U.S. Ocean Observatories System is Fully Operational

摘要

The U.S. Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) network of ocean sensor systems is now fully operational and sending a broad, continuous stream of data back to shore. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a planned life of 25 years, the OOI provides online access to a growing trove of multidiscipli-nary oceanographic data, freely available to researchers, educators, and the public worldwide. The OOI represents the world's largest investment in ocean science, consisting of 83 platforms, including anchored surface and profiler moorings, cabled moorings and seafloor sensors, remotely controlled ocean gliders, and autonomous underwater vehicles spread across seven arrays in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In all, more than 830 instruments make physical, chemical, and biological measurements from above the water's surface down thousands of feet to the ocean floor, operating around the clock, 365 days a year. These data are served up free-of-charge via the OOI data portal, many in near-real time.