SENSORS: Ocean Observing System Instrument Network Infrastructure
Project Manager: Duane EdgingtonLead Engineer: Kevin Gomes
This project supports MBARI’s involvement in the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative Cyberinfrastructure. Activities for 2010 include completing a test of web service representation on the MARS test bed and holding a workshop.
Power Buoy: Prototype Test
Project Managers and Lead Engineers: Andy Hamilton, Jim BellinghamWith funding from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), engineers are working on a free-swimming platform that can harvest energy from the ocean environment to provide at-sea recharging for autonomous vehicles. The prototype will be tested and some design features from the Long-Range Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (LRAUV) project may be used in this project.
Monterey Ocean Observing System (MOOS) Upper Canyon Experiment
Project Manager and Lead Engineer: Mark ChaffeyLead Scientists: Charlie Paull, Jim Barry
Project website
The MOOS mooring will be relocated in upper Monterey Canyon where it will document the frequency and intensity of sediment transport events and characterize the physical processes active during those events. Early priorities will be data validation, comparison of MOOS data with information from other canyon systems (Benthic Event Detectors, Monterey Canyon Sediment Tracking Acoustic Receiver, repeat mapping, and the long-term mooring of the Benthic Biology program). Battery-powered sensors remain installed at Shepard Meander to capture major events that penetrate the entire canyon.
Technology Transfer: Observatory Software
Project Manager: Duane Edgington
Lead Engineers: Kevin Gomes, Kent Headley, Tom O'Reilly
The developers of several major ocean observatories around the world are interested in MBARI software infrastructure components developed for the Monterey Ocean Observing System (MOOS) and the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS). This project will provide the greater oceanographic community with software infrastructure to manage instrument networks, and the command protocol that addresses the need for a serial instrument protocol standard. The MBARI command protocol will be submitted as an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard. The team will participate in related activities such as the Ocean Science Interoperability Experiment and the Smart Ocean Sensors Consortium (SOSC). They will collaborate with European partners evaluating adoption of MBARI protocol and integration of the software infrastructure package with other technologies and standards to improve efficiency and interoperability.
Mooring Technology Collaboration
Project Manager: Mark ChaffeyLead Engineer: Andy Hamilton
MBARI is proposing to collaborate with the Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la MER (IFREMER) to transfer MOOS mooring technology to the European ocean observatory science community through a technical collaboration. The collaboration has two elements: (1) to increase the mooring riser cable life from 18 months to 36 months using new materials and methods, and to qualify manufacturers to produce the cable; and (2) completing a preliminary mooring design that meets the needs for the IFREMER application.
Mooring Maintenance
Project Manager: Mike KelleyThis project will use shared engineering time based on historical needs for the operation of MBARI’s institutionally-supported moorings: M1 and M2. Data from the moorings are utilized by a number of MBARI scientists as well as externally-funded projects and institutions and organizations.