News
Edson Represents OOI at POGO-26 Meeting in Malaysia
Jim Edson, Lead Principal Investigator of the NSF’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), recently attended the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO)-26 Meeting, held in Penang, Malaysia and hosted by the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS). This international gathering brought together leading ocean researchers and policymakers to discuss issues and efforts in global ocean observation, capacity development, and outreach and advocacy.
The meeting covered a wide range of topics, including the role of blue carbon ecosystems in climate mitigation, biomolecular observations and environmental DNA (eDNA), sustainable ocean observation practices, digital twin technologies, marine heatwaves, and the far-reaching impacts of El Niño and La Niña on coastal and marine environments.
As part of the event, Edson participated in a panel discussion and delivered a presentation on the impact of El Niño and La Niña in the Northeast Pacific, drawing on a decade of Endurance Array data collected by OOI. His talk highlighted the importance of long-term oceanic datasets in understanding and predicting climate-driven changes in marine environments. The presentation sparked significant discussion among attendees, emphasizing the growing need for sustained ocean observations to improve forecasting, resource management, and climate resilience strategies.
Edson also provided an update on efforts to share metadata between the OOI and OceanSITES/OceanOPS. This effort will make the OOI surface mooring data more discoverable within this global network. This effort is led by the Coastal Global Scale Node (CGSN) team, which is conducting a pilot study using several methods to share the metadata. The OceanSITE component of this effort is supported by GOOS and represents a joint effort between the NSF, NOAA, POGO and GOOS.
By participating in POGO-26, Edson reinforced OOI’s role as a key contributor to global ocean monitoring efforts and OOI’s commitment to providing high-quality, long-term ocean data that can inform scientific research and decision-making worldwide.
[caption id="attachment_36143" align="alignnone" width="640"]
Jim Edson, OOI PI at presents at POGO-26[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_36144" align="alignnone" width="640"] POGO-26 in Penang, Malaysia[/caption]
Read More Tagging and Tracking Large Fish Along the PNW Coast
A Navy-funded project is currently monitoring Pacific Salmon along the coasts of Oregon and Washington, using specialized tracking technology to better understand fish movements in near-real time. This effort, led by Dr. Taylor Chapple of Oregon State University, is part of the Marine Species Monitoring initiative, supported by the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet.
While separate from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) cruises, this project takes advantage of OOI’s Endurance Array moorings by placing Vemco VR2C tag readers on select moorings to detect and track tagged fish. The collected data provides valuable insights that could benefit commercial fishers, marine conservation efforts, and naval operations.
Tracking Salmon in Real-Time
As part of this initiative, researchers are tagging Pacific Salmon and tracking their movements using Vemco VR2C tag readers. These specialized instruments have been deployed on three OOI Endurance Array moorings: the Oregon Inshore Surface Mooring (CE01ISSM), the Washington Inshore Surface Mooring (CE06ISSM), and the Washington Shelf Surface Mooring (CE07SHSM).
When a tagged fish approaches one of these moorings, the tag reader records the encounter and transmits the data to shore within hours. This near-real-time data can be useful for commercial fishers, military operations, and other maritime stakeholders operating in the Pacific Northwest.
Expanding the Scope: Tracking Other Marine Life
Beyond salmon, the tag readers detect other marine species that have been tagged through separate research projects. These include sharks tagged from California to Alaska, sturgeon, other large fish, and even Dungeness crabs. The data collected from these detections is shared through OOI’s raw data server, contributing to a growing body of research on marine life movements in the region.
Data Access
To make the data easily available, each mooring with a tag reader generates a CSV file whenever it transmits data. These files have been combined into larger datasets, organized by mooring deployment, allowing researchers to analyze fish migration patterns and ecosystem dynamics.
By using OOI’s moorings for data collection, this project enhances our understanding of large fish movements along the Pacific Northwest coast, demonstrating the value of integrated ocean monitoring and advanced tagging technology.
To learn more and access the full dataset, visit the Tagging and Tracking of Large Fish Along the PNW Coast webpage.
Successful Underwater Surveys in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: OOI Team Deploys REMUS AUVs for Coastal Ocean Monitoring
Taking advantage of a period of calm weather, OOI staff successfully completed underwater surveys of the Pioneer Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) shelf and upper slope using OOI REMUS AUVs. With ab underway speed of over 3 knots, the AUVs provide synoptic transects of rapidly changing coastal systems – analogous to repeated “snapshots” of the ocean physical, biological, and nutrient conditions across the shelf capturing changes that occur over short time and spatial scales (meters to kilometers, and hours to one day).
