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1
Introduction
Historically, oceanographers have relied largely on ship-based expe-
ditionary studies to map, observe, and sample the oceans. This mode of
investigation led to the discovery of the importance of a wide range of
physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes over the two-
thirds of the Earth's surface that is covered by water. Oceanographers
have learned that the oceans circulate vast quantities of heat that control
our weather and climate. Sediments formed from organisms living in
ocean surface waters are now known to contain an invaluable record of
past climate change and to help regulate the concentration of atmospheric
carbon dioxide. Although vast expanses of the deep ocean are still largely
unexplored, the diversity of life within the oceans and below the seafloor
surpasses that of any other ecosystem on the planet. Most of the active
volcanoes and fault systems on Earth either lie beneath the oceans or are
located along their margins. Previously unknown forms of life, possibly
linked to the beginning of life on Earth, have been discovered at hydro-
thermal vents on the deep seafloor.
Today's society is increasingly dependent on the oceans. The oceans
themselves provide a highway for most international commerce and food
for our tables. The sediments along continental margins harbor most of
our remaining stores of oil and gas. More than half of the population of
the U.S. lives within an hour's drive of the ocean, and find it a source of
both recreation and beauty, but these coastal communities are increas-
ingly vulnerable to the storms, erosion, and sea level variations that con-
stantly affect this dynamic boundary between the land and the sea.
13
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14
ENABLING OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE 2 lST CENTURY
As the oceans have grown more important to society, so has the need
to understand their variations on many temporal and spatial scales. This
need to understand change in the oceans is compelling oceanographers to
move beyond the traditional expeditionary mode of investigation to make
sustained, in situ observations in the oceans and on the seafloor. A report
on the future of ocean science in the U.S., Ocean Sciences at the New Millen-
nium concluded:
The lack of extensive, more-or-less continuous time-series measurements
in the oceans is probably one of the most serious impediments to under-
standing of long-term trends and cyclic changes in the oceans and in
global climate, as well as episodic events such as major earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions or submarine landslides. (National Science Founda-
tion, 2001, p. 151)
Ocean-observing systems would enable Earth and ocean scientists to
study ocean processes over timescales ranging from seconds to decades
and spatial scales from millimeters to thousands of kilometers. Such sys-
tems would provide the scientific basis for addressing important societal
concerns such as climate change, natural hazards, and the health and
sustainability of the living and non-living resources of the world's coasts
and oceans.
A variety of technological approaches can be used to observe the
oceans. Satellites provide global coverage of the ocean's surface, measur-
ing sea-surface temperature, winds, and elevation; the bathymetry and
bottom substrate of the coastal oceans; and, through ocean color, the phy-
toplankton population of the upper ocean. Acoustic thermometry can
provide basin-scale measurements of ocean temperature variations. New
generations of subsurface floats, gliders, and drifters will provide broad
spatial coverage of ocean properties on a global scale. Measurements of
air-sea interaction and ocean properties made at surface and subsurface
moorings are providing an essential in situ, fixed reference for determin-
ing longer-term changes. Submarine, cable-based observatories could sup-
ply unprecedented levels of power, data bandwidth, and two-way com-
munication to instruments located anywhere from the seafloor to the sea
surface. These existing and emerging observing technologies, have con-
verged with the development of new sensors for making in situ meas-
urements, major advances in telecommunications technology, and vast
increases in computational and modeling capabilities to offer an unprec-
edented opportunity to establish long-term ocean-observing systems that
promise to fundamentally change the manner in which ocean science is
conducted in the coming decades.
A recent report from the National Research Council (NRC) entitled
Illuminating the Hidden Planet: The Future of Seafloor Observatory Science
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INTRODUCTION
15
(2000) highlighted the need for long-term, fixed ocean observatory sites
for conducting basic research into a broad range of scientific questions.
