Ocean Observatories Initiative OOI Program Update Tim Cowles

Ocean Observatories Initiative OOI Program Update Tim Cowles OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Design Elements 4 Global sites 3 Regional cabled sites in the NE Pacific Ocean Observatories Initiative 2 Coastal arrays: Mid. Atlantic Pioneer Array, PNW Endurance Array Each scale incorporates mobile assets Cyberinfrastructure: enables adaptive sampling, custom observatory view, collaborative analysis Interfaces for education users OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

OOI overarching goals OOI has two fundamental scientific and research mandates that underpin its construction: • Sustained delivery of high-quality data for two to three decades; • Maintenance of the expandability of the infrastructure to support new capabilities. OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

OOI overarching goals We address those mandates by meeting the science requirements during construction, and by building in the most cost-effective approaches to operating the infrastructure. The most cost-effective approaches include: • A model for the lowest possible annual operating cost • No compromises to science, safety, and data integrity • Incorporation of established change control processes, risk management process, policies for adding new science. . . OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Gaps identified in October 2010 • Some high-value work elements behind schedule • Procurement actions slower than planned • Still understaffed across the project even with remarkable growth since start of construction in Sept 2009 • Weak web site and external communications Under pressure from NSF and OMB to show improvements in progress within next 6 months OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Corrective Action Plan: Initial Issues Four areas were the primary focal points for action • Weaknesses in some management structures • PM and Engineering – tasking and coordination • Subaward management • Gaps in staffing • Schedule Management -> Progress toward milestones • Rate of procurement across the program OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Schedule ‘replanning’ process External specialists have been guiding a replan of the OOI schedule during the implementation of the Corrective Action Plan • Integrating construction and O&M into one schedule • Adding more granularity into the schedule to improve tracking of milestones Will be complete late March/early April and will become the new ‘baseline’ for the OOI OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

OOI CAP Performance Metrics Progress assessed on Staffing Procurements Designs, Products • Achieved hiring as defined in staffing plans at each IO • Made good progress on procurements of platforms and instruments as defined in procurement table • Delivered 80% of products ‘on time’ as set in the CAP milestone list Progress in these areas indicates improved coordination and integration of Project Management and Engineering OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

CAP: Hiring Targets, Milestones, Results 12/17/10 Hiring Target (including contractors) Objective Adequate PMO 8 6 CI 11 CGSN 2/18/11 Hiring Achieved Hiring Target Cumulative Hiring Achieved Objective Adequate 6 14 10 13 8 8 17 12 16 18 13 19 24 17 22 RSN 8 6 5 9 6 9 Total 45 32 38 64 46 60 Numbers relative to OOI staffing on September 30, 2010 OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

POS OOI Progress based on Earned Value COST variance NEG improving SCHEDULE variance OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Coastal and Global Scale Nodes (CGSN) Pioneer Global Endurance OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011 11

Progress in Marine Design Institutionally-Designed Platforms, Coastal Moorings • The In-shore Coastal Mooring test unit is complete with a preliminary detailed design of prototype and a prototype build • The technical drawing package is mature and a TDP drawing design package has been developed. • The mooring has been built and awaiting ship availability for deployment OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Test Deployments to Evaluate Designs In Shore Test Mooring 2 (ISTM 2): March 2011 – July 2011 At the Endurance Array site, surface wave heights that are large fractions of water depth are a large design challenge. Testing: Mooring and buoy design for 25 m site. OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Test Deployments to Evaluate Designs Example: In Shore Test Mooring 2 (ISTM 2): March 2011 – July 2011 Redesigned universal joint OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011 Buoy (foreground) and stretch hose (background)