The OOI Pioneer array was relocated from the New England Shelf (NES) to the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight in April 2024. AUV surveys previously conducted in the continental shelf waters offshore of New England now take place offshore of the sandy Outer Banks of North Carolina in a new and highly dynamic part of the US continental shelf. Moving the Pioneer Array to the MAB naturally resulted in some changes to operations, foremost being the use of new vessels (for this cruise, the R/V Virginia operated by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science). For efficiency, the AUVs are shipped fully assembled inside a 20 ft shipping container, along with all communications, control, and deck equipment. On arrival everything can be hoisted aboard and prepared for sea without needing re-integration that consumes valuable days on shore (Fig 1). The ships crane was modified by WHOI engineer Jared Schwartz to install the Ship of Opportunity Launch and Recovery System (SOO-LARS), a modular hydraulic winch system that OOI employs for safe and efficient deployment and recovery of these large AUVs on ships of several classes (Fig. 2).
The AUV operations at MAB derive from previous work at Pioneer NES. Once deployed, the AUVs run autonomously and sample in a series of saw-tooth profiles along a pre-programmed track, remaining in acoustic contact with the support vessel and surfacing periodically to update exact location from GPS. These plans were adapted for the MAB to compensate for the larger expanse of shelf traversed and the large changes in water column density between the shallow (25 m) inner shelf and deeper > 500 m upper slope. This is further complicated by density variations along the shelf and seasonally under the triple-influence of estuarine outflows, continental shelf processes, and the Gulf Stream just a few miles beyond the offshore extent of the sampling region (Fig 3). The MAB is also busy with a range of commercial, fishing, and military vessel traffic, offshore fixed installations, and ocean life in every shape and size imaginable. All factors that must be considered in advance and avoided underway by the invisible submerged AUVs. As was true for Pioneer NES, the support and knowledge of local vessel operators is vital to supporting at-sea operations and for meeting OOI’s science mission objectives.
The AUV data were offloaded from the vehicles after recovery. The data are discoverable in the OOI Data Explorer, and also available on the OOI raw data repository, following data format conversion and sensor post-calibration.
In addition to completing two consecutive surveys, each about 24 hours in length, the at-sea team of Andy Robinson, Collin Dobson, and Natalia Moore completed the scheduled recovery of the Offshore Mesoscale glider cp_379 (Fig. 4). A bonus accomplishment of this cruise was cross-training OOI staff new to AUV operations (Moore), made easier by the prevailing mild weather, experienced AUV techs, and the capable ship’s crew.
[gallery columns="2" size="large" ids="35942,35943,35944,35945"]Photo credits: Collin Dobson
Read MoreCommunity Datasets: Advancing Research and Collaboration through OOI Data
The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is committed to providing open-access oceanographic data to advance research and collaboration. The revamped Community Datasets page now compiles value-added datasets contributed by researchers, showcasing the diverse applications of OOI data in ocean science.
This page serves as a resource for researchers, educators, and data scientists, providing easy access to datasets shaped by the broader scientific community. By highlighting these datasets, OOI aims to foster collaboration and encourage new research opportunities.
The Community Datasets page features datasets derived from OOI data available at Oceanobservatories.org. The value-added datasets are created by the user community and hosted on platforms like NOAA’s NCEI, the Woods Hole Open Access Server, and Zenodo. These data sets, and associated metadata, can be accessed via Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs).
Datasets currently highlighted on the OOI Community Datasets webpage include:
- Camargo, C. M. L. (2024). Shelfbreak jet transport from OOI Pioneer.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10814048 - Le Bras, Isabela (2023). Water temperature and salinity profiles from the OOI Global Irminger Sea Array Apex profiler mooring (2014-2020). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
DOI: 25921/wzvr-fk49 - Lobert, Lukas, Gawarkiewicz, Glen G., Plueddemann, Albert J. (2023). Gridded hydrography and bulk air-sea interactions observed by the OOI Coastal Pioneer New England Shelf Mooring Array (2015-2022). Woods Hole Open Access Server.
DOI: 26025/1912/66379 - McRaven, L. (2021). Near-real-time CTD data from Irminger 8 cruise (August 2021). Ocean Observatories Initiative.
