Principal Elements of the GBF-OOI program   Email     Print   PDF

	Enlarge Image Fig. 2. A 3D illustration of proposed GBF-OOI array, which consists of 4 moorings. Objectives, capabilities and technology of each mooring are detailed in section 3 and 4 of this white paper. MBARI’s high endurance ROV Tethys with miniature microbial sampler has not been tested as of yet.

We envision array clusters comprised of 20 or more instruments on 4 dedicated, interacting biogeochemical flux moorings (Moorings A to D) located adjacent to each of the Global OOI mooring arrays. These moorings would be serviced on the same annual cruises to the Global OOI study sites.  Each mooring is designed to serve a unique purpose, but could also be modified to accommodate a range of ancillary instrumentation in support of diverse biogeochemical studies. Below, we elaborate on the core suite of GBF-OOI instruments and data format and delivery status expected from each annual deployment. We demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed instrument configurations and illustrate the information they will provide in the following sections. We emphasize that such technologies are evolving rapidly, emphasizing that capabilities will likely be even greater by the time that the Global OOI array is fully commissioned.

1. Accurate assessment of oceanic primary production
2. Constraining export fluxes of POC and other particulate material
3. Sustained observations of surface ocean microbial community structure
4. Provision of time-series water and suspended particle samples for biogeochemical tracer studies
5. Other potential components of the GBF-OOI
    a.Observation of biological and biogeochemical processes in the Mesopelagic Zone
    b.Sustained observations of biogeochemical processes occurring at or near the sea floor