Update on NSF OOI: Endurance Array Redeployments Planned
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has stopped descoping of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Major Facility. NSF will not proceed with further removal or descoping of equipment from the remaining arrays and will continue operations including planned maintenance. While the Endurance Array has been removed from the water, we are developing plans to redeploy the equipment after servicing.
See the NSF Update on Ocean Observatories Initiative for more information.
The National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) operates a network of science-driven sensor systems to measure the physical, chemical, geological, and biological variables in the ocean and seafloor. Greater knowledge of these variables is vital for improved detection and forecasting of environmental changes and their effects on biodiversity, coastal ecosystems, and climate.
OOI is composed of several arrays linked by a common cyberinfrastructure. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is the OOI lead organization. Oregon State University and the University of Washington are partners. OOI construction began in September 2009 and operations began in 2015. OOI operations and maintenance planning is based on a 25–30 year life span.
Oregon State OOI responsibilities
Oregon State University operates the OOI Coastal Endurance Array off Oregon and Washington and the OOI cyberinfrastructure.
Coastal Endurance Array
The Coastal Endurance Array is made up of two cross-shelf moored array lines (Figure 1). The Oregon Line, off the coast of Newport, Oregon, is located near 44° 30’N, from 125°W to the coast. The Washington Line, off Grays Harbor Washington, is located at 47°N, from 125°W to the coast. Underwater gliders collect data around, along, and between these lines. The Oregon Offshore and Oregon Shelf Endurance Array sites include platforms on the OOI Regional Cabled Array.
The Coastal Endurance Array is designed to observe cross-shelf and along-shelf variability in the region. Each line contains three sites spanning the slope (~500-600 m), shelf (~80-90 m) and inner-shelf (~25-30 m). The three sites across the shelf and slope are associated with characteristic physical, geological, and biological processes. All six sites contain fixed sensors at the top and bottom of the water column. Several sites are paired with an adjacent water column profiler.
Bob Collier was the principal investigator (PI) of the Endurance Array from 2009 – 2013 and Edward Dever has been PI since then. Jonathan Fram is the Endurance Array Project Manager.
OSU OOI Personnel
- Edward Dever, Endurance PI, Project Scientist
- Jonathan Fram, Endurance co-PI, Project Manager
- Jack Barth, Cyberinfrastructure PI
- Craig Risien, Cyberinfrastructure Project Manager
- Jim Housell, Cyberinfrastructure IT Architect
- Casey Dinsmore, Development and Operations Engineer
- Raelynn Heinitz, Faculty Research Assistant
- Pei Kupperman, Financial Analyst
- Stuart Pearce, Senior Faculty Research Assistant II
- Alex Wick, Senior Faculty Research Assistant II
- Chris Wingard, Senior Faculty Research Assistant II
- Other technicians who work primarily for other OSU research groups sometimes have contributed part-time to OSU-OOI, especially during large cruises.
Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI)
Implementation Organizations
Coastal and Global Scale Nodes
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
- OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS)
Cabled Array
CyberInfrastructure
Management
Funding
Cyberinfrastructure Data Center
Oregon State University (OSU) operates the cyberinfrastructure data center (CI Data Center) that makes data transmission for OOI possible.
The primary computing servers, data storage and backup operated OSU are the front-facing cyberinfrastructure portal access point. This network is then mirrored to the west coast over a high-bandwidth Internet2 network link in partnership with Pacific Northwest Gigapop. The data stores at OSU and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution continuously synchronize with the data repositories located at the east and west coast cyberinfrastructure sites.
OSU was awarded the OOI CI Data Center in September, 2020 and has operated it since July 2021. Anthony Koppers was the Data Center PI from 2020 – 2024. Jack Barth is the current Data Center PI. Craig Risien is the Data Center Project Manager.
Other OOI Arrays include:
Regional Cabled Array
(University of Washington)
The first U.S. ocean observatory to span a tectonic plate, the Regional Cabled Array (RCA) provides a constant stream of real time data from the seafloor and through the water column across the Juan de Fuca plate. A network of 900 kilometers of electro-optical cables supplies unprecedented power (10 kilovolts, 8 kilowatt), bandwidth (10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), and two-way communication to scientific sensors on the seafloor and throughout the water column.
More than 140 instruments are connected to the RCA, which has significant expansion capabilities. The data gathered are sent through a variety of telecommunications sub-sea cables. The cables provide a two-way communication system between RCA’s seven nodes and the shore station in Pacific City, Oregon.
The Cabled Endurance Array portion of the Regional Cabled Array connects at the Oregon Shelf and Offshore sites (Figure 1).
The Coastal Pioneer Array
(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The Coastal Pioneer Array is designed as a relocatable array for focused process studies. The initial location of the Pioneer Array was off the New England Shelf from 2015-2022. It was reconfigured and relocated to the Mid Atlantic Bight in 2024.
Pioneer New England Shelf
The Coastal Pioneer New England Shelf (NES) Array was located off the coast of New England, about 75 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The seven-site mooring array was supplemented by underwater gliders and autonomous underwater vehicles.
The Pioneer NES Array was suspended in November 2022 in preparation for its move to the Mid-Atlantic Bight.
Pioneer Mid-Atlantic Bight
The Pioneer Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) Array is located off Nags Head, North Carolina. It extends from about 25 km offshore across the continental shelf. The array includes ten moorings at seven sites. Three of the seven sites contain both a surface mooring and a profiler mooring. This moored array is supplemented by four underwater gliders and two AUVs. The Pioneer MAB Array began full operations in spring 2024.
Global Arrays
(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The two active Global Arrays are Station Papa in the Gulf of Alaska and Irminger Sea south of Greenland. Historical data exists for the Southern Ocean and Argentine Basin Arrays.
Station Papa
The Global Station Papa Array is located in the Gulf of Alaska next to the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) Surface Buoy. Station Papa provides an offshore component to a broader suite of OOI and other observatory sites in the Northeast Pacific including the Coastal Endurance Array.
The OOI Station Papa Array consists of three moorings deployed within a triangle. The moorings include one mooring with profilers operating over the water column and two moorings with fixed subsurface sensors. These moorings are supplemented by underwater gliders.
Irminger Sea
The Global Irminger Sea Array in the North Atlantic is located in one of the few places on Earth with deep-water formation that feeds the large-scale thermohaline circulation.
The Global Irminger Sea Array consists of four moorings deployed within a triangle. One site includes a surface mooring and a profiler mooring operating over the water column. The other two sites each have a mooring with fixed subsurface sensors. These moorings are supplemented by underwater gliders.
Southern Ocean
The Global Southern Ocean Array, southwest of Chile was in place from February 2015-January 2020, when it was removed. Data from this array remain available for research at OOI’s data portal.
The Global Southern Ocean Array consisted of four moorings deployed within a triangle. One site included a surface mooring and a profiler mooring operating over the water column. The other two sites each had a mooring with fixed subsurface sensors. These moorings were supplemented by underwater gliders.
Argentine Basin
The Global Argentine Basin Array in the South Atlantic was in place from March 2015 – January 2018, when it was removed. Data from this array remain available for research at OOI’s data portal.
The Global Argentine Basin Array consisted of four moorings deployed within a triangle. One site included a surface mooring and a profiler mooring operating over the water column. The other two sites each had a mooring with fixed subsurface sensors. These moorings were supplemented by underwater gliders.