The PLOCAN observatory: A multidisciplinary multiplatform observing system for the central-eastern Atlantic ocean

The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) will provide rapid access to great depths at short distance from the shore, accelerating research and the generation of water column and deep-ocean knowledge. The mission of the multidisciplinary observatory is two-fold: the first is to contribute to the monitoring and modeling of coastal, regional and global ocean phenomena and ecosystems at increasing geographical scales, from shallow waters to great ocean depths. The second is the monitoring of the environmental impact and mitigation effort for all scientific and technical experiments, such as instrumentation testing, deep-sea operations and training activities from the platform. Finally one of the objectives is to offer a large yet continuously controlled area for testing deep observing systems, offering instrumentation benchmarking, calibration and validation services. The observatory has committed to contribute to and integrate with large observing initiatives, such as the European network and infrastructures ESONET-EMSO and ICOS, collaborate with international initiatives such as the North-East Pacific Time-Series Undersea Networked Experiments (NEPTUNE, Canada), and implement international standards and best-practices for sensor and data interoperability, in compliance with guidelines established for the implementation of a Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS).