Acquisition of long-duration time-series geophysical measurements through instruments deployed on the Earth's ocean floor is a topic of increasing importance. This is reflected in major initiatives like the establishment of new early warning system infrastructures and their cross linking as part of the ten year implementation plan of GEOSS and on the scientific side through the implementation of the Network of Excellence in Europe ESONET and the NEPTUNE project in North America/Canada. Within this framework new concepts for seafloor observatories to monitor seismic activity, physical and biogeochemical parameters on a global scale with distributed, long-lived measurement stations are emerging that would address aspects of basic research as well as serve as an early warning infrastructure against natural hazards.
This session solicits contributions covering the design, calibration, data processing, and operation experiences related to instruments for geophysical ocean floor investigations. In particular aspects of long term stability, reliability of collected data, interoperability and networking of instruments into larger infrastructures should be addressed.