Big Island ocean sensors sought

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer

Ocean researchers are hatching a plan to establish a chain of underwater observation posts along the western shore of the Big Island, all the way from Ka Lae at the southern tip to 'Upolu in the north.

The stations would listen to the sea, picking up the calls of whales and the beeps from electronic tags on turtles and billfish. Depending on the kinds of sensors placed at the stations, they could also sample the water, check its temperature, measure currents, optically check water clarity and much more.

Ocean-observing systems, as these arrays are called, are becoming a popular scientific tool, said oceanographer Chuck Greene, a Cornell professor in Earth and atmospheric science.

Ocean-observing systems have been a focus of the National Ocean Partnership program, a consortium of federal agencies that provides financing for ocean research and could support the Big Island plan, Greene said.

The system would entail moorings with hydrophones — underwater microphones — scattered along the coast. Since sound travels well in water, there wouldn't need to be a lot of them.

Greene leads training sessions for scientists in bioacoustical underwater sensing, and he hopes to bring groups of students to the Big Island during the next few years to learn about the techniques and possibilities.

A study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution of an ocean-observing system off the coast of Maine found it had applications for pollution control, commercial and recreational fishing, maritime commerce and search-and-rescue operations. It concluded the benefits of such systems outweigh the costs.