How the Jason Broadcasts Will Be Transmitted From Belize

* Live broadcasts will emanate from tow sites in Belize.

* At Blue Creek Reserve, video, audio, and data signals originate from research platforms 100 feet up in the forest canopy and from a nearby cave.

* At South Water Cay, signals originate from a remotely operated vehicle 100 feet underwater and from a `bubble helmet' worn by a marine biologist 30 feet below the surface.

* Signals from the two sites are converted to compressed digital video at Blue Creek Reserve and uplinked to an international satellite high above South America.

* The satellite relays the signals to a facility in Plano, Texas, for quality monitoring.

* The signals are then transmitted to a domestic satellite, which downlinks the programs to interactive viewing sites for students across North America, and led to an international satellite for the journey to viewing sites in the United Kingdom.

* All this occurs in less than half a second.