News
New Coastal Endurance Array Video
Learn about Coastal Endurance Array operations through the lens of Oregon State University videographer Kim Kenny.
[embed]https://youtu.be/5_Yb7kN0BcI?si=AYrVivjUbXwOhF5r[/embed] Read MoreShipboard Training Fellowship Announced
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Live Stream with Former OOI Engineer
Jan 23, 2024 03:00 PM
Tuesday January 23 brings the opportunity to join a live downlink from the International Space Station (ISS) featuring NASA astronaut and former WHOI and OOI engineer, Loral O’Hara. Loral will share insights, answer questions, and discuss the many fascinating connections between exploration in space and the ocean. Also on stage will be Alvin Program Manager Bruce Strickrott and WHOI marine microbiologist Julie Huber.
Read MoreCGSN Events at OSM24
The Coastal and Global Scale Nodes (CGSN) group of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is excited to be sharing recent technical and data advances with the Ocean Science community at the 2024 Ocean Sciences Meeting in New Orleans, LA. With a talk and poster, CGSN is demonstrating how we are advancing our ocean observing capabilities by (1) repurposing engineering data to expand wave observations, and (2) utilizing automated data quality control algorithms in an efficient way to identify storm events. These presentations exhibit how we are advancing our mission of being 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.
The first opportunity to see CGSN in action at OSM24 is the talkExpanding surface wave observations at the OOI Pioneer Array – New England Shelf using buoy motion sensors at 9:00 am on Monday, Feb. 19th, as part of the session “OT11A: Innovation in in Situ Sensors and Sensing Platforms to Measure the Ocean I”. The Pioneer Array – New England Shelf collected data across the New England Shelf break for nine years from November 2013 through November 2022. Of the three surface moorings deployed across the array, only the Central Surface Mooring was equipped with a wave sensor. Recognizing that data from a single location could be restrictive for some types of analysis, CGSN identified an opportunity to increase the number of surface wave observations and extend their geographic extent to the full cross-shelf span of the Pioneer Array – New England Shelf. This was accomplished by using the engineering data (acceleration, angular rate, and magnetic vectors) collected by the MicroStrain 3-axis motion sensors (MOPAK) deployed on all three surface moorings. The data collected by the MOPAKs can be used to compute the bulk and directional wave statistics at each Surface Mooring in the array.
The next opportunity to learn about advances in CGSN data quality is at the posterApplication of Automated Quality Control Flags to OOI Data: Identification of Storm Events at Coastal Pioneer Array from 4 – 6 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 20th as part of the session “OT24B: Enhancing Data Quality Control in Ocean Sciences: Challenges and Innovations”. Quality control flags for the meteorological bulk flux package of instruments (METBK) from the recently-implemented quality tests based on the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Quality Assurance / Quality Control of Real Time Oceanographic Data (QARTOD) standards may help data users identify and filter for events of interest that are hidden in OOI’s long-term records. The ability to flag interesting events is made more robust by the OOI Data Team’s efforts to complete data deep dives and add human-in-the-loop (HITL) annotations before the quality test thresholds are calculated. As a result of this process, the thresholds for barometric pressure recorded at the Pioneer Array – New England Shelf surface moorings are well-suited to identify storm events as unusually low pressure systems pass over the array.
These are two examples of ways that OOI is advancing the field of ocean observing and delivering science-ready data to the Ocean Sciences community.
Read MoreAUV Data Available in a Variety of Formats
We recently announced and demonstrated new access to autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) data through OOI’s Data Explorer. Since the initial announcement, more has been done to provide additional AUV data and improve data delivery. As part of OOI’s efforts towards Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data, not only are AUV data easier to find and access, we now are providing these data in more interoperable and reusable formats.
When you view an AUV Deployment in Data Explorer (FIG 1), data in different formats may be accessed either through the Metadata link in the left panel (FIG 1 A) or the Downloads button (FIG 1 B). The Downloads button provides access to data products, in formats including comma separated variable (CSV), that are derived from Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) files in the OOI Raw Data Repository. To access these NetCDF files, open the Metadata link, navigate into that deployment’s folder, and then into its PROFILES subfolder. Note that each deployment’s folder also contains raw data as collected by the vehicle and an EXPORTED subfolder for data products in Matlab format.