Retrieved from: https://oceanobservatories.org/2021/09/near-real-time-ctd-data-from-irminger-8-cruise-august-2021/ - McRaven, Leah (2022). Water temperature, salinity, and others taken by CTD and Niskin bottles from the research vessel Neil Armstrong (August 2021). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
DOI: 25921/p8qe-me08 - Risien, Craig, Cervantes, Brandy, Fewings, Melanie, Barth, John, Kosro, P. Michael (2023). A Stitch in Time: Combining More than Two Decades of Mooring Data from the Central Oregon Shelf (v1.0).
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7582475 - Toole, John M., Musgrave, Ruth C., Fine, Elizabeth C., Steinberg, Jacob M., Krishfield, Richard A. (2023). Near-full-depth profile observations of water properties and currents at four deep-ocean sites. Woods Hole Open Access Server.
DOI: 26025/1912/66426 - Wilcock, William, Tolstoy, Maya, Waldhauser, Felix (2017). Catalogs of earthquakes recorded on Axial Seamount (January–November 2015). Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).
DOI: 1594/IEDA/323843
A key feature of this initiative is its community-driven approach. Researchers from diverse institutions have collaborated to compile and share these datasets, ensuring their broader impact. In addition to accessing datasets, researchers are encouraged to contribute their own derived datasets. Those interested in sharing their work can reach out to the OOI HelpDesk for support.
The Community Datasets page is a valuable resource for researchers, promoting data accessibility, collaboration, and scientific innovation. By sharing and expanding the use of OOI data, the community continues to drive groundbreaking discoveries in ocean science.
Explore the Community Datasets Page → https://oceanobservatories.org/community-data-tools/community-datasets/
Read MoreExploring Air-Sea Interactions at the AMS Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the largest national gathering for atmospheric scientists, drawing experts from various disciplines, including oceanography. This event serves as a key venue for advancing research and fostering collaborations across scientific communities.
AMS plays a critical role in disseminating oceanographic research through several journals, including the Bulletin of the AMS, Journal of Climate, Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, and Journal of Physical Oceanography. These publications provide valuable platforms for cutting-edge studies in meteorology and oceanography.
A long-standing proponent of air-sea interaction research, the AMS supports this field through its dedicated Committee on Air-Sea Interaction. This committee organizes biennial research conferences at the annual meeting and frequently collaborates with other AMS committees to host joint sessions at these locations. Most recently, the Air-Sea Interaction Committee has expanded its collaborative efforts beyond AMS, partnering with the American Geophysical Union (AGU) to organize sessions at the Ocean Sciences Meeting.
At this year’s AMS Annual Meeting, the 24th Conference on Air-Sea Interaction was held in New Orleans, providing a platform for researchers to present their latest findings. James Edson, Principal Investigator of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), and Ben Barr, Postdoctoral Investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), along with their colleagues gave two presentations investigating air-sea interaction in high winds and extreme environments using OOI data. Their talks included:
- 10.2 Edson and Barr: Improvements to the COARE Bulk Flux Algorithm under Extreme Wind and Wave Conditions using NSF OOI Data
- 10.5 Barr, Seo, Edson, Sauvage, and Clayson: Understanding and Constraining Interfacial and Sea Spray Heat Fluxes in High Winds Using Direct Covariance Heat Flux Observations
These presentations were met with significant enthusiasm, sparking in-depth discussions that extended well into the lunch break. The engagement and interest generated by these talks reflect the growing importance of high-quality observational data in advancing our understanding of air-sea interactions, particularly under extreme environmental conditions.
As research on air-sea interactions advances, events like the AMS Annual Meeting play a crucial role in driving progress in marine meteorology. By leveraging innovative observational tools and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, scientists are set to make significant strides in understanding the complex dynamics at the interface of the ocean and atmosphere.
Read More2025 OOIFB Summer School on Acoustics: Applications Now Open
The Ocean Observatories Initiative Facility Board (OOIFB), funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), is hosting the 2025 Summer School on Acoustics from July 14–18, 2025, at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.
This five-day, in-person program will provide targeted lectures, hands-on tutorials, and practical exercises using real-world examples and NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) data products. Participants will focus on accessing, analyzing, and interpreting acoustic data alongside complementary oceanographic datasets available through OOI.
By the end of the program, participants will have a deeper understanding of underwater sound propagation, passive and active acoustic instruments (e.g., hydrophones and echosounders) deployed through OOI, and the available datasets. They will also learn how to navigate OOI data portals, apply basic acoustic data processing methods, and explore how these data can support scientific research. The program also offers opportunities to connect with a professional network of researchers using OOI data.
