Ocean Observatories Initiative - Project Overview

Project Overview

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), will deliver data and data products for a 25-year-plus time period within an expandable architecture that can meet emerging technical advances in ocean science.

The OOI is a networked infrastructure of science-driven sensor systems to measure the physical, chemical, geological and biological variables in the ocean and seafloor as well as the overlying atmosphere, providing a fully integrated system collecting data on coastal, regional and global scales. Building on the heritage of the ship-based expeditions of the last century, oceanography is commencing a new phase in which research scientist increasingly seek continuous interaction with the ocean environment to adaptively observe the earth-ocean-atmosphere system. Using new technologies, ocean research is now moving toward a new phase in which we can rely upon in situ, unmanned instrument arrays—or observatories—for continuous interactive access to information about the oceans. This integrative ocean network is crucial to understanding the full range of ocean processes that directly impact human society, our climate, and the incredible range of natural phenomena and hazards found in the largest subsystem of the planet. OOI will put ocean observing data in the hands of a vast user community of oceanographers, scientists and researchers, educators and the public.