Ocean Observatories Initiative Julie Morris Division of Ocean Sciences National Science Foundation Public Policy Forum on Ocean Science Infrastructure Washington, DC February 28, 2008

Ocean Observatories Initiative Global Coastal Regional Cyberinfrastructure Coastal ecosystem response to environmental change Ocean-atmosphere exchange, turbulent mixing, and biophysical interactions Chemistry and biology of fluids and life in the crust The ocean’s role in climate change and impacts on ocean processes Expanded power and bandwidth to the seafloor Interactive capabilities Integrated components Reconfigurable network components New way to provide access to the ocean for education/public awareness Dynamics of oceanic lithosphere and Earth’s interior

OOI Development Activities 2007 Award of Implementing Organizations Regional Scale Nodes - March Cyberinfrastructure - May Coastal/Global Regional Scale Nodes - August Adaptation of Preliminary Network Design in response to community comments - August-October “Blue Ribbon” Science Review - October Worthy investment that when fully implemented will advance the understanding of ocean and Earth processes Several recommendations focusing on oversight, sensors, data access, education and public outreach Preliminary Design Review - December OOI will fundamentally change the way science is done in the ocean OOI Project team commended for amount of work and level of detail required to bring the OOI to PDR Successful at PDR level, but project not at FDR level Recommendations focused on education planning, project and design reviews, CI management and implementation, and risk mitigation

OOI Status Budget Rollout Next steps Legacy projects (NEON, ARRV and OOI) will now go through MREFC process for new projects, which requires successful Final Design Review (FDR) before asking NSB for approval, or Congress for additional construction funds OCE will fund OOI planning in FY ’08, ’09, in anticipation of starting construction in FY ‘10 Next steps Preparation for FDR October/November 2008