Ocean Observatories Initiative Displayed at East Coast Community Event
(Click to enlarge) Amy Kukulya (second from left) and Al Pluddemann (right), both of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, discuss REMUS Autonomous Underwater Vehicle operations with visitors at an OOI community event at The New Bedford Whaling Museum. (Credit: Jayne Doucette, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) program sponsored a community event on Sept. 17 at the New Bedford Whaling Museum located in New Bedford, Mass., where the public viewed equipment displays, watched interactive videos and met with scientists from the program.
OOI scientists and experts from the OOI Program Office at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) conducted hands-on demonstrations and gave talks so that all ages of visitors from the coastal community could learn about the OOI. Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth also provided demonstrations on how ongoing ocean research and education will benefit from data that will result from the OOI.
Visitors to the event were particularly interested in learning about the Pioneer Array component of the OOI that will operate off their local coast. Pioneer Array will be located off the coast of southern New England along the “continental shelf-break,” the boundary where coastal waters meet the open ocean. Information gleaned from the Pioneer Array will include sea temperature, winds, wave height and currents. The Array will be comprised of 10 moorings distributed among seven sites, three Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (UAVs) and six gliders.
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