[media-caption path="https://oceanobservatories.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AUV_OOI_newsletter_Fig1_portrait.png" link="#"]Fig. 1 AUV Deployment in Data Explorer. Inset A: Metadata link to Raw Data Repository to access NetCDF format per deployment in PROFILES subfolder. Inset B: Downloads button provides data products in multiple formats. Credits: Screen grab from Data Explorer (https://dataexplorer.oceanobservatories.org/#platform/c646022c-ce04-5be8-8cd8-117da55121fa/v2?pid=14&tab=visualization) and Flaticon. Flaticon license: Free for personal and commercial use with attribution.[/media-caption]The software development effort by OOI’s Coastal & Global Scale Nodes (CGSN) Team to publish AUV data into Data Explorer involved OOI’s Cyberinfrastructure Team and Axiom Data Science. This effort builds on earlier work by OOI’s Coastal Endurance Array Team to publish glider data into the IOOS Glider DAC, and subsequently into OOI’s Data Explorer. The existing code base was integrated into a larger framework supporting the input of either glider or AUV data and supporting output formatting compatible with either or both the Glider DAC or Data Explorer.
CGSN maintains two AUV platforms, which are deployed from shipboard as part of at-sea operations in and around OOI mooring sites. The AUVs conduct ~24 hour transects, consisting of multiple profiles of the water column, before being retrieved by the ship for data collection and maintenance. CGSN AUV platforms are fitted out with a variety of instrumentation including CTD, fluorometer, and sensors for photosynthetically active radiation, dissolved oxygen, dissolved nitrate, and current measurement. When applicable, annotations are provided per deployment per instrument in OOI’s OOINet portal and M2M (Machine to Machine) interface; we plan to incorporate these annotations into NetCDF metadata and ultimately into Data Explorer.
[media-caption path="https://oceanobservatories.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_126519-2.jpg" link="#"]CGSN Team member Diana Wickman (2nd from left) explains how the AUV moves during a deployment, with CGSN Team members Collin Dobson (far left) and Stace Beaulieu (far right) and student researcher Taina Sanchez (2nd from right). Credit: D. Trew Crist © WHOI.[/media-caption]
The Data Explorer provides access to all across-shelf and along-shelf AUV deployments at the Coastal Pioneer NES Array from 2016 to 2022.Future AUV transect data at the Coastal Pioneer MAB Array will also be published through Data Explorer as the data become available. As an example for reusability of these data in newly-available formats, a student examined across-shelf patterns in salinity, chlorophyll, and nitrate as part of Northeast U.S. Shelf Long-Term Ecological Research.
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Using Sound to Create Accessible Ocean Data
Mindy Todd of WCAI Radio interviewed Amy Bower, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution physical oceanographer and senior scientist, and Jon Bellona, sound artist with Harmonic Laboratory and senior instructor of audio production at the University of Oregon about their “Accessible Ocean” project, which uses sound to portray OOI data. The team is applying a “sonification” process that maps numbers into sound to OOI data nuggets, created by the Ocean Data Labs for use in the classroom. Their goal is to inclusively design and pilot auditory displays of real ocean data that can ultimately be included in museum displays to reach broad audiences.
Listen in here.
Learn more about the Accessible Ocean project here.
[caption id="attachment_33007" align="aligncenter" width="1760"]
Data sonification. ©WHOI.[/caption]
Read More Instrumentation Updates for Planned Pioneer MAB Array
Community Input
The Ocean Observatories Initiative Facilities Board (OOIFB), sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and in partnership with KnowInnovations, facilitated two community workshops, called Innovations Labs, that resulted in the decision to relocate the Pioneer Array to the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB). The second Lab included community input on measurements that would be desirable for the relocated array. More than 40 instruments or measurement types were discussed. This was reduced to about a dozen high-priority recommendations based on consensus among the Innovations Lab sub-groups. After considering applicability to the science themes, technical readiness level, operational feasibility, and budget impacts the OOI Program was able to implement the majority of the high-priority recommendations.
