Updates

During the Pioneer 22 cruise, the team successfully recovered the Central Shallow Water Mooring (CNSW). The recovery brought all components safely back on deck, including the surface buoy, the Prawler profiling vehicle, and the Multi-Function Node (MFN). These photos show the full system after months at sea – each part critical to collecting high-quality coastal ocean data at the Pioneer Array.

The team carried out both deployment and recovery operations for the Northern Profiler Mooring (NOPM) during the Pioneer 22 cruise. These moorings play a key role in capturing detailed vertical profiles of the water column, helping to track changing ocean conditions over time. The photos highlight the careful coordination and teamwork involved in handling large, instrumented moorings at sea—an essential part of maintaining continuous observations at the Pioneer Array.

Each deployment is a coordinated effort between ship and science teams to ensure the Autonomous Undersea Vehicles (AUVs) launch safely and smoothly. From careful deck prep to precise release into the water, every step is timed with sea and weather conditions in mind. These images capture the process at work during the Pioneer 22 cruise, as the team readies and deploys an AUV for another round of data collection beneath…

Autonomous vehicles are an important component of OOI, extending the reach of fixed observing platforms and providing essential spatial context for ocean data. At the Pioneer Array, gliders operate almost continuously, each with an endurance of about 90 days. These vehicles follow planned sampling lines, moving through the water to connect the fixed mooring sites and fill in the spatial gaps between them. In addition to gliders, Autonomous Undersea Vehicles…

As part of the Pioneer Fall Turn cruise, the team successfully deployed a new Central Surface Mooring at the Pioneer Array – bringing with it both a complete system refresh and an exciting technological addition. This latest deployment includes a prototype Wave Energy Converter (WEC), developed by Sandia National Laboratories in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)….

Ever wonder why the Pioneer Array moorings are replaced—or “turned”—every six months? One of the main reasons is biofouling. Over time, marine organisms such as algae, barnacles, and other sea life attach themselves to any surface submerged in the ocean. While this growth is a natural process, it can start to interfere with instrument performance after several months, affecting data quality and the operation of sensors and mechanical components. After…

The Shallow Water Mooring was specifically designed for the Pioneer Mid-Atlantic Bight Array, enabling detailed sampling of the water column to within just a few meters of the ocean surface in depths of 20–30 meters. At the heart of this system is an autonomous profiling vehicle known as a Prawler. Powered by the natural motion of the surface buoy, the Prawler ratchets up and down the mooring’s riser wire, collecting…

As part of the Pioneer Fall Turn cruise, the team will deploy two Coastal Profiler Moorings in waters about 100 meters deep. These moorings are designed to capture a detailed view of the changing conditions throughout the water column. Each mooring features an autonomous profiler vehicle that travels up and down the mooring’s riser wire, collecting continuous data as it moves. The instruments measure salinity, temperature, pressure, water velocity, dissolved…