The Ocean Observatories Initiative: Sustained Ocean Observing Across a Range of Spatial Scales

The Ocean Observatory Initiative of the U.S. National Science Foundation is working to advance the ocean sciences by developing the infrastructure for sustained ocean observations at key coastal and open ocean locations. The effort comprises two coastal arrays, four global arrays in the deep ocean, a cabled observatory over the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, and a sophisticated cyberinfrastructure. The initial installations will be completed by 2015, and 25 years of operation will follow. This article provides an overview of the Ocean Observatory Initiative, followed by more detail about the coastal, regional, and global components. Science drivers are reviewed first. Then, the platforms to be deployed at each site, both moorings and mobile platforms, are described, as are the planned, multidisciplinary core sensors. All data will be freely available.