Sustained data for a changing ocean

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is a science-driven ocean observing network that delivers real-time data from more than 900 instruments to address critical science questions regarding the world's oceans.

Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation to encourage scientific investigation, OOI data are freely available.

Our Mission

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), funded by the National Science Foundation, advances understanding of the ocean’s complexity by operating and maintaining cutting-edge instrumentation in some of the most challenging marine environments. Through the delivery of openly accessible, long-term oceanographic data the OOI empowers researchers, decision-makers, educators, students, and the public to better understand the inner workings of the ocean. The initiative fosters innovation by supporting new technology integration, offering infrastructure for collaborative deployments, and providing tools for education and outreach anywhere in the world.

A Visual journey

A Window into the Changing Planet is a short documentary that shows the beauty and fragility of the ocean and explains how scientists, students, and policymakers are using OOI data to determine how the ocean is changing, at what speed, and what it means for the planet.

OOI Updates

Learn about the latest OOI activities and how OOI data are changing the shape of classroom instruction and advancing ocean research.

News November 3, 2025

OOI Engages with Broader Earth Science Community at NCAR/UCAR Members’ Meeting

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News October 31, 2025

Nine years of water sampling data from the Pioneer New England Shelf Array now Available through BCO-DMO

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News October 31, 2025

Empowering Ocean Research: The Evolution of the OOI Data Center at Oregon State University

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OOI In The News October 30, 2025

UW researcher launches new technology for underwater acoustics

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Science Highlights October 24, 2025

The 2019 marine heatwave at Ocean Station Papa

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Science Highlights October 24, 2025

Submarine canyon sediment transport and accumulation during sea level highstand: Interactive seasonal regimes in the head of Astoria Canyon, WA

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Science Highlights October 24, 2025

RCA Broadband Provides First Report of Tremor-Like Signals Offshore Cascadia

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News October 17, 2025

OOI Contributions Featured at 2025 Slocum Glider User’s Conference & Sentinel Launch

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News October 1, 2025

PAMPortal Highlights OOI Acoustic Data

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News September 30, 2025

Wave Energy Converter Project Moves Toward At-Sea Testing

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News September 29, 2025

OOI Community Status Update

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OOI In The News September 4, 2025

This research vessel studies an underwater volcano off Oregon’s coast

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News September 2, 2025

Miniboat Hesperia Deployed from R/V Atlantis During OOI RCA Cruise

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How to Access Data August 29, 2025

New Measurements Capture Variability at the Edge of the Gulf Stream

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News August 22, 2025

CI Compass Interns Showcase Innovative Summer Research with OOI

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OOI In The News August 22, 2025

Scientists play a waiting game with a giant volcano off the West Coast

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News August 12, 2025

2025 OOIFB Summer School on Acoustics

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News August 5, 2025

Kamchatka M8.8 Earthquake and Tsunami’s Reach Across the Pacific to NSF’s OOI Regional Cabled Array

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News August 5, 2025

Call for Applications: OOIFB Data Systems Committee

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Science Highlights August 1, 2025

SAR Imagery Detects Atmospheric Stratification

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Science Highlights August 1, 2025

Gap-Filled Dissolved Oxygen Data from the Ocean Observatories Initiative Endurance Array Inshore Moorings

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Science Highlights August 1, 2025

Unprecedented Imaging of an Upwelling Event: RCA Slope Base Shallow Profiler Mooring

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News July 28, 2025

Categorizing Science Highlights by OOI Themes

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OOI In The News July 25, 2025

Seismologists tapped into the fiber optic cable network to study offshore faults

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News June 30, 2025

OOIFB Focus Group Highlights the Power of the Imaging FlowCytobot

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Latest Expeditions

Learn about the latest OOI expeditions that keep the OOI arrays continuously gathering so you have access to real-time ocean data around the clock from your laptop.

OOI Events

Mask Group 30
Upcoming Event
Dec 03 2025 - Dec 03 2025 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

OOI Endurance Array: December Virtual Office Hours

OOI Events

Dec 15 2025 - Dec 15 2025 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

OOIFB Town Hall at AGU 2025

Jan 07 2026 - Jan 07 2026 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

OOI Endurance Array: January Virtual Office Hours

Feb 04 2026 - Feb 04 2026 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

OOI Endurance Array: February Virtual Office Hours

Feb 22 2026 - Feb 27 2026 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Ocean Sciences 2026

Mar 04 2026 - Mar 04 2026 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

OOI Endurance Array: March Virtual Office Hours

How to participate

OOI brings data to your doorstep, without ever having to go to sea.

Opportunities exist to customize OOI data by adding instruments or platforms to the existing infrastructure, proposing additional or modified sampling, participating in cruises, borrowing OOI equipment, or simply exploring real-time data to answer scientific questions. Explore the ways you can participate in the OOI.