"Seafloor observatories" are defined as "unmanned system of instru-
ments, sensors, and command modules connected either acoustically or
via a seafloor junction box to a surface buoy or a fiber optic cable to
land"(National Research Council, 2000, p. 1~. To quote the report:
Seafloor observatories could offer Earth and ocean scientists unique new
opportunities to study multiple, interrelated processes over time scales
ranging from seconds to decades; to conduct comparative studies of
regional processes and spatial characteristics; and to map whole-earth
and basin-scale structures. The scientific problems driving the need for
seafloor observatories are broad in scope, spanning nearly every major
area of marine science. (National Research Council, 2000, p. 2)
Many of the fundamental scientific research questions that could be
facilitated by ocean observatories have been identified in the National
Science Foundation (NSF) Ocean Sciences Division's long-range "Futures"
reports (Baker and McNutt, 1996; Royer and Young, 1998; fumars and
Hay, 1999; Mayer and Druffel, 1999), in the report Ocean Sciences at the
New Millennium (National Science Foundation, 2001), in Illuminating the
Hidden Planet: The Future of Seafloor Observatory Science (National Research
Council, 2000), and in a number of community planning documents (Ap-
pendix C). These scientific problems include:
· determining the role of the ocean in climate change;
· quantifying the exchange of heat, water, momentum and gases
between the ocean and atmosphere;
· determining the cycling of carbon in the oceans and the role of the
oceans in moderating the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide;
lion;
· improving models of ocean mixing and large-scale ocean circula-
· understanding the patterns and controls on biological diversity in
the oceans;
· determining the origin, development and impact of episodic coastal
events such as harmful algal blooms;
· assessing the health of the coastal ocean;
· determining the nature and extent of microbial life in the deep
crustal biosphere;
· studying subduction zone thrust faults that may result in large,
tsunami-generating earthquakes; and
· improving models of global earth structure and core-mantle dy-
namics.
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16
ENABLING OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE 2 lST CENTURY
THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S
OCEAN OBSERVATORIES INITIATIVE
In order to provide the ocean sciences research community in the U.S.
with access to the basic infrastructure required to make long-term mea-
surements in the oceans, the NSF's Ocean Sciences Division has devel-
oped the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). The OOI is an outgrowth
of community-wide scientific planning efforts, both national and interna-
tional, and builds upon recent technological advances, experience with
existing observatories, and several successful pilot projects. As they ma-
ture, the research-focused observatories enabled by the OOI would be
networked into and become an integral part of the proposed Integrated
and Sustained Ocean Observing System (IOOS) (Ocean.US, 2002b). This
operationally-focused system, which receives support from several agen-
cies, is a key U.S. contribution to the international Global Ocean Observ-
ing System (GOOS).
The observatory network proposed under the OOI will provide cut-
ting-edge capabilities to the IOOS and the research community. These
observatory sites will complement other elements of the IOOS, such as
the Argo profiling floats, and will expand the area of the ocean and sea-
floor beyond that now accessible through existing time-series sampling
methods, such as the moorings used in the National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration (NOAA)-funded Tropical-Atmosphere-Ocean
(TAO) array (Appendix D). Much of the data from OOI sites will be
available in near-real-time and will feed into ongoing ocean data assimi-
lation and prediction efforts such as the Global Ocean Data Assimilation
Experiment (GODAE) as well as driving new scientific research.
The infrastructure provided to research scientists through the OOI
will include the cables, buoys, deployment platforms, moorings, and junc-
tion boxes required for power and two-way data communication to a
wide variety of sensors at the sea surface, in the water column, and at or
below the seafloor. The initiative also includes project management, data
dissemination and archiving, and education and outreach components
essential to the long-term success of ocean observatory science. A fully
operational research observatory system would be expected to meet most
of the following goals:
· continuous observations at time scales of seconds to decades,
· spatial measurements from millimeters to kilometers,
· sustained operations during storms and other severe conditions,
· real-time or near-real-time data as appropriate,
· two-way transmission of data and remote instrument control,
· power delivery to sensors between the sea surface and the seafloor,
· standard Plug-n-Play sensor interface protocols,
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INTRODUCTION
· autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) docks for data download
and battery recharge,
· access to deployment and maintenance vehicles that satisfy the
needs of specific observatories,
· facilities for instrument maintenance and calibration,
· a data management system that makes data publicly available, and
· an effective education and outreach program.
The OOI, as presently envisioned, will have three primary compo-
nents: (1) a global network of deep-sea moored buoys, (2) a regional-scale
cabled observatory, and (3) an expanded network of coastal observato-
ries.
