid Digital Optical Module achieving single-photon precision during the trials. The team also recovered prior moorings to gather environmental data for site selection and deep-sea signal analyses, while sea tests demonstrated seabed landings and coordinated movements with a dynamic-positioning vessel.