Ocean Observatories Initiative Successfully Deploys Moorings in East Coast At Sea Test
(Click to enlarge image) The Ocean Observatories Initiative team loads the Global Hybrid Profiler on Research Vessel Oceanus for the At Sea Test off the New England Coast. (Credit: Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) program this weekend successfully deployed moorings off the New England Coast, marking the first comprehensive test of an OOI system on the East Coast.
The OOI team on the Research Vessel Oceanus on Sept. 22 deployed three test moorings at two sites on the continental slope south of Cape Cod. That shelf break is at 39o 55.0’ N, 70o 47.5’ W. At that location, two moorings — a surface mooring and a moored profiler — were placed at approximately 1710 feet (520 meters) water depth. A third mooring was placed at a deep ocean location at 39o 30.0’ N, 70o 47.5’ W. That mooring was placed at 8136 feet (2480 m). Two of the test moorings are for the Pioneer Array component of the OOI and another test mooring is designed to be used in the deep ocean global array part of the program.
The OOI team at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reported they are receiving test data from the deployed test equipment. The information gleaned from the Pioneer Array will include sea temperature, winds, wave height and currents. The Pioneer Array will contain: 10 moorings distributed among seven sites; three Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and six gliders.
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