Global Observatories
The global observatory component of the OOI design includes a net-
work of 15-20 moored buoys, linked to shore via satellite. These buoys
support sensors for measurement of air-sea fluxes; physical, biological,
and chemical water column properties; and geophysical observations on
the seafloor. Such moorings, designed to make interdisciplinary measure-
ments at a common site, are a unique aspect of this component of the OOI
program (Plate 1~. Some moored systems may occupy sites indefinitely;
others will be relocatable in order to study processes in different parts of
the world's oceans or for rapid deployment of power and bandwidth
resources in response to transient events. Many of the buoys will be spe-
cifically designed for operation at high latitudes, especially those in the
Southern Ocean. This network of fixed ocean observatories is designed to
contribute to studies of the ocean's role in climate change by providing a
four-dimensional view of variations in oceanographic properties and air-
sea interactions on a global scale. This network also seeks to improve
understanding of the structure and dynamics of the Earth's interior by
expanding the international Global Seismic Network (GSN) into those
areas of the oceans lacking island stations, and could become a compo-
nent of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Hydroacoustic data collection
system. Relocatable moorings will be used to study Earth and ocean pro-
cesses where they are most active, such as across major ocean current
systems, in regions of high biological productivity, or along volcanically
and seismically active geological plate boundaries.
Regional-Scale Cabled Observatory
The second element of the OOI is a cabled observatory that will pro-
vide the first comprehensive set of long-term measurements of geological
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18
ENABLING OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE 2 lST CENTURY
and oceanographic processes on a regional scale. For example, a regional-
scale observatory could observe a tectonic plate encompassing all of the
major types of plate boundaries-spreading center, transform fault, and
subduction zone. This observatory system would use electrical/fiber-optic
cables to provide unprecedented levels of electrical power and real-time
two-way communication between a shore station and instrumented seaf-
loor nodes, allowing for real-time and interactive investigation of physi-
cal, chemical, and biological processes occurring over many scales of space
and time (Figure 1-1~. A variety of measurement systems have been pro-
posed for the seafloor nodes, including: (1) bottom-fixed sensor packages
for geophysical measurements or geological observations; (2) instruments
for in situ biological and chemical measurements on the seafloor and in
the water column; (3) cameras and real-time video; (4) instrumented bot-
FIGURE 1-1 Concept of a regional cabled observatory being developed for the
OOI. Land-based scientists, educators, decision-makers, and the general public
are interactively linked in real-time with sensors on or below the seafloor or in
the overlying ocean via a fiber-optic/electrical cable that provides two-way data
communication (Gb/s) and power (kW) between a shore station and an array of
seafloor nodes over a regional area. Image provided courtesy of the NEPTUNE
Project (www.neptune.washington.edu) and produced by Paul Zibton.
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INTRODUCTION
19
tom tripods; (5) winched, buoyancy-controlled or wire-crawling profilers,
and subsurface and surface moorings for vertical measurements through-
out the water column; (6) instruments for deployment within boreholes
below the seafloor; and (7) AUV docking ports and acoustic communica-
tion and navigation networks for enhancing spatial sampling (Plate 2)
(NEPTUNE Phase 1 Partners, 2000; Dickey and Glenn, 2003~. A regional
observatory would have close links to other major geoscience programs
such as Ridge 2000, MARGINS, and EarthScope (Appendix B).
Coastal Observatories
The OOI will enhance and expand existing and planned networks of
coastal observatories in the U.S., providing an important research compo-
nent of the Coastal Global Ocean Observing System (C-GODS) whose
primary mission is to serve operational oceanographic needs (see Chapter
6 for a detailed discussion of the relationship between OOI and IOOS/
GOOS and the differences between operational and research-driven ob-
servatories). The coastal component of the OOI would provide new op-
portunities for research in areas such as the variability of large-scale
coastal ocean circulation, material mass balances (e.g., nutrient and car-
bon budgets), ecosystem studies, and coastal morphology and beach ero-
sion. These observatories are particularly important because they will
facilitate basic research on episodic and extreme events in the coastal
ocean. Such research will improve predictions of harmful algal blooms or
storm-related coastal erosion, improve the accuracy of regional coastal
models and forecasts, and assess the magnitude and quality of anthropo-
genic effects on the coastal ocean. A variety of methods will be employed
to gather data in the coastal region, including moored buoys, cables, sur-
face radars, AUVs, airborne sensors, and ships (Plate 3~.
Funding of the Ocean Observatories Initiative
Funding for the OOI is being sought through the NSF's Major Re-
search Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) account. This
agency-wide capital assets account was established to provide funding
for major science and engineering infrastructure with costs that range
from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. Over five years, approxi-
mately $200 million is expected to be available through the OOI for con-
struction and installation of coastal, regional, and global ocean observato-
ries and critical shore-based facilities (e.g., data distribution and archiving
centers).
