Ready and Waiting

A group of profiler mooring buoys stands ready for loading onto the research vessel Neil Armstrong in advance of a cruise to the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Pioneer Array. Once deployed, the mooring line below each buoy will support a Wire Following Profiler, a motorized pod moving from near the surface to seafloor carrying sensors that measure a range of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the ocean. The full array of moored instruments straddles a highly productive area where nutrients, pollutants, and other properties are exchanged between the coast and the deep ocean. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)