There are no registration fees, and travel support is available for participants from U.S. institutions. For details on program requirements, eligibility, a draft agenda, and the application process, visit the OOIFB Summer School on Acoustics webpage.
Please share this opportunity with your colleagues and networks. For questions, contact Holly Morin (holly@ooifb.org).
Read MoreIrminger Sea Convection and the roles of Atmospheric Forcing and Stratification
The high-latitude North Atlantic, is a region where seasonal convection results in deep water formation, a process critical to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Surface cooling by cold air and strong winds in the Irminger Sea transforms the surface water and drives deep convection in winter. Prior studies have shown that AMOC strength is linked to the extent of water mass transformation in the Irminger Sea and Iceland Basin. A study by de Jong et al. (2025) used a 19-year time series with weekly resolution compiled from moorings and Argo floats to evaluate the year-to-year variability of deep convection and its relationship to atmospheric forcing versus water column stratification.
A time series of surface forcing for the 19-year analysis period (2002-2020) was obtained from the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) ERA-5 global atmospheric reanalysis. Hydrographic data from the near-surface to 2500 m was collected from three sources: the NIOZ Long-term Ocean Circulation Observations (LOCO) mooring, the GEOMAR Central Irminger Sea (CIS) mooring, and the OOI Hybrid Profiler Mooring (HYPM). Surface temperature and salinity from Argo, ERA-5, and the OOI surface mooring, along with nearby Argo profiles, were used to provide data at the surface and in the upper water column. The records were merged with 25 m vertical resolution and one week time resolution. Mixed layer depth was determined from the hydrographic profiles using a published algorithm with further quality control using multiple criteria.
The time series of potential vorticity (PV) and mixed layer depth (MLD; Fig. 1d), highlights the significant interannual variability. Some years (e.g. 2002-2003) show relatively shallow winter MLD and little evidence of sustained low PV (which would indicate deep mixing) between years. Other years (e.g. 2015-2016) show strong convection, deep MLD, and sustained low PV. While the change in stratification due to warming and freshening related to climate change is expected to weaken convection future convection, analysis showed that in this record there was a strong correlation between the annual maximum MLD and the total accumulated winter heat loss. The correlation between maximum summer stratification and maximum MLD the following winter was not significant. Thus, among other findings, the authors concluded that during the period analyzed atmospheric forcing is three times more important than pre-existing stratification in determining the maximum winter mixed layer depth in the Irminger Sea.
The processed and edited temperature and salinity profiles from the OOI Irminger Sea HYPM from September 2014 to May 2020 are described by Le Bas (2023). The processed data are publicly available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and referenced with a DOI. The NCEI record includes information about data quality control, validation and drift correction, gridding method, and algorithms for computation of data products.
This project shows the potential for long-duration OOI moored profiler records to be combined with other data sources to provide unique insights into interannual variability of mixing and deep convection in the Irminger Sea. It is notable that the authors undertook a significant data quality control effort and took advantage of the OOI shipboard validation CTD casts (along with non-OOI CTD data sources) in their processing.
[caption id="attachment_35691" align="alignnone" width="624"] Figure 29: Time series of the combined LOCO, CIS, OOI and Argo record from 2002-2020. a) temperature, b) salinity, c) potential density and d) potential vorticity with mixed layer depth overlaid (black dots). From de Jong et al., 2025.[/caption]
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References:
De Jong, M.F, K.E Fogaren, L. LeBras, L. McRaven and H. Palevsky, (2025). Atmospheric forcing dominates the interannual variability of convection strength in the Irminger Sea. J. Geophys. Res., 130, e2023JC020799. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JC020799.
Le Bras, I. (2023). Water temperature and salinity profiles from the Ocean Observatories Initiative Global Irminger Sea Array Apex profiler mooring from September 2014 to May 2020 (NCEI Accession 0285241). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/wzvr-fk49.
