The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) is a multipurpose service centre with novel land-based and sea-based infrastructures to support research, technology development and innovation in the marine and maritime sectors. Its mission is to promote long-term observation and sustainability of the ocean, providing a cost-effective combination of services, such as observatories, test site, base for underwater vehicles, training and innovation hub.
The observatory consists of a multidisciplinary and permanent array of autonomous ocean observation platforms for the observation of the marine environment. Observation systems and facilities support, among others, the environmental monitoring and characterisation needs of the Test Bed. The coastal node includes: HF Radar (surface currents and wave), ADCP (current profiler), Hydrophone (ocean sound), LIDAR (wind profiler). The deep node includes the European Time Series Oceanographic Station of the Canary Islands (ESTOC) located 60 nautical miles north of Gran Canaria and with a depth of 3,670 metres. This station is operational for the production of long-term meteorological and oceanographic time series in the central-eastern North Atlantic. It is also supported by our fleet of underwater gliders.
