System Architecture and Operational Issues of Ocean Observatories as Exemplified by the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory, A Cabled Platform for Long-Term Studies

摘要

During the 20th century the study of the oceans has moved from episodic sampling of organisms and the physical characteristics of the water to an attempt to elucidate the dynamic processes occurring not just within the water column but extending into both the benthic and atmospheric boundary layers Attempts to extrapolate from these point observations, to understand and model these processes have demonstrated the need for continuous high resolution synoptic sampling from long-term, stable platforms The Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO), installed on the exposed south coast of the island of Martha's Vineyard, is one approach to meeting this need. It was designed to provide scientists with an expandable network of stable and varied instrument platforms for the long-term study of dynamic processes occurring in the ocean and at the ocean-atmosphere interface.