Among the goals for the relocation process was to optimize the use of existing inventory, and it was possible to do so while addressing several of the instrumentation recommendations. In some cases, new procurements were required, although it should be noted that one of these procurements was needed to replace an obsolete core sensor. A summary of the instrumentation updates for the proposed Pioneer MAB relocation in these two categories is provided below.
Repurposing of Existing Core Instruments
The OOI deploys a set of core instruments across all the Arrays. Reconfiguration of the Pioneer Array elements, along with some inventory available from the decommissioned southern hemisphere arrays, meant that some instrumentation could be repurposed for the Pioneer MAB Array without requiring new purchases. Five instrumentation changes were made using this approach:
- Near-surface temperature and salinity: A Seabird SBE-37 CTD will be mounted on the “foot” of the five Coastal Profiler Mooring (CPM) buoys.
- Incident radiation: A Sea Bird OCR-507 multispectral radiometer will be mounted on the tower of the three Coastal Surface Mooring (CSM) buoys. This instrument will measure downwelling radiation per unit area.
- Surface wave spectra: A TriAxys Next Wave sensor will be added to the buoy well of all three CSMs. These sensors, which provide both non-directional and directional wave parameters, were previously deployed on only the Central CSM for the Pioneer NES.
- Turbidity: Seabird ECO triplet instruments with a secondary turbidity calibration on the optical backscatter channel will be deployed on the Near Surface Instrument Frame (NSIF) and seafloor Multi-Function Node (MFN) of the three CSMs.
- Nitrate: A glider with a Sea-Bird SUNA nitrate sensor will be deployed on the offshore “flux line”.
New Procurements
Several of the high-priority recommendations from the Innovations Labs that were deemed feasible for implementation required instrumentation that was not part of the OOI core. In this case, a formal procurement process is required (the process for replacing an obsolete sensor is similar). Four measurements required new instrument procurements: Near-surface velocity, phytoplankton imagery, particle size, and seafloor pressure. The procurement process for these instruments was initiated in November 2022.
The procurement process involves multiple steps of specification, information collection, review and approval before actual purchases are made. Among the first set of steps executed for the Pioneer MAB procurements were: consultation with a Focus Group of scientists external to the OOI, development of measurement specifications and revision of requirements as needed. The specifications were then used to create a solicitation of information from vendors through a broadly disseminated Request For Information (RFI). The RFI responses were reviewed by a selection committee composed of both internal and external subject matter experts, who evaluated instrument and vendor capabilities relative to performance specifications, technical feasibility, cost, and other factors. Additional steps included Design Reviews and Selection Reviews where the documentation of the process is presented to the Program Management Office and the NSF. After approval of vendor selection from the Review steps, orders were placed for the new equipment.
The Program is currently pursuing the procurement of four instrument classes, with 15 instances to be deployed at different locations within the Pioneer MAB Array (Table 1). Instrument locations include the buoy, Nearshore Instrument Frame (NSIF) and Multi-Function Node (MFN) on the Coastal Surface Moorings, and the buoy and buoyancy sphere of the Coastal Profiler Moorings.
Table 1: New Instrument Procurements for Pioneer MAB
| Measurement | OOI Code | Make/Model | Location | Instances |
| Near-surface velocity profile | ADCPU | Nortek Aquadopp profiler 1MHz | Coastal Profiler Mooring Sphere | 5 |
| Plankton Imaging | PLIMS | McLane Imaging Flow CytoBot | Coastal Surface Mooring Central site NSIF | 1 |
| Particle Size Analysis | PRTSZ | Sequoia LISST-200X | Coastal Surface Mooring NSIF and MFN | 6 |
| Seafloor Pressure | PRESF | RBR Quartz3Qplus | Coastal Surface Mooring MFN | 3 |
More information on the proposed relocation of the Pioneer Array to the Mid-Atlantic Bight is available here.
