Dawn in the new millennium of oceanography: The Ocean Observatories Initiative

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1 Dawn in the new millennium of oceanography: The Ocean Observatories Initiative OOI will provide scientists an enduring in situ infrastructure to study episodic events in extreme ocean environments.

2 Oceans are complex and central to the Earth system

3 Oceans are complex and central to the Earth system

4 Oceans ecosystems are still being discovered Highest Temperature Organism on Earth from Finn

5 1979 Oceans are changing Example: ARCTIC CHANGES Polar Amplification of Global Warming Our grand children 2060 Our children 1980 YEAR Us

6 Humans are changing the oceans and this will impact feedback on humanity in unknown ways. ALTERED NUTRIENT CYCLES AND EUTROPHICATION ATMOSPHERE/CLIMATE ALTERED CHEMISTRY DEEP IN OCEAN Human fossil fuel Has penetrated over 1000 m in the ocean IPC TAR OVERFISHING Fossil Fuel CO 2 pcfc-12 Kirkpatrick and Crowley Myers and Worm Sabine 2002

7 The oceans are chronically under-sampled

8 Oceans are spatially complex and hard to sample: Single moorings and ships have limitations NATURAL VARIABILITY: Where do you put a mooring? Where do you drive the ship? When should I be out there? GSFC, NASA Plant variability at multiple scales around Tasmania from CZCS image (varies on timescale of a day) Thanks to Mossian and Wilkins Thanks to Dickey

9 Oceans are complex and hard to sample: Small scale variability Ship Sampling for Bioluminescent Photons Robot Sampling for Bioluminescent Photons 0 Depth (m) 15 Longitude (~2km) Thanks to Moline 1E10 bioluminscent photons/s Depth (m) Latitude (~5km) Latitude (~300m) 3E10 bioluminscent photons/s Longitude (~500m)

10 Oceans are complex and hard to sample: We only have a surface synoptic view The Surface Biological Provinces in the Worlds Oceans OOI ushers in the era of sub-surface remote sensing Thanks to Oliver and Irwin

11 A Framework for Research Investments in Ocean Science for the coming Decade Theme 1: Stewardship of Natural and Cultural Resources Theme 2: Increasing Resilience to Natural Hazards Theme 3: Enabling Marine Operations Theme 4: The Ocean s Role in Climate Change Theme 5: Improving Ecosystem Health Theme 6: Enhancing Human Health Three Central Elements: 1) Ocean Observing System 2) Forecast Models for Key Ocean and Ocean-Influenced Processes 3) Scientific Support for Ecosystem Based Management Deploying an ocean-observation system will revolutionize the access to and view of the ocean and increase the pace, efficiency, and scope of ocean research.

12 Ocean Observatories Initiative spans the time & space scales Moorings, tripod cable nodes Satellites AUVs Gliders Models

13 The community has developed over a decade a conceptual design based on the high priority science The high priority science and infrastructure design has been iterated in 14 national science reports, and since the year 1998 five large international l meetings. Community Requests for Assistance resulted in 48 proposals (549 investigators; 137 research, academic, government institutions; 35 states). Over 80 Community volunteers serving on advisory committees. The community has conducted a series of iterative system designs

14 We are now able to measure things as never before as ocean sensor technology is in a revolution OOI will provide a sustained high bandwidth and high power presence in several extreme and critical ocean biomes. The network will allow for the new generation of instruments are coming online Single cell imaging Macro & Micro nutrients Acoustics, video, bioluminscence Holography physics Air-sea exchange Gene profiles, mrna Hanson, Widder, Quigg, Delong, Johnson, Firedrichs, Chavez, Malkei

15 High powered fixed assets are combined with fleets of spatially resolving autonomous networks

16 What is the role of the oceans in global carbon cycle? At this time estimates of dynamic fluxes have not be made, although it is known that ocean systems are highly variable and are undergoing change. Locations of existing databases used to estimate global coastal annual air-sea CO 2 flux (Cai et al. (2006); Borges (2005). The OOI will provide long time- series of measurements using new generation sensors to quantify the range of secular changes in coastal ocean processes in extreme ocean environments.

