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The OOI will consist of an integrated observatory network that will provide the oceanographic research and education communities with continuous, interactive access to the ocean. Credit: National Science Foundation.
Astronomers have been building observatories on mountaintops for decades. Lifting their telescopes above most of Earth’s murky atmosphere provides a clearer view of the stars.
Marine scientists are starting to build observatories to see through the murkiness as well — packages of instruments to probe the unseen depths of the oceans. A network of them is taking shape now, with many of the instruments coming online in the next couple of years.
The Ocean Observatories Initiative is building six stations. Their instruments will sample the entire water column, from the surface to the bottom. And they’ll have small probes, known as gliders, to roam across hundreds of miles.
Until recently, about the only way to study the oceans was from a ship. But such an expedition provides only a snapshot of conditions at a given time and place. The new observatories, which will roughly flank the Americas, will take advantage of advances in computers, communications, and other technologies to monitor the oceans for years at a time.
Each observatory will monitor everything from temperature and salinity to water currents, oxygen abundances, and much more. The readings will be transmitted to shore through cables or satellites.
The observations will help scientists understand how Earth’s climate is changing, and how the changes affect the oceans. They’ll also learn more about severe weather, life in the oceans, and even what’s happening beneath the sea floor — helping to clear up the murky depths.
