Global OOI

The global component of the OOI design includes a network of buoys. These buoys will support sensors for measurement of air-sea fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum; physical, biological and chemical properties throughout the water column, and geophysical observations made on the sea-floor. Such moorings, designed to make interdisciplinary at high interest yet distant sites, are a unique aspect of the global component of the OOI. A network of globally deployed, fixed ocean observatories is designed to contribute to studies of the oceans role in and response to climate change.

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(Click to enlarge) Illustration by the University of Washington

Regional OOI

The focus of regional scaled ocean observatories is to provide long term and adaptive access to measurements of geological and oceanographic phenomena on regional scales. For example, a regional cabled observatory has been proposed to observe a single tectonic plate, facilitating study of all of the major types of plate boundaries - from spreading centers to transform faults and subduction zones - together with the hydrothermal regimes that they encompass. Such an observatory system would use electro-optical cable technology to distribute high levels of power and two-way communication bandwidth, allowing for unprecedented real-time interactive and adaptive investigation of a range of physical, chemical, geological and biological processes occurring over space and time scales that are not possible by conventional shipboard operations.

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Coastal OOI

The coastal OOI will enhance and expand upon existing coastal observing assets, providing unique and extended research approaches to many complex problems in the coastal environment. These include the extreme variability of large and meso-scale coastal ocean circulation, material mass balance (e.g., nutrient and carbon fluxes across the continental shelves between land and ocean), ecosystem stability and change, coastal morphology, beach erosion and other anthropogenic dimensions of land-sea interaction. Coastal observatories are especially needed to enable basic research on sustained time scales, allowing observation of episodic and extreme events. A variety of technologies and observational assets will be employed to gather data in the coastal region including moored buoys, cables, surface radars, AUVs, airborne and satellite sensors together with conventional ships.

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Cyberinfrastructure OOI

The Cyberinfrastructure component of the OOI provides the common operating infrastructure connecting and coordinating the operations of the three OOI observatories with the scientific and educational pursuits of the oceanographic research communities. The goal is to facilitate direct and immediate interaction with the ocean. The CI must address the issues of observatory resource management, mission command and control, data management and distribution and the meaningful collaboration across a wide range of disciplines. The long term objective is to couple the observation, modeling and mission control systems. This connected system will provide scientists the capability to observe and respond to conditions in the ocean.

• More information: Cyberinfrastructure Conceptual Architecture Design