Project - Ocean Array
A reconfigurable array of moorings resolving submesoscale to large-scale ocean processes, anchored to the seabed or through sea-ice
An Ocean Array is a collection of individual moorings — anchors on the seabed (or tethered to sea-ice) holding instrumented lines upright with flotation — deployed together to measure the ocean over periods from weeks to two years. Using multiple moorings in a distributed configuration enables the calculation of horizontal gradients, yielding far more information than the sum of individual moorings. This project develops an Ocean Array that can be configured to resolve submesoscale (1–10 km) and mesoscale (10–100 km) processes as well as the large-scale circulation, anchored either to the seabed or through sea-ice. Planned use-cases include a submesoscale mooring array, a large-scale circulation array, and an ice-tethered array. Scientific questions include how dense waters are entrained as they overflow topographic constrictions, how small-scale processes modulate ocean–ice interactions, and how lateral mixing sets latitudinal connections in the large-scale overturning circulation.