17 High priority as ocean carbon sequestration is episodic and shows seasonal and inter-annual variability Inter-annual variability at the in open ocean Seasonal variability in the coastal ocean Thanks to Boehme and DeGrandpre Thanks to Karl, Bidigare,, and Lukas Public release on 12/3/2007 Climos Inc., Ecosecurities, and Det Norske Veritas outline procedures for large scale fertilization of the oceans.

18 Total CO 2 flux Need to observe not only the fluxes and inventory changes, but the physical and biological processes that determine and modulate them Anthropogenic CO 2 inventory

19 EXTREME EVENTS IN THE ATMOSPHERE What is the role of vertical mixing in the ocean interior for determining the global distribution of heat and nutrients in the ocean? Heat (Emanuel & Edson ) Wind Speed The OOI will provide the capability to collect data during extreme weather events on decadal time scales.

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21 EXTREME EVENTS IN THE SEAFLOOR: EARTHQUAKES

22 What are the forces acting on plates and plate boundaries that result in local and regional plate deformation? Change in earthquake distribution after Cape Mendocino earthquakes, July OOI will provide critical seafloor seismic information.

23 How are many of the major ecosystems in the ocean crust modulated by Earthquakes? NOW OOI will provide the scientists the first sustained presence in the deep sea

24 How do tectonic, oceanographic processes modulate the flux of carbon into and out of the submarine gas hydrate reservoirs? OOI will provide the scientists the first sustained presence in hydrate fields

25 OOI will provide the scientists a sustained real-time presence in the deep sea

26 Wind Forcing and Large-Scale Circulation

27 Coastal Upwelling Fuels Primary Production Sea-surface temperature chlorophyll temperature Courtesy of T. Strub (OSU)

28 What physical processes that drive large scale shifts in the chemistry and biology in the oceans? The low dissolved oxygen resulted in mass mortalities of fish and shell fish. The causes and frequency of these extreme events are unknown. Latitude ( N) A Heceta Bank 200 NH-Line Stonewall Bank HH-Line SH-Line Longitude ( W) Newport Florence Thanks to Grantham and Barth 124 B Percentage of Pots Crab Mortality Classes 0% 1-25% 26-50% 51-75% % The OOI will provide sustained spatial time- series observations from the local to the mesoscale to understand interannual variability of hypoxia on the east and west coasts.

29 A distributed network of fixed and mobile assets to spatial time series of a marine ecosystem PNW Assets with Endurance Array Shelfbreak plankton gradients mud bottom cross-shelf flux sourcewater

30 Climate forcing of zooplankton (processes not understood due to lack of sustained observations) Concentration of calanus finmarchicus, the dominant zooplankton species of N.Atlantic NAO with center of action south of Greenland Correlation of calanus and NAO NAO = North Atlantic Oscillation

31 In Contrast: Climate, weather, and human structuring of coastal foodwebs. Hurricane and Tropical Storm Tracks

32 What physical processes that structure the ecosystems in the coastal oceans? Shelf-break and coastal zone are the most important marine habitats in the Mid-Atlantic Bight Shelf-break has highest diversity of marine mammals in the U.S. Mid- Atlantic EEZ Natural Resources Defense Council, 2001

33 OOI Pioneer Array MaCOORA Intergated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)

34 OOI will provide scientists an enduring in situ presence to study episodic events in extreme ocean environments. THANK YOU

35 OOI Science Areas 1. Ocean-Atmosphere Exchange 2. Climate Variability, Ocean Circulation, and Ecosystems 3. Turbulent Mixing and Biophysical Interactions 4. Costal Ocean Dynamics and Ecosystems 5. Fluid-Rock Interaction and the Subseafloor Biosphere 6. Plate-scale and Ocean Geodynamics