Ocean Observatories Initiative Data Center Launches

Arrays are deployed in key locations in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. (Credit: Ocean Observatories Initiative and the Center for Environmental Visualization, University of Washington)

A data center for the pioneering Ocean Observatories Initiative, which collects and shares data from more than 800 sophisticated instruments and a transmission network across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is now operating at Rutgers University.

The Rutgers team has been working with Raytheon and Applied Science Associates to complete the design and construction of the OOI cyberinfrastructure, which includes data acquisition and processing, data quality control and storage and data dissemination. The system includes the OOI Data Portal, which provides access to the OOI data in a variety of formats, with advanced graphic visualization, to anyone with an Internet connection.

Developers of the data center expect that its primary users will be scientists and educators around the world at institutions ranging from colleges to K-12 schools. The data-collection network and systems for OOI are being managed by Oregon State University, the University of Washington and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Top image: Arrays are deployed in key locations in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. (Credit: Ocean Observatories Initiative and the Center for Environmental Visualization, University of Washington)