Ocean Observatories Initiative

On Monday, May 11, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will release vacancy announcements of particular interest to early career scientists and engineers. The staff in these positions work with program directors to plan and analyze program portfolios, identify emerging research areas, and support/manage t...

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Ocean Observatories Initiative Endurance Array (EA) continues to adapt to evolving funding conditions while maintaining key ocean observations along the Oregon coast.

In September 2025, NSF allowed the Oregon Shelf mooring to remain in the water through spring 2026, even as most other moorings in the array were paused. Since t...

Flooding and shoreline erosion are increasing threats to coastal communities. Coastal sea levels are influenced by multiple factors, including mean sea level rise, tides, storm surges, river outflow, and waves. A recent paper by Camargo et al. (2025) focused on the extent to which offshore circulation, in particular the shelfbreak jet on the New England shelf, contributed to ...

Burkett (2025) reports plastic debris has become a persistent feature of deep-sea ecosystems, yet its role as a habitat for calcifying organisms remains poorly understood. Foraminifera colonization has been observed in significant numbers on plastic surfaces, suggesting that these materials serve as novel and significant deep-sea colonization sites for these abundant calcifyi...

This first of a kind study by Kidiwela et al., (2026) “Active protothrusts and fluid highways: Seismic noise reveals hidden subduction dynamics in Cascadia” (1) applies ambient seismic noise interferometry to a decade of RCA broadband seismometer data at Slope Base and Southern Hydrate Ridge, and on Ocean Networks Canada >400 km to the north at Clayoquot Canyon, t...