Stable platform designs for global DEOS moorings

Oceanography has been dominated for at least two centuries by an expeditionary approach and examples include the voyage of the Beagle in 1831-1836 and the Challenger Expedition in 1872 - 1876. In the U.S., the capabilities for expeditionary research were greatly amplified during and especially following WW II. Today the U.S. alone has established a research fleet of 28 vessels organized through UNOLS. While experimental oceanography has made enormous contributions over the decades and centuries, this approach has not been well suited to investigating processes in which transients are important. The Dynamics of Earth and Ocean Systems (DEOS) program was developed in 1997 to promote the idea of making long-term observations in the oceans - to establish a long-term presence in the oceans. DEOS, now under the sponsorship of the Consortium for Ocean Research and Education (CORE) with support from the NSF, advocates the collection of long-term time-series data with the recognition that this is the only viable approach to observe transients and changes and to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of weak signals. Moored ocean buoys are a technically feasible approach for making sustained time series observations in the oceans and will be an important component of any long-term ocean observing system. Scripps and Woods Hole developed the ocean mooring systems, designed for decadal time scales, in an NSF-sponsored design study. One of the designs bears a strong familial resemblance to R/P FLIP and is especially well suited for maximizing system life as well as ensuring robust Internet connectivity. I will review this design and describe feasibility experiments conducted to test communications feasibility. Because of the broad spectrum of scientific needs identified during planning, it is clear that there is no single buoy or mooring design that will meet all of these needs while at the same time minimizing costs. An alternative British design may be particularly well suited for high latitude deployments. Ongoing experiments to demonstrate components of the mooring program will be discussed.