[Federal Register: March 19, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 54)]
[Notices]
[Page 14847]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19mr08-105]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of the Availability of a Draft Programmatic Environmental
Assessment
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice of request for public comment on a Draft Programmatic
Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the Ocean Observatories Initiative
(OOI).
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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) gives notice of the
request for public comment on a Draft PEA for the OOI.
The Division of Ocean Sciences in the Directorate for Geosciences
(GEO/OCE) has prepared a Draft PEA for the OOI, a multi-million dollar
Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction effort intended to
put moored and cable infrastructure in discrete locations in the
coastal and global ocean. The Draft PEA is available for public comment
for a 30-day period.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 18, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Draft PEA are available upon request from: Dr.
Shelby Walker, National Science Foundation, Division of Ocean Sciences,
4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 725, Arlington, VA 22230; Telephone: (703)
292-8580. The Draft PEA is also available under Additional OCE
Resources at the following website: http://www.nsf.gov/div/
index.jsp?div=OCE.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Shelby Walker, National Science
Foundation, Division of Ocean Sciences, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 725,
Arlington, VA 22230. Telephone: (703) 292-8580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Oceanographic research has long relied on
research vessel cruises (expeditions) as the predominate means to make
direct measurements of the ocean. Remote sensing (use of satellites)
has greatly advanced abilities to measure ocean surface characteristics
over extended periods of time. A major advancement for oceanographic
research methods is the ability to make sustained, long-term, and
adaptive measurements from the surface to the ocean bottom. ``Ocean
Observatories'' are now being developed to further this goal. Building
upon recent technology advances and lessons learned from prototype
ocean observatories, NSF's Ocean Sciences Division (OCE) is proposing
to fund the OOI, an interactive, globally distributed and integrated
infrastructure that will be the backbone for the next generation of
ocean sensors and resulting complex ocean studies presently
unachievable. The OOI reflects a community-wide, national and
international scientific planning effort and is a key NSF contribution
to the broader effort to establish focused national ocean observatory
capabilities through the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).
The OOI infrastructure would include cables, buoys, deployment
platforms, moorings, junction boxes, electric power generation (solar,
wind, fuel cell, and/or diesel), and two-way communications systems.
This large-scale infrastructure would support sensors located at the
sea surface, in the water column, and at or beneath the seafloor. The
OOI would also support related elements, such as unified project
management, data dissemination and archiving, modeling of oceanographic
processes, and education and outreach activities essential to the long-
term success of ocean science. It would include the first U.S. multi-
node cabled observatory; fixed and relocatable coastal arrays coupled
with mobile assets; and advanced buoys for interdisciplinary
measurements, especially for data-limited areas of the Southern Ocean
and other high-latitude locations.
The OOI design is based upon three main technical elements across
global, regional, and coastal scales. At the global and coastal scales,
moorings would provide locally generated power to seafloor and platform
instruments and sensors and use a satellite link to shore and the
Internet. Up to four Global-Scale Nodes (GSN) or buoy sites are
proposed for ocean sensing in the Eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The Regional-Scale Nodes (RSN) off the coast of Washington and Oregon
would consist of seafloor observatories with various chemical,
biological, and geological sensors linked with submarine cables to
shore that provide power and Internet connectivity. Coastal-Scale Nodes
(CSN) would be represented by the fixed Endurance Array, consisting of
a combination of cabled nodes and stand-alone moorings, off the coast
of Washington and Oregon, and the relocatable Pioneer Array off the
coast of Massachusetts, consisting of a suite of stand-alone moorings.
In addition, there would be an integration of mobile assets such as
autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and/or gliders with the GSN, RSN,
and CSN observatories.
The NSF invites interested members of the public to provide written
comments on this Draft PEA. Comments can be submitted to: Dr. Shelby
Walker, National Science Foundation, Division of Ocean Sciences, 4201
Wilson Blvd., Suite 725, Arlington, VA 22230; Telephone: (703) 292-
8580; or electronically at PEA-comments@nsf.gov.
Shelby Walker,
Associate Program Director, Ocean Technology and Interdisciplinary
Coordination, Division of Ocean Sciences National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. E8-5474 Filed 3-18-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M