According to the NSF Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 budget request, released
in February 2003, funding for the OOI is slated to begin in FY 2006 and
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20
ENABLING OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE 2 lST CENTURY
runs through FY 2010 (Figure 1-2~. In its budget request, the NSF stated
that it expects to spend approximately $14.2 million in concept and engi-
neering development activities through FY2003 and will spend an addi-
tional $1.3 million on these activities through FY 2005. The total five-year
construction costs for the OOI are budgeted at $208 million, beginning in
FY2006. Maintenance and operation of the observatory infrastructure ac-
quired through the OOI MREFC will be supported by the NSF's Ocean
Sciences Division Research & Related Activities account. In its FY 2004
budget request, the NSF projected that these costs would ramp up to $10
million per year by FY 2011. Science programs utilizing the observatory
infrastructure are expected to be funded by the NSF and a variety of other
agencies that support basic research in the oceans (e.g., NOAA, the Office
of Naval Research [ONR], and the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration NASA.
Management and Oversight of the Ocean Observatories Initiative
The NSF has proposed a management structure for the acquisition
and implementation phase of the OOI based on the structure that has
been used successfully by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) for many
years. Following that model, management, coordination, and oversight of
the OOI will be the responsibility of the Executive Director of a central-
ized OOI Program Office, to be established through a cooperative agree-
_~ Concept/Development
80
Implementation ~ ~~ Operations & Maintenance
70
u,
60
50-
° 40-
.° 30
. _
~ 20
— 10
=
_ i
O ~ _~— I —~ (N~N~ ~ ~
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Fiscal Year
FIGURE 1-2 OOI funding profile from the FY 2004 NSF Budget Request. Figure
reprinted from the National Science Foundation's Major Research Equipment and
Facilities Construction FY 2004 Budget Request (2002~.
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INTRODUCTION
21
ment with the NSF. This Director will be accountable to an Executive
Committee, which in turn will be advised by various scientific and tech-
nical advisory committees whose membership will be comprised of in-
dividuals with expertise in ocean-observing science and engineering.
Experiments utilizing the OOI infrastructure will be selected on a peer-
review basis. The OOI Program Office also will be responsible for coordi-
nation with the U.S. IOOS as well as other international ocean-observing
programs.
COMMUNITY INPUT TO OCEAN OBSERVATORIES
INITIATIVE PLANNING
A number of recent and on-going community-wide scientific plan-
ning workshops provide the foundation for the development of the OOI
(Appendix C). The workshops most directly tasked with providing input
to the OOI are described below and include the Dynamics of Earth and
Ocean Systems (DEOS), the NorthEast Pacific Time-series Undersea Net-
worked Experiments (NEPTUNE), and the Global Eulerian Observatory
(GEO) Time-series Program as well as two recent workshops, one tasked
to focus on cabled observatories (the Scientific Cabled Observatories for
Time-series [SCOTS] Workshop) and the other tasked to address coastal
observatories (the Coastal Ocean Processes [CoOP] Observatory Science
Workshop).
Dynamics of Earth and Ocean Systems
The DEOS Steering Committee was established in 1997 under the
auspices of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education
(CORE), with funding from NSF. The DEOS mission is to provide a focus
for coordinated scientific planning for the establishment of a network of
research-based ocean observatories, to advise the NSF on technical speci-
fications and management issues, and to explore the new opportunities
for education and public outreach activities offered by ocean-observatory
systems.
DEOS arose out of the marine geosciences community's need to make
long-term observations in conjunction with major marine geosciences re-
search programs such as the ODE, Ridge InterDisciplinary Global Experi-
ment (RIDGE) and MARGINS (See Appendix B). The planning effort was
subsequently broadened to include physical oceanographers, chemists,
and biologists to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of any ocean observa-
tory program. DEOS has developed a strategy to implement a research-
based seafloor observatory system emphasizing the pursuit of two tech-
nologically distinct approaches:
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22
ENABLING OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE 2 lST CENTURY
(1) Seafloor observatories linked with submarine cables to land and the Inter-
net. These are of two types: (a) those using retired telecommunications
cables that may become available in regions of current scientific interest,
possible only on an opportunistic basis; and (b) those specifically de-
ployed as scientific cables in a few selected locations where critical Earth
and oceanographic processes are most active and proximal to land. An
example of the latter is NEPTUNE, a proposed cabled observatory cross-
ing the Cascadian margin and subduction zone and spanning the entire
fuan de Fuca tectonic plate (NEPTUNE Phase 1 Partners, 2000~. The NEP-
TUNE concept has stimulated an extensive scientific and technical plan-
ning effort that has laid the groundwork for the establishment of regional,
cabled observatories in a variety of settings (e.g., Dickey and Glenn, 2003~.
