[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 80 (Thursday, April 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 22180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8138]


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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 May 16, 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 Web site: http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.sp?djv=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 [email protected].

    Dated: April 10, 2008.
Shelby Walker,
Associate Program Director, Ocean Technology and Interdisciplinary 
Coordination, Division of Ocean Sciences, National Science Foundation.
 [FR Doc. E8-8138 Filed 4-23-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M