Enabling Ocean Research in the 21st Century: Implementation of a Network of Ocean Observatories

245 Pages·2016·3.74 MB·English

by  National Research Council, Committee on the Implementation of a Seafloor Observatory Network for Oceanographic Research

ENABLING
OCEAN
ST
RESEARCH IN THE 21 CENTURY
Implementation of a Network of
Ocean Observatories
Committee on the Implementation of a
Seafloor Observatory Network for Oceanographic Research
Ocean Studies Board
Division on Earth and Life Studies
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS • 500 Fifth Street, N.W. • Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board
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National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of
Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their
special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. 56-DKNA-1-95107 and 56-DGNA-1-00001
between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation. Any opin-
ions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of
the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that
provided support for the project.
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COMMITTEE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF A SEAFLOOR OBSERVATORY
NETWORK FOR OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
ROBERT S. DETRICK, JR. (Chair), Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, Massachusetts
ARTHUR B. BAGGEROER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge
EDWARD F. DELONG, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute,
Moss Landing, California
FRED K. DUENNEBIER, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
ANN E. GARGETT, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
G. ROSS HEATH, University of Washington, Seattle
JASON J. HYON, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena
THOMAS C. JOHNSON, University of Minnesota, Duluth
DREW L. MICHEL, TSC Holdings, Inc., Houston, Texas
JOAN OLTMAN-SHAY, NorthWest Research Associates, Inc.,
Bellevue, Washington
SYLVIE POULIQUEN, Institut français de recherché pour l’exploitation
de la mer, Plouzané, France
OSCAR M.E. SCHOFIELD, Rutgers University, New Brunswick,
New Jersey
ROBERT A. WELLER, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Massachusetts
Staff
JOANNE BINTZ, Study Director
NANCY CAPUTO, Senior Project Assistant
iv
OCEAN STUDIES BOARD
NANCY RABALAIS (Chair), Louisiana Universities Marine
Consortium, Chauvin
ARTHUR BAGGEROER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge
JAMES COLEMAN, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
LARRY CROWDER, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina
RICHARD B. DERISO, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission,
La Jolla, California
ROBERT B. DITTON, Texas A&M University, College Station
EARL DOYLE, Shell Oil (ret.), Sugar Land, Texas
ROBERT DUCE, Texas A&M University, College Station
VADM PAUL G. GAFFNEY, II, Monmouth University, West Long
Branch, New Jersey
WAYNE R. GEYER, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Massachusetts
STANLEY R. HART, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Massachusetts
MIRIAM KASTNER, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla,
California
RALPH S. LEWIS, Connecticut Geological Survey (ret.), Hadlyme
WILLIAM F. MARCUSON, III, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (ret.),
Vicksburg, Mississippi
JULIAN P. MCCREARY, JR., University of Hawaii, Honolulu
JACQUELINE MICHEL, Research Planning, Inc., Columbia, South
Carolina
SCOTT NIXON, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett
SHIRLEY A. POMPONI, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution,
Fort Pierce, Florida
FRED N. SPIESS, Univerisity of California, San Diego
JON G. SUTINEN, University of Rhode Island, Kingston
NANCY TARGETT, University of Delaware, Lewes
Staff
MORGAN GOPNIK, Director
JENNIFER MERRILL, Senior Program Officer
SUSAN ROBERTS, Senior Program Officer
DAN WALKER, Senior Program Officer
JOANNE BINTZ, Program Officer
TERRY SCHAEFER, Program Officer
ROBIN MORRIS, Financial Officer
v
JOHN DANDELSKI, Research Associate
SHIREL SMITH, Administrative Associate
NANCY CAPUTO, Senior Project Assistant
SARAH CAPOTE, Project Assistant
BYRON MASON, Project Assistant
vi
Preface
In the ocean sciences, new technology inevitably leads to new discov-
eries and to fundamental advances in basic knowledge. In the years fol-
lowing World War II, for example, the first global-scale mapping and
sampling of the seafloor by oceanographic research vessels led directly to
the discovery of seafloor spreading and the development of the theory of
plate tectonics which has since revolutionized ideas of earth structure and
evolution. A decade later, the first exploration of mid-ocean ridges using
deep-towed vehicles and manned submersibles resulted in the remark-
able discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities with previ-
ously unknown forms of life and a vast, still largely unexplored microbial
biosphere below the seafloor. Over the past two decades, ocean physi-
cists, chemists, biologists, and geologists have used a variety of tools,
from instrumented buoys to deep-sea drilling, to redefine their under-