Progress in Marine Design Institutionally-Designed Platforms, Global Moorings • At-Sea Test Moorings (3) are approximately 50% complete and portions of the prototypes are under construction. • Test deployment is now scheduled for September 2011 • Multiple design and build milestones over the next 6 months • Focused IO and PMO attention on work and relative progress OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Technical Progress: Deployments will test designs At Sea Test 2 (AST 2): Sept 2011 – April 2012 At the Pioneer Array site Coastal Surface Mooring (CSM) Coastal Profiler Mooring (CPM) will be tested in 500 m of water. Pioneer Array OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Test Deployments to Evaluate Designs At Sea Test 2 (AST 2): September 2011 – April 2012 Seaward of the Pioneer Array site, a global hybrid profiler mooring to be tested in 2, 500 m of water. Concerns about global surface profiler and operations with compound mooring deployment/recovery to be addressed. Hybrid profiler mooring OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

At Sea Test 2 (AST 2) Time. Line 2011 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec AST 2 Cruise Sept 22, 2011 AST 2 Design AST 2 Manufacture and Build AST 2 Integration Burn-in In the Water (thru April 2012) OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Progress in Marine Design (Regional) Approximately half of the Regional System technical designs are on schedule are under the Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract with L 3 -Mari. Pro. Other items are within the schedule float and should not delay any deployments. The non-L 3 major infrastructure pieces of the cable system have been specified and contracted • The physical hard connection point of presence (POP) • Telecommunication backbone service to the shore station • The physical shore station • Conduits from the shore station to the shore landing manholes OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Horizontal Directional Drilling at Pacific City, Oregon OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Survey to determine cable route in 2010 An octopus lounges on a basalt flow at a water depth of ~1520 m within the caldera of Axial Volcano. OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011 Black smoker in the ASHES Hydrothermal Field imaged during a detailed bathymetric and video survey of the area as a potential node site for the OOI Regional Cabled Observatory.

Test of Secondary Infrastructure support A half-scale model of a potential frame design is lowered off the R/V Thompson for a one-year deployment at Southern Hydrate Ridge using Medea and Jason. The frame is also being tested to see how different materials react to biofouling during long-duration deployments. OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Cyber. Infrastructure Technical Progress Architecture of Infrastructure and R 1 • Good progress on messaging and computational features • Over 100 Enterprise Architecture drawings complete • • • Common Operating Infrastructure Common Execution Infrastructure Data Management External Observatory Integration Sensing and Acquisition User Interface design • 10 workflows defined covering 13 screens and 84 panels • (a screen is made up of panels) OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

CI Technical Progress Software Detailed Design/Coding Release 1 • Screen Design, wire frames for release 1 completed • Full implementation in R 1 in June 2011 • Release 1 provides foundational code for ingestion and distribution of external data OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

CI Technical Progress Hardware and Network Systems • The San Diego Engineering Center is operational • Designs and Bo. Ms for the Portland, Seattle, and Woods Hole cyber. Po. Ps are complete • Point of Presence (POP) hardware procurement re-planned for April for Portland Seattle and later 2011 for Woods Hole The specification, Statement of Work, and RFP for the national backbone are undergoing contract review OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

OOI changes since Oct 2010 Organizational changes within OOI Project Office • Senior Project Scientist to begin April 25 – Steve Ackleson • OOI Director of Communications – Kerry Beck • Engaged experienced contractors to assist with O&M while completing search for new O&M Manager • new Deputy Program Manager – Greg Settle OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

OOI changes since Oct 2010 Organizational changes at Implementing Organizations • More details than can be summarized here! OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Action Plan Our adjustments as we approach the Year 2 review • Review and analysis of technical progress • Implement the new schedule • Assessment vulnerabilities to continued progress • Take corrective steps as needed • Clarify data products and data sampling • Enhance science engagement through improved communications • Improve budgetary evaluations of long-term operational expenses OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011

Concerns • Pace of work is intense and the team is working too many hours. Burn-out is a primary concern. • Unsettled budgetary environment has not yet complicated cash flow, but……stay tuned • Clarifying pathways for science engagement OL Board of Trustees March 10, 2011