Read MoreBloom Compression Alongside Marine Heatwaves Contemporary with the Oregon Upwelling Season
Black et al. (2024) examine the impacts of marine heatwave (MHW) events on upwelling-driven blooms off the Oregon coast. They combine OOI data from Endurance moorings off Oregon with satellite data and indices of upwelling and MHW presence to determine how MHW’s impact these blooms. Their work focuses on MHWs and coincident events that occurred off Oregon during the summers of 2015–2023. They found the presence of MHW’s limited the offshore extent of phytoplankton blooms. In late summer 2015 and 2019, both documented MHW years, coastal phytoplankton biomass extended on average 6 and 9 km offshore of the shelf break along the Newport Hydrographic Line, respectively. During years not influenced by anomalous warming, coastal biomass extended over 34 km offshore of the shelf break. Reduced biomass also occurs with reduced upwelling transport and nutrient flux during these anomalous warm periods. However, the enhanced front associated with a MHW aids in the compression of phytoplankton closer to shore. Over shorter events, heatwaves propagating far inshore also coincide with reduced chlorophyll a and sea-surface density at select cross-shelf locations, further supporting a physical displacement mechanism. Paired with the physiological impacts on communities, heatwave-reinforced physical confinement of blooms over the inner-shelf may have a measurable effect on the gravitational flux and alongshore transport of particulate organic carbon. Black is a PhD student at Oregon State University and notes that all data used in the paper, including of course OOI data, are open source. They provide details regarding data access methods and intermediate processing steps along with code modules to reproduce the work at https://github.com/IanTBlack/oregon-shelf-mhw.
Black et al. focus much of their analysis on the Oregon Offshore mooring, CE04 (Fig. x). Here they show individual warm events aligned with periods where Chl a was much lower than the time-series average and the climatological mean. The analysis period for 2019 had the lowest average Chl a across all years. From the CE04-derived Chl a climatology, they observed an occurrence of a regular spring bloom (April) and a summer bloom (September). The peak of the summer bloom appears contemporary with the warmest time of year at CE04, and years 2019 and 2023 were the only years that experienced MHWs during this same period. The summer blooms of 2019 and 2023 at CE04 were also noticeably suppressed and difficult to differentiate from surrounding Chl a values.
[caption id="attachment_35688" align="alignnone" width="624"] Figure 28: Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) CE04, Coastal Upwelling Transport Index (CUTI), and Biologically Effective Upwelling Transport Index (BEUTI) time series between 2015 and 2023. Daily mean values are in light blue. Red vertical spans indicate potential marine heatwave (MHW) events and gray vertical spans indicate the time between the spring and fall transition dates. A centered 11-d rolling mean was applied to smooth the data (black).[/caption]
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Reference:
I Black, IT, Kavanaugh, MT, Reimers, CE. “Bloom compression alongside marine heatwaves contemporary with the Oregon upwelling season.” Limnology and Oceanography, no. (2024): First published: 16 December 2024, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.12757
Read MoreBringing Computer VISION into the Classroom Utilizing RCA Imagery and the OOI Jupyter Hub
There is a rapidly growing demand in Earth system science for workforce expertise in machine learning. To increase marine science students understanding of, and ability to use, artificial intelligence tools, Dr. Katie Bigham and School of Oceanography undergraduate student Atticus Carter are teaching an undergraduate class focused on applying “computer vision” (processing imagery with the computer) to marine science problems. The Computer Vision Across Marine Sciences prototype course for UW undergraduates in the Ocean Technology program includes the development of a Jupyter Binder (a notebook collecting multiple Jupyter Notebooks). Currently, an enormous amount of time is required to manually process imagery collected in marine environments, resulting in a major bottleneck for all research utilizing marine imagery. In this course, students gain an understanding of computer vision capabilities, model training and evaluation, and research applications. The course utilizes real-world datasets from the OOI Regional Cabled Array (RCA), including imagery from remotely operated vehicles utilized on RCA cruises and fixed camera imagery on the array, and from other systems, exposing students to diverse marine habitats. For their final projects, students will develop bespoke models utilizing datasets of their choosing, including RCA imagery. Students can employ the OOI Jupyter Hub for additional computational power, facilitating easy access to imagery and necessary resources. In collaboration with a faculty member in the UW School of Education quantitative data are collected on student learning and feedback for course improvement. The open-access course text is actively under development and is accessible at OceanCV.org. The team aims to improve the materials based on student feedback. Carter will present findings and learnings from the first version of the class at ASLO 2025 Aquatic Sciences Meeting in the Building Data Literacy Skills in the Next Generation of Aquatic Scientists session hosted by OOI Data Labs.