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Edson Showcases OOI at COP 28
Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Principal investigator Jim Edson spent a week in Dubai at COP 28 (28th meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference) as part of the contingent representing Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) at the Ocean Pavilion. While at the second Ocean Pavilion, co-hosted with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Edson participated in a panel discussion on marine heat waves and a side event on the importance of ocean observing. When not presenting, Edson met with international colleagues and helped staff the booth, answering questions and engaging with an international audience interested in the ocean’s role in addressing climate change.
“COP28 was an amazing coming together of the international community to try to figure out a way to address the many pressing climate-related problems now being experienced all over the world. It provided a platform for island nations such as Tonga, which is losing its territory in real time to sea level rise to share real life examples of climate change happening now. It was sobering and serious work, and one where finally the important role of the ocean was recognized,” he said.
“It is important that OOI be visible on the world stage so all those who can use our data to advance knowledge are aware of its existence and encouraged to use to help find answers to their own research questions,” he added.
Edson was one of five presenters at a side event held at one of COP 28’s larger auditoriums. The side event was entitled Global Ocean Observations for Equitable Knowledge-based Decision-making and included panels on ocean observing and policy. He led off the ocean observing panel with a report on OOI and how its data are advancing understanding of the changing ocean, while stressing that purposeful observation, collaboration, capacity building and stakeholder engagement are critical to address the climate challenges effectively and equitably. Edson was joined by Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Director of Marine Policy Center and Senior Advisor to the President on Ocean and Climate Policy at WHOI; Carol Anne Clayson, Director of Research Strategies and Innovation at WHOI; Lynne Talley, Distinguished Professor of Oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and Helen Findlay, Professor at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The ocean policy panel included Edward Hill, Chief Executive of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC); Paula Sierra-Correa, Co-Chair of the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) 2023-2025 and Research and Information Coordinator; and Sophie Seeyave, CEO of the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO). The side event was recorded and can be watched here.
[media-caption path="https://oceanobservatories.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Side-event.jpg" link="#"]The side event on importance of ocean observations participants (from left) Helen Findlay, Lynne Kelly, Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Carol Anne Clayson, and Jim Edson. The panel on ocean policy at the side event included Edward Hill, Paula Sierra-Correa and Sophie Seeyave. Credit: ©WHOI.[/media-caption]Edson also was a participant during a panel discussion at the Ocean Pavilion on marine heat waves: A Heated Case for Ocean Observations. Marine heatwaves are a significant ecological and socioeconomic threat, worldwide, and have been increasing in both duration and frequency, a trend that is likely to continue. This session focused on how sustained ocean observations can help understand and predict these phenomena so that mankind can prepare for, and mitigate, their effects.
Edson represented OOI on the panel and provided examples of how OOI data have been used to identify marine heat waves using presentations from Coastal and Global Scale Nodes Lead Scientist Al Plueddemann and Coastal Endurance Array Lead Scientist Ed Dever. Other panelists were Kelly Oskvig, Senior Program Officer, National Academies Sciences, Engineering, Medicine; Lynne Talley, Professor, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego; Sofia Darmaraki, Principal Investigator, Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas, Greece; and Tammy Russell, PhD Student, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Opening comments were provided by the Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse, US Senator from Rhode Island. The panel was recorded and can be watched here.
[media-caption path="https://oceanobservatories.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Marine-heat-waves.jpg" link="#"]The panel on marine heat waves included (from left)Tammy Russell, Lynne Talley, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Kelly Oskvig, and Jim Edson.Credit: ©WHOI.[/media-caption]
The importance of the ocean’s role in climate change and why it must be a key topic at COP28, and future discussions was captured in an editorial opinion piece written by Peter de Menocal, president and director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Margaret Leinen, vice chancellor for marine science and director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography/University of California San Diego, co-sponsors of the COP28 Ocean Pavilion. They cite additional ocean observations as a vital component moving forward.
https://oceanographicmagazine.com/features/the-ocean-our-greatest-ally-in-tackling-climate-change/
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Water Sample Data Available thru BCO-DMO Repository
Hydrographic sampling performed by the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) as part of each Array turn represents a significant collection of valuable physical, chemical, and biological information. In addition to the CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) casts themselves, collected hydrographic data from bottle samples include discrete oxygen, salinity, nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, silicate, phosphate, ammonium), chlorophyll, and carbon system measurements. These data are subsequently merged into a concatenated “discrete summary” file with quality assessment flags and an associated readme file detailing important notes about the data. Although the primary purpose of these data are for the evaluation and validation of deployed OOI instrumentation, the annual (Global) or biannual (Coastal) collection of data at the same locations provides a unique time series of water properties following established community standards and methods.
