Recommendations

1
Scientific Cabled Observatories for Time Series
(SCOTS) 
Scientific Cabled Observatories for Time Series
(SCOTS) 
Tommy Dickey1, Scott Glenn2, Jim Bellingham3, Yi
Chao4, Fred Duennebier5, Ann Gargett6, Dave
Karl7, Lauren Mullineaux8, Dave Musgrave9, Clare
Reimers10, Bob Weller11, Don Wright12, Mark
Zumberge13, Bob Weller14, Alex Isern15, Bill
Fornes16, Shelby Walker15 1 University of
California, Santa Barbara, 2Inst. of Marine and
Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, NJ, 3Monterey Bay Aquarium Research
Institute, 4Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California
Institution of Technology, 5Department of Geology
and Geophysics, University of Hawaii, 6Center for
Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion
University, 7School of Ocean Earth Science
Technology (SOEST), University of Hawaii,
8Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, 9School of Fisheries and Ocean
Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks,
10College of Oceanic Atmospheric Sciences,
Oregon State University, 11Department of
Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, 12Virginia Institute of Marine
Science, College of William and Mary, 13Institute
of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University
of California, San Diego, 14Physical
Oceanography,Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, 15Division of Ocean Sciences,
National Science Foundation, and 16Consortium for
Oceanographic Research and Education
Introduction
Introduction
Technology to Support Regional Scale Cabled
Observatories
Technology to Support Regional Scale Cabled
Observatories
Cabled Observatory Concepts
Cabled Observatories for Study of Coastal Ocean
Processes
Ecosystem Dynamics
Ecosystem Dynamics
Cabled Observatories for Study of Coastal Ocean
Processes
Cabled Observatory Concepts
A pre-workshop meeting took place in Belmont, MD.
The actual workshop was held in Portsmouth, Rhode
Island with approximately 50 participants. These
50 participants were subdivided into 6 science
and 1 technology work groups. From these work
groups, the theme of science synergies emerged.
Science Questions
1) Short cables to coastal or deep water sites
(A). 2) Long telecommunication cables to remote
sites (B). 3) Regional scale looped cables, with
multiple measurement sites deep water and
coastal (C).
A
Science Questions Cross-cutting Issues for
Coastal Observatories 1) Synoptic scale
interactions between coastal ocean and
atmosphere during storms and longer time
scales 2) Input of river-supplied buoyancy,
nutrients, sediments and toxins on
physics, chemistry, biology, and geology of the
coastal ocean. Cabled Observatory Component
- Water column mixing and vertical fluxes,
benthic processes, air-sea interaction, decadal
affects of climate change, across-shelf fluxes
and flux gradients, dynamics of plumes,
wave-current dynamics in heterogeneous
environments
1) Pelagic response to upper ocean variation
(deep basin) 2) Benthic or bentho-pelagic
response to upper ocean variation
(deep-sea/ productive shelf) 3) Benthic and
pelagic response to seafloor hydrothermal
activity (deep hydrothermal vent and
marginal cold-seep) 4) Studies of human effects
on ecosystems observational and
manipulative
B
Cable Infrastructure Cable Shore
Station Branching Units Scientific
Nodes Other elements Data management and
archiving Community Sensors Support
vessels ROVs AUVs Docking
facilities Governance Issues
Present Systems- Short systems (lt100km)
Telecommunication cables Next Generation
Cables Several thousand kilometers
Gigabit Ethernet 100 kW shore-power
10 kW per node Max node spacing lt100 km
C
A
Workshop Goals
Workshop Goals
From the Portsmouth workshop, the SCOTS Steering
Committee was able to devise the following 5
goals 1) Assist in planning NSF cabled
observatory initiative 2) Define science problems
best addressed with cabled approach 3) Describe
technological capabilities and challenges 4)
Suggest sensors, sampling strategies, array
designs, and possible locations for science
problems relevant to cabled approach 5) Identify
synergistic opportunities w.r.t. science,
technology, and other non-cabled observing
systems (coastal, open ocean) Provide community
input for SCOTS Report
A
Earth Structure and Dynamics of the Ocean
Lithosphere
Earth Structure and Dynamics of the Ocean
Lithosphere
Why Cabled Observatories 1) Many different
species require a wide variety of sampling
techniques video, acoustics, water and
particle samples 2) Multiple co-located sensors
high power, high bandwidth, flexible
sampling 3) Long-term continuous time series
required at multiple sites spanning coastal
to deep sea
Science Questions
1) Deep Earth structure of core, core mantle
boundary, mantle convection 2) Regional Dynamics
Neo-Tectonics variability of stresses and
deformations across plate boundaries,
variability of seismic activity 3) Volcanic
Processes nature, extent, variability of
submarine vulcanism
SCOTS Report Schedule
SCOTS Report Schedule
April  2002 Co-Chairs
Established May 2002 Steering
Committee Formed July 16-17, 2002
Steering Committee Meeting Belmont August
26-29, 2002 Open Workshop
Portsmouth September 26-29, 2002 Draft
Report Sections Due October 15, 2002
Draft Report Circulated to Workshop
Participants
October 23, 2002 Comments Due
Back November 11, 2002 Edited Report
Available for Public Comment, 6
Reviewers December 2, 2002 Public
Comments Received December 6, 2002
Reviews Completed December 8-12, 2002 Report
Available at AGU December 16, 2002 Updated
Report Available to NRC  
Ocean, Climate and Biogeochemical Cycling
Ocean, Climate and Biogeochemical Cycling
Why Cabled Observatories 1) Threats to
instrumentation increases the need for real-time
data 2) Turbulence , nutrients, suspended
sediment, optical and acoustic imagery
require large data rates 3) Multiple sensors
require large power supplies
Scientific Questions
Why Cabled Observatories 1) Requires long-term
spatial measurements. Phased
implementation aided by OSSEs. Open
ocean and coastal. 2) New data to
improve small- scale models of regional
processes 3) Bandwidth power high
frequency sampling of high
spectral resolution optics, video,
multi- wavelength acoustics, and
power for AUVs
Recommendations
Recommendations
1) Describe, understand, predict the impact
of climate change variability (ENSO, PDO,
NAO) on small-scale regional
processes. 2) Quantify the role of regional
carbon cycling in the global carbon
budget. 3) Biogeochemical cycling effect
of events within long-time series.
Why Cabled Observatories 1) Lack of paths
through the depth Earth to remote locations 2)
Local long-term arrays to detect small
earthquakes along plate boundaries
3) Local long-term arrays to monitor submarine
vulcanism around hot spots