(2) Moored-buoy observatories providing power to seafloor instruments and
a satellite communication link to land and the Internet. These moorings will
require annual servicing and could be deployed either: (a) permanently,
to complete the distribution of a global observatory network, or (b) for
periods of up to a few years in locations where process-oriented problems
can be addressed without a permanent installation. Examples of the latter
might include earthquake studies in subduction zone settings, investiga-
tions of cross-shelf and along-shelf sediment transport in different coastal
settings, or studies of the interannual variability of major ocean current
systems.
DEOS has overseen a number of community scientific and engineer-
ing planning activities. In December 1999, DEOS published a working
group report on the scientific rationale for a global network of moored
buoys (DEOS Global Working Group, 1999~. The DEOS Moored Buoy Ob-
servatory Design Study, published in August 2000, examined the scientific
requirements, technical feasibility, and potential costs associated with
specific mooring designs. These designs include (1) a low-bandwidth dis-
cus buoy system that uses acoustic modems to transfer data from instru-
ments on the mooring or the seafloor to the buoy and that is linked to
shore via satellite and (2) a high-bandwidth design utilizing a large spar
or discus buoy equipped with a 64 kb/s C-band satellite system, power
generators on the buoy, and an electro-optical-mechanical cable to deliver
power and two-way data communication to a junction box on the sea-
floor.
DEOS has coordinated its planning efforts with the Time-series Sci-
ence Team of the Ocean Observing Panel for Climate (OOPC) and the
NEPTUNE group, the latter has proposed a plate-scale cabled observa-
tory in the Northeast Pacific on the fuan de Fuca plate. DEOS has also
coordinated with COOS, which is developing plans for the deployment of
a global network of moored buoy systems for multi-disciplinary science.
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FIGURE l-1 One component ofthe Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOl) is a global
network of~15-20 moored buoys linker! to shore via satellite that support measurements
of air-sea fluxes, physical, biological, and chemical water properties, ant! geophysical
observations on or below the seafloor. Figure courtesy of John Orcutt, Scripps Institution
of Oceanography.
23
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24
ENABLING OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE 2 lST CENTURY
the international COOS. The GEO program proposes to make time-series
measurements with high vertical and temporal resolution from the ocean-
atmosphere boundary layer down through the ocean mixed layer and
into the deep sea, on time scales ranging from minutes to years. Time-
series stations at select sites are seen as a key element of in situ observa-
tions of the global ocean, providing continuous data at select sites to
complement the Argo floats, remote satellite sensing of sea surface prop-
erties, and essential reference information on the relatively slowly chang-
ing properties of the deeper ocean. The GEO time-series program is an
essential component of both the international Climate Variability and
Predictability Programme (CLIVAR) and the Carbon Cycle program. GEO
will also be an important element of the GODAE, an international pro-
gram to combine in situ and satellite ocean observations with profiling
float data from the Argo program and numerical circulation models to
determine ocean dynamics and variability over time.
Scientific Cabled Observatories for Time-series Workshop
In August 2002, the NSF sponsored a workshop to define the scien-
tific problems that would require or be most effectively addressed by
cabled observatory networks (Dickey and Glenn, 2003~. Workshop par-
ticipants also reviewed the status of cabled observatory and related tech-
nologies in order to provide context for this activity. The workshop report
concluded that cabled observatories would enable new classes of scien-
tific questions to be addressed because of their ability to (1) supply power
sufficient for energy demanding sensors and systems, (2) sample at high
data rates for long periods, (3) collect a large number of virtually continu-
ous and diverse measurements over different spatial scales for unprec-
edented interdisciplinary coherence analyses, and (4) communicate the
full datasets to shore in real-time. The final report makes several recom-
mendations including:
· encouraging cabled observatory development in all three domains
(global, regional, and coastal);
· pursuing means to relocate retired telecommunication cables to fill
in gaps in a global, deep-earth imaging observatory network;
· pursuing technologies for deploying coastal scientific nodes along
cables running to deep-water observatories;
· testing and development of a variety of sensors and technologies
(e.g., sensor suites, AUV docking stations, communication systems, etc.~;
· establishing standards for instrument interfacing, data distribu-
tion, and management policies;
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INTRODUCTION
25
· accelerating development of new autonomous sensors and sys-
tems;
· assessing the availability and capability of remotely operated ve-
hicles (ROVs);
· integrating cabled observatories with other observational pro-
grams;
· modeling components;
· balancing funding expenditures between infrastructure and experi-
mental assets; and
· implementing a governance structure with clear lines of responsi-
bility, authority and accountability, and scientific involvement (Dickey
and Glenn, 2003~.