Currently, OOI discrete water sampling data are made available via the OOI Alfresco Web Document Server and via the OOI Data Explorer. Water sampling data served through these platforms are organized so each dataset represents a single cruise at a specific Array.
Recent efforts within the ocean observing community have focused on improving FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) Data practices from programs and projects, such as the Marine Ecological Time Series (METS-RCN)-hosted international workshop on FAIR Data Practices for Ship-based Ocean Time Series. As part of the OOI’s effort to improve FAIR data practices, OOI is working with the Biological & Chemical Oceanography Data (BCO-DMO) Management Office to make the water sampling data collected during OOI operation and management cruises available via the BCO-DMO website and database. BCO-DMO curates publicly available research-ready oceanographic data in accordance with FAIR data principles.
[media-caption path="https://oceanobservatories.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/CTD_at_sunset-640x427-1.jpg" link="#"]A CTD Rosette frame being lowered into the Atlantic Ocean from the R/V Neil Armstrong at sunset. Credit: Rebecca Travis © WHOI.[/media-caption]Re-distributing OOI data through BCO-DMO will enhance the FAIR qualities of OOI Discrete CTD and water sample data by: (1) providing a robust version control strategy that assigns DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) as these datasets are updated; (2) making the data available to a larger audience, for use in novel science research beyond the intended scope of instrument validation; (3) concatenating the cruise-by-cruise data into a single dataset that is more readily available for analysis; and (4) providing machine-to-machine interoperability by making data available through an ERDDAP server.
Starting from the BCO-DMO home page, OOI water sampling data will be available as part of the “OOI Program Page” as the project “OOI Discrete CTD and Water Sampling Cruise Data.” Within the BCO-DMO data management system, water sampling data for each array will be organized into a single, concatenated data table. For example, the OOI Argentine Basin CTD and Water Sampling Data, which spans all four Argentine Basin mooring turn cruises (AT26-30, AT39-03, NBP1510, NBP1609) from 2015-2018, are currently available here.
This distribution of OOI data is but one example of OOI’s continuing quest to make its data available in multiple ways so that the data are broadly used to advance understanding of ocean processes.
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OOIFB Town Hall at Ocean Sciences Meeting: Feb 20
~ Announcement ~
OOI Facilities Board Town Hall at the 2024 Ocean Sciences Meeting
February 20, 2024, 12:45 – 1:45pm Central Time
The Ocean Observatories Initiative Facilities Board (OOIFB) will host a Town Hall at the 2024 Ocean Sciences Meeting on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, from 12:45 pm to 1:45 pm Central Time. The community will have the opportunity to hear the latest information about the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) facility, including an update on the relocation of the Pioneer Array; learn about NSF updates; and meet the OOIFB members. The second half of the Town Hall will consist of an interactive, panel discussion- Enhancing your Science with OOI Data: A Community Discussion about Maximizing OOI Data Use. The goal of this community-focused conversation is to discuss how current OOI data access and usage can be refined and/or expanded to better meet research and education goals.
Do you have initial questions and/or input about OOI data? Please provide it here, and your comments/questions will help shape the interactive panel discussion.
The OOIFB Town Hall is aimed at researchers and other stakeholders who are now using or are considering using OOI data, researchers interested in adding instrumentation to the OOI infrastructure, and educators at all levels interested in the OOI. For the Town Hall agenda, once available, and additional details, please visit here.
- Event: Ocean Observatories Initiative Facility Board (OOIFB) Town Hall (TH23L)
- When: Tuesday, 20 February 2024: 12:45 – 13:45 CST (*please note: the time listed on the online program may say 13:45-14:45, however, if you hover over the time, the actual, local CST schedule appears)
- Where: Room: 220-222, Second Floor, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Convention Center, New x