• Community Participation Continue to encourage
  broad community input to the SCOTS report.
• Workshop Consensus Encourage regional cabled
  observatory development in all three domains
  (coastal, plate and open ocean).
• Retired Telecommunications Cables Pursue means
  to relocate telecommunications cables to fill in
  the deep Earth imaging array.
• Combined Use for Coastal Deepwater Pursue
  technologies for deploying coastal scientific
  nodes along cables running to deepwater
  observatories.
• Science Platforms Numerous platform technology
  development activities were recommended (e.g, AUV
  docking ports).
• Sensor and System Deployments Protocols for
  deploying standard, project-specific and
  experimental sensors and their data management
  are required.
• Sensor and System Development A tremendous need
  to accelerate new autonomous sensor and system
  development was identified.
• Installation/Maintenance ROVs Are sufficient
  numbers with the required capabilities available?
  
• Complimentary Observation Systems Efforts to
  integrate future cabled observatories with other
  observing programs are essential.
• Modeling A modeling component is important in
  the design phase as well as the operational
  phase.

Turbulent Mixing and Biophysical Interactions
Turbulent Mixing and Biophysical Interactions
NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative
NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative
Historical Perspective
Historical Perspective
Turbulent Mixing and Phytoplankton Community
Structure
Fluids and Life in the Oceanic Crust
Fluids and Life in the Oceanic Crust
Science Questions
NSF Decadal Committee Ocean Sciences at The New
Millennium Identified 6 cross-cutting science
themes and 1 technology theme (long-term time
series) with important and promising
opportunities NRC Committee on Seafloor
Observatories Illuminating The Hidden
Planet Identified major science problems under
each theme for which geographically distributed
long-term time series would be very
useful (Seafloor observatories defined here as
both cable and mooring based.) NSF SCOTS
Committee Identify science questions under each
theme that are best addressed with cabled
observatories
Phytoplankton community structure
Interaction of turbulent motion,
stratification light fields, nutrient
supplies Formatting dissolution and export of
marine snow How does upper-ocean
turbulence effect marine snow?
Science Questions
Cross-cutting questions 1) What drives change
in the subsurface biosphere? 2) Does
sub-seafloor biological activity affect pore
fluid chemistry, circulation, or fluxes? 3)
What is the rate of biomass production by
chemosynthetic processes?
Benthic community structure How does turbulent
bottom boundary layer structure influence
benthic communities?
Specific environments for detailed science
questions 1) Ridge/Hydrothermal Systems 2)
Continental Margins 3) Coastal Zones
Why Cabled Observatories 1) High power/high data
rates dissipating scale microsensors,
multi-frequency acoustics, video/still
photography 2) Extended time presence cross
correlation analysis of multiple
realizations 3) Experience at cabled sites
translated to non- cabled sites

• Science Themes
• Earth Structure and Dynamics of the Ocean
  Lithosphere
• Fluids and Life in the Oceanic Crust
• Coastal Ocean Processes
• Turbulent Mixing and Biophysical Interactions
• Ecosystem Dynamics
• Ocean, Climate and Biogeochemical Cycling

Why Cabled Observatories 1) Long-term and
reliable environmental and seismological time
series 2) Responsive event sampling 3)
Concentrate on a small number of geographically
diverse sites