Slope Base V14

Location: 44.6ºN  125.4ºW         Water Depth: 2906-2909 meters        Primary Node: PN1A

The Slope Base study site (Primary Node PN1A) is located near the foot of the continental slope about 60 miles (100 km) west of Newport, Oregon. This site is just west of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where mega-earthquakes have occurred, producing tsunamis that impacted both NW coastal communities, as well as those along the east coast of Japan. The last magnitude 9 earthquake occurred in 1700. Just to the east, is the steep, continental slope that may result in strong topographic forcing effects on ocean currents.

During Leg 2 of VISIONS '14, the RSN deep profiling mooring and associated seafloor infrastructure is scheduled to be installed near the base of the subduction zone. Initial operations are scheduled to include the installation of one junction box and an approximately 1,727-m extension cable, followed by the installation of the deep profiler and associated seafloor infrastructure.

In Leg 6, we plan to install the shallow profiler vertical mooring. This entails using ROPOS to connect the EOM cable to a previously deployed junction box, installing the platform instrument pod into the 200-m platform, and finally installing the shallow profiler assembly.