Scientific rationale and conceptual design of a process-oriented shelfbreak observatory: the OOI Pioneer Array

Abstract

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) of the National Science Foundation in the USA includes a coastal observatory called the OOI Pioneer Array, which is focused on understanding shelf/slope exchange processes. The OOI Pioneer Array has been designed and constructed and is currently in operation. In order to fully understand the design principles and constraints, we first describe the basic exchange processes and review prior experiments in the region. Emphasis is placed on the space and time scales of important exchange processes such as frontal meandering and warm core ring interactions with the Shelfbreak Front, the dominant sources of variability in the region. The three major components of the Pioneer Array are then described, including preliminary data from the underwater gliders and Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) deployments. The relevance of the Pioneer Array to important recent scientific issues in the area, including enhanced warming of the continental shelf and increasing frequency and spatial extent of Gulf Stream interactions with the continental shelf is discussed. Finally, similar observatories in Asia are briefly described, and general conclusions regarding principles that should guide the design of shelfbreak observatories in other geographic regions are presented.