[caption id="attachment_35685" align="alignnone" width="640"] Figure 27: Introductory page for Computer Vision Across Marine Sciences Jupyter Binder and example of artificial intelligence-based predictions of animals in imagery collected by the Regional Cabled Array digital still camera at Southern Hydrate Ridge. This work is supported by an NSF OCE Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to Dr. K. Bigham, University of Washington.[/caption]
Read More Exploring the Coastal Surface Piercing Profiler (CSPP): Capabilities, Challenges & Impact
The Coastal Surface Piercing Profiler (CSPP) is an important component of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), uniquely designed to collect high-resolution data from the ocean’s surface to the seafloor over the Oregon Shelf. Importantly, as the name implies, the CSPP does not stop at the ocean surface but some of its sensors actually pierces the interface into the near surface atmosphere. Operating in a highly dynamic environment, the CSPP provides valuable datasets that enhance our understanding of ocean-atmosphere interactions, nearshore processes, and biological activity in the upper water column.
In this interview, Jon Fram, co-PI and Program Manager for the Endurance Array (EA), explores the technical capabilities of the CSPP, the difficulties of operating in dynamic coastal conditions, and the significance of its unique datasets. With its ability to profile up through the air-sea interface and its collection of advanced sensors, the CSPP bridges critical gaps in ocean observation. Jon discusses the practical realities of deploying and maintaining the profiler, including a notable recovery effort that illustrates the complexity of coastal oceanographic work.
How does the CSPP operate in such a dynamic environment, and what are some of the challenges associated with deploying and maintaining it?
In between profiles, CSPPs park near the seafloor where currents from waves and tides are relatively calm. As CSPPs winch themselves up to the air-sea interface, they measure winchline tension and they alter their profiling speed to keep the tension constant. This behavior enables CSPPs to surface when waves are up to 3 meters high without the winchline over-wrapping or experiencing snap loads. We monitor conditions so CSPPs don’t profile when seas are too rough. Most of a CSPP’s battery energy goes to operating its winch, so CSPPs need to be recovered/redeployed every 2-3 months and they are limited to 2-4 profiler per day during each deployment (when conditions are sufficiently calm).
What types of sensors and instruments are on the profiler, and what specific data do they collect?
CSPPs average 25 cm/s as they profile upwards. Their CTDs sample at 16 Hz, which corresponds to a measurement every 1.5 cm. Their ~1 Hz instruments include dissolved oxygen (DOSTA), point velocity (VELPT), nitrate (NUTNR), spectral irradiance (SPKIR), photosynthetically active radiation (PARAD), and chlorophyll-a—optical backscatter—CDOM (FLORT). The CSPP is a particularly useful platform for the optical attenuation and absorption instrument (OPTAA), which can be used to characterize phytoplankton communities at the top of the water column.
What are the unique capabilities of the CSPP, and how do its datasets differ from those collected by other platforms within the OOI?
The CSPP is OOI’s only profiler that samples up to the air-sea interface.
How has the profiler contributed to understanding the relationship between atmospheric and oceanic processes in the area?
So far, OOI’s CSPPs have been used to fill in time gaps in mooring data and to fill in spatial gaps between mooring near-surface (NSIF) and benthic (MFN) data. Inshore and shelf CSPP data have been used together to calculate cross-shore exchange of nitrate, which is increased each spring due to coastal upwelling. CSPPs measure at the air-sea surface, so their measurements could be used to validate satellite data.
How could the near-time data transmission from the profiler benefit research efforts or inform stakeholders such as fisheries, conservation groups, or local communities?
Datasets are available within a week after each deployment. They can telemeter all data when they are on the surface at the top of each profile, however, we transfer only data needed for operational decisions to reduce the chance of winchline fouling.
Can you share an anecdote about a particularly challenging or rewarding moment during the deployment, maintenance, or operation of the profiler?
One challenging moment occurred 06 April 2019. During a storm, rough seas (~7m significant wave height, >1 m/s currents) dislodged our 25m depth Oregon Inshore CSPP and deposited it 75 nm north on a pocket beach in Ecola State Park. We climbed down to it, pulled it above the high tide line, disassembled it, and packed it out piece-by-piece up a steep trail in pouring rain. The Endurance Array inshore CSPP and adjacent surface mooring measure the northward fresh/turbid surface current that hugs the Pacific Northwest coast during winter, and which strengthens during storms. This is one example of how the CSPP data can be used to improve our wind, wave and current forecast models.
[caption id="attachment_35671" align="alignnone" width="640"]
Deployment of CSPP. (c) Jon Fram[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_35670" align="alignnone" width="640"] Beach recovery effort. Pictured: Ian Black, OSU. (c): Jon Fram[/caption]
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