RSN Footprint
The RSN spans major components of the Juan de Fuca plate (e.g. Axial Volcano, Cascadia Subduction Zone, and Southern Hydrate Ridge), and sites focused on major oceanographic processes that include upwelling along the continental margin, ocean acidification, and climate change. Backbone cable (900 km) connects 7 primary nodes, providing 8 kW power and 10 Gbs communications to secondary infrastructure at key work sites. During the VISIONS13 Expedition, 22 km of extension cables were installed, 3 J-Boxes, and a variety of sensors that await connection to the Primary Infrastructure. The system will be completed in 2014, comprising >100 seafloor and water column instruments - all connected to the Internet through the OOI Cyberinfrastructure. This observatory will provide real-time transmission of geophysical, geological, chemical, and biological data to address high priority science questions critical to understanding process linkages within our oceans.