Easy-to-Deploy Surface Moorings for Ocean Research ……Steps towards next-gen ATLAS Christian Meinig Director of Engineering NOAA-PMEL Seattle, WA June 27, 2012

Topics Description of core system Lessons Learned Work that Remains

PICO Big Picture: Operations Concept

Concept Test: F/V Sea Falcon

PICO Mooring Diagram Standard: -Vaisala WTX-520 (ATRH, Wind,BP, Rain) -Inductive link -Iridium coms Optional: -Carbon, Tsunami, etc Prawler : SBE pumped CTD CTD cycle depth ~3-500m Realtime command/control

ETD Deployment Locations to Date R&D Tsunami Tsunami (DART) R&D Climate (PICO) Australia-BOM Tsunami +realtime MET, SST

Additional spin-offs Carbon Buoys (shallow water) Industry collaboration: – Single continuous composite mooring line (patent) – New commercial low-power SBE CTD – Tech & know how transfer – Shark-bite resistant mooring lines

-Mooring have survived strikes in GOM, Hawaii -Unique bite resistant armor PMEL Mooring Line Testing

Mooring Line “Prawler” (Profiler+Crawler)

Large Swell

Mooring modeling

Prawler CTD Profiles (50nm SW of Hono) Flexible command & control Prawler ATLAS spacing

Total distance traveled= 4390km in 264 days, avg: ~20 profiles/day

PICO Recovery (R/V KAHANA)

Where are we? Status:

Inventiveness S-curve New System Make it work Make it work properly Maximize Efficiency Maximize Performance Maximize Reliability Minimize Cost Mature System Pioneering Engineering & Science Prospecting, exploring, evaluating The Breakthrough ! Value Time

Lessons Learned Get “Operations” involved early: Design for Operations...however, x-fer funding usually not included. Clear understanding of data “Quality vs Cost” Discipline of Integration: making wise choices Spin-offs are valuable developments Additional tool, not a ‘silver bullet’ Partnerships required

Near Future

Thank you Program Sponsors: CPO, NWS Tsunami, OER Summary: A multidiscipline, easy-to- deploy platform has been developed that incorporates O&M concerns Sensors have been successfully adapted on that can enhance 4D datasets. O&M costs are lower compared to using large ships and traditional methods, especially in ‘remote’ areas.

Avg Total distance traveled= 4390km in 264 days Avg: ~20 profiles/day Prawler Profiles Date # Profiles per day