Coastal Ocean Processes and Observatory Science Workshop
The CoOP Observatory Science Workshop was convened in May 2002
to provide focus and direction for the development of the coastal observa-
tory component of the OOI. In particular, the more than 60 participants
were charged with identifying research topics that can best be studied
using coastal observing systems, current capabilities critical to those re-
search topics, and areas for coastal observatory development that would
provide the greatest benefit to coastal research.
The resulting report concluded that coastal observatories will pro-
vide fundamental new opportunities for research in a variety of areas,
including:
· integrated, synoptic, large-scale measurements of coastal ocean
processes;
· interactions between physical and biological systems;
· material mass balances such as nutrient and carbon budgets;
· coastal biogeochemistry;
· beach erosion and cross-shelf sediment transport;
· impacts of episodic and extreme events (e.g., storms, toxic algal
blooms); and
· the human impact on ecosystems (lahnke et al., 2002~.
The coastal observatory system envisioned will be comprised of three
basic observing components: (1) fixed, region-specific observatories; (2) a
widely-spaced distributed set of moorings that will span and link differ-
ent coastal regions; and (3) relocatable or "Pioneer" arrays that would be
targeted for specific, process-oriented research studies. Given the budget-
ary constraints provided at the workshop, the report recommended that
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26
ENABLING OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE 2 lST CENTURY
Pioneer research arrays constitute the principal OOI contribution to the
coastal observatory infrastructure, complementing and enhancing the
operational backbone of coastal observatory infrastructure as envisioned
by IOOS. Each Pioneer Array would be comprised of 30-40 sensor moor-
ings, and would be dedicated to a particular process-oriented study and
deployed for periods of three to five years, after which they would be
relocated to a different area.
PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY
There has been significant progress in the scientific planning and
technical development of ocean observatories since the report Illuminat-
ing the Hidden Planet (National Research Council, 2000) recommended
that the NSF move forward with the planning and implementation of a
seafloor observatory program. As a result, in the fall of 2002, the NSF
asked the NRC to conduct a follow-up study to develop an implementa-
tion plan for the establishment of a network of seafloor observatories to
be used for multidisciplinary ocean research. This network will include
both cabled seafloor nodes and moored buoys, located in both coastal and
open-ocean areas. The study will describe the strategies needed to carry
out the priority science identified in existing reports. In particular, the
NRC was charged to:
· provide advice on the design, construction, management, opera-
tion, and maintenance of the network, including the need for scientific
oversight and planning, appropriately phased implementation, data man-
agement, and education and outreach activities;
· examine the impact of ocean observatories on the University-Na-
tional Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet and current sub-
mersibles and ROV/AUV assets in the research community; and
· examine the potential role of NSF's research-based observatory
network within the IOOS and other international efforts being developed
and implemented primarily for operational purposes.
In arriving at its findings and recommendations the study committee
was to consider recent reports that outline ocean science research priori-
ties, existing observatory strategies and implementation plans, and input
from the ocean research community.
REPORT STRUCTURE
This report contains seven chapters and five appendixes. Chapter 2
outlines the lessons learned from existing ocean observatories that can
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INTRODUCTION
serve as valuable experience in
27
planning for current and future efforts.
Chapter 3 discusses the status of planning for proposed research-oriented
global, regional, and coastal observatories, based on recent reports and
workshops listed in Appendix C. Chapter 4 addresses a variety of issues
related to the implementation of a research-based ocean observatory net-
work, including program management, infrastructure, sensor needs, con-
struction and installation (including phasing scenarios), operations and
maintenance, data management, and education and outreach. Chapter 5
discusses related facility needs for an ocean observatory network such as
ships and deep-submergence assets, as well as the role of industry in
providing facilities or services for the observatory program. Chapter 6
explores the relationship of NSF's OOI to the IOOS and other national
and international ocean-observing systems. Chapter 7 summarizes the
major findings and recommendations of the report.
Appendix A contains biographical information on the Implementa-
tion of a Seafloor Observatory Network for Oceanographic Research Com-
mittee members. Appendix B contains a list of acronyms and a glossary
of technical terms used in this report. A list of workshops and workshop
reports consulted for this report is contained in Appendix C. Appendix D
contains information on the ocean-observation programs mentioned in
this report. Appendix E provides a table of sites chosen for global time-
series measurements.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
ocean research