standing of the ocean’s role in controlling weather and longer-term cli-
mate change.
The ocean sciences are now on the threshold of another major techno-
logical advance as the scientific community begins to establish a global,
long-term presence in the oceans in order to understand the temporal
variability of ocean systems on time scales ranging from seconds to de-
cades or longer. This opportunity arises from the confluence of a number
of emerging new technological capabilities, including:
• telecommunications technology (e.g., satellites, fiber-optic subma-
rine cables) that makes possible real-time telemetry of vast quantities of
vii
viii PREFACE
data to shore as well as real-time interactive control of instruments in
even the most remote parts of the deep sea;
• telecommunication cables that enable significant levels of power to
operate instruments from the sea surface to the deep seafloor;
• new sensors that make possible in situ measurements of physical,
chemical, and biological processes;
• computational and modeling capabilities to build more realistic,
multidisciplinary, and predictive models of ocean phenomena;
• data archival systems that can store, manipulate, and retrieve huge
volumes of data from arrays of sensors; and
• computer networks that can bring real-time data to the desktop,
which could potentially vastly increase participation of researchers, stu-
dents, educators and the general public in ocean research and discovery.
The National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Implementation
of a Seafloor Observatory Network for Oceanographic Research (Appen-
dix A) was charged with addressing a number of issues related to the
implementation of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Ocean Obser-
vatories Initiative (OOI). The OOI would establish an observatory net-
work, including coastal, regional, and global observatories, in order to
facilitate basic research into physical, chemical, biological, and geological
processes in the oceans. The goal of this report is to evaluate the readiness
of the ocean science community, both scientifically and technically, to
move ahead with the establishment of a research-driven ocean observa-
tory network and to highlight the outstanding issues that must be ad-
dressed in order to successfully implement this observatory system. These
issues include the status of scientific planning and technical development
of ocean observatory systems, factors that might affect the timing of ob-
servatory construction and installation, the cost and logistical require-
ments for observatory maintenance and operations, observatory needs
for sensor development and data management, the impact of ocean obser-
vatories on ships and deep submergence facilities available to the U.S.
academic community, and the role of research-based observatories within
the Integrated and Sustained Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and other
international ocean-observing systems being developed and implemented
primarily for operational purposes. The committee agreed that it was
outside the scope of this study to evaluate the scientific merit of ocean
research observatories, to carry out a detailed systems engineering design
study, or to develop a comprehensive implementation plan and cost
analysis.
The NRC Committee included representatives from both academia
and industry with expertise in a wide range of ocean sciences, as well as
in data management and commercial ship and remotely operated vehicle
PREFACE ix
(ROV) operations. This report builds on a previous NRC report titled
Illuminating the Hidden Planet: The Future of Seafloor Observatory Science
(National Research Council, 2000), which outlined a broad range of fun-
damental scientific questions that would benefit from long-term, fixed
ocean observatory sites. In arriving at its findings and recommendations,
the NRC Committee also considered various reports on future ocean sci-
ence research priorities, ocean observatory planning documents, recom-
mendations from several recent workshops, and input from the ocean
research community. At its first meeting in October 2002, the NRC Com-
mittee held an open day-long information gathering session with presen-
tations on recent workshops and observatory planning efforts by leaders
in the ocean science community. During the first day of its second meet-
ing in December 2002, the NRC Committee again held an open meeting;
as a result, various individuals with interest or expertise in ocean obser-
vatories attended and participated.
This report makes clear that many significant technical, logistical, and
organizational challenges will have to be addressed in order to establish a
research-driven ocean observatory network. However, the NRC Commit-
tee is optimistic that these challenges can be met and that the infrastruc-
ture provided by the Ocean Observatories Initiative will enable a new era
of ocean research and discovery, facilitating major advances in basic
knowledge of the oceans in the coming decades. The NRC Committee
hopes this report will act as a useful first step in ensuring that the great
potential of ocean research observatories is realized.
Robert S. Detrick
Chair