Regional and Coastal Ocean Observing Systems Along the U.S. Southern Border I
Presiding: C N Mooers, OPEL/AMP/RSMAS, University of Miami; J Orcutt, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; W Nowlin, Texas A&M University
OS32A-01 INVITED 10:30h
Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System: The Gulf Component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System
The United States is developing an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) as the U.S. component of the international Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). IOOS consists of: (1) a coastal observing system for the U.S. EEZ, estuaries, and Great Lakes; and (2) a contribution to the global component of GOOS focused on climate and maritime services. The coastal component will consist of: (1) a National Backbone of observations and products from our coastal ocean supported by federal agencies; and (2) contributions of Regional Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (RCOOS). The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) is one of eleven RCOOS. This paper describes how GCOOS is progressing as a system of systems to carry out data collection, analysis, product generation, dissemination of information, and data archival. These elements are provided by federal, state, and local government agencies, academic institutions, non-government organization, and the private sector. This end-to-end system supports the seven societal goals of the IOOS, as provided by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy: detect and forecast oceanic components of climate variability, facilitate safe and efficient marine operations, ensure national security, manage marine resources, preserve and restore healthy marine ecosystems, mitigate natural hazards, and ensure public health. The initial building blocks for GCOOS include continuing in situ observations, satellite products, models, and other information supported by federal and state government, private industry, and academia. GCOOS has compiled an inventory of such activities, together with descriptions, costs, sources of support, and possible out-year budgets. These activities provide information that will have broader use as they are integrated and enhanced. GCOOS has begun that process by several approaches. First, GCOOS has established a web site (www.gcoos.org) which is a portal to such activities and contains pertinent information regarding GCOOS. Second, GCOOS began two years ago sharing data and information. As a prime example, most real-time physical data now collected in the region are transferred to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), where they are quality controlled and further distributed nationally and internationally so that they may be used by anyone preparing analyses or forecasts. As the system expands, non-physical data collected in real-time will be added to this system. Many organizations have installed OPeNDAP data servers to facilitate ease of access and standard transfer of data as provided by the initial IOOS guidance. In addition to a description of extant observing system elements that compromise GCOOS, this paper will describe the process for each RCOOS to become a certified Regional Association. This certification process is stakeholder driven, provides an approved Governance Plan and an approved Business Plan (i.e., organization structure, five year spending plan, standards protocols, and technology transfer). Plans to move GCOOS toward certification will be given. A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to develop GCOOS and to begin that development by sharing of non-commercial, non-proprietary data and products has been approved at a Stakeholders meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, during January 2005. Qualified organizations and individuals are encouraged to become Parties to the Regional Association by signing the MoA.
OS32A-02 INVITED 10:45h
Temporal Changes in the Western Boundary Current along the Florida Coast: A comparison of the Global NCOM to observations
The transport of the Florida Current along the east coast of the United States has been monitored for over 20 years using voltages measured on telephone cables spanning the Straits of Florida and as such represents an important component of the Ocean Observing System. Previous studies using these transport measurements have documented decadal changes on the order of 10-25% of the long-term mean. These studies have shown a strong correlation between Florida Current transport variability and the North Atlantic Oscillation, which also indicates a correlation with the large-scale sea-surface temperature patterns associated with regional and global climate variability. This also suggests connections to numerous socially significant weather and climate phenomena that are thought to be related through large scale ocean-atmosphere patterns in the Atlantic, including decadal and interdecadal variations in fisheries, rainfall, and hurricane activity. The long time series of transport observations in the Florida Straits represents an ideal data set for comparison to the latest generation of numerical models. In this presentation, the Florida Straits observations are compared to the Global Naval Coastal Ocean Model (G-NCOM), developed by the Naval Research Laboratory and operational at the Naval Oceanographic Office. Selected velocity profiles are compared at 9 locations across the Straits at 27°N, and the time series of model Florida Current transport is compared to the transport determined from the undersea cable. The data and model shows intriguing correlations, including transport changes of about 10 Sv associated with the passage of a strong atmospheric frontal system around January 14-18, 2005. Intercomparisons such as these will lead to improved observing systems, coastal models and forecasting.
OS32A-03 INVITED 11:00h
The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS): Developing A Coastal Observation System To Enable Both Science Based Decision Making And Scientific Discovery
The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) is a consortium that extends from Northern Baja CA in Mexico to Morro Bay at the southern edge of central California, and aims to streamline, coordinate, and further develop individual institutional efforts by creating an integrated, multidisciplinary coastal observatory in the Bight of Southern California for the benefit of society. By leveraging existing infrastructure, partnerships, and private, local, state, and federal resources, SCCOOS is developing a fully operational coastal observation system to address issues related to coastal water quality, marine life resources, and coastal hazards for end user communities spanning local, state, and federal interests. However, to establish a sensible observational approach to address these societal drivers, sound scientific approaches are required in both the system design and the transformation of data to useful products. Since IOOS and coastal components of the NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) are not mutually exclusive within this framework, the SCCOOS consortium of observatory implementers have created an organizational structure that encourages dovetailing of OOI into the routine observations provided by the operational components of a regional IOOS. To begin the development, SCCOOS has grant funding from the California Coastal Conservancy as part of a $21M, statewide initiative to establish a Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program, and funding from NOAA's Coastal Observing Technology System (COTS). In addition, SCCOOS is leveraging IT development that has been supported by the NSF Information Technology Research program Real-time observatories, Applications,and Data Manageemnt Network (ROADNET), and anticipates using developments which will result from the NSF Laboratory for Ocean Observatory Knowledge Integration Grid (LOOKING) program. The observational components now funded at SCCOOS include surface current mapping by HF radar; high resolution (GPS-tracked) drifters; propeller and buoyancy driven autonomous platforms which will continuously survey the nearshore region; the integration of data from nearly a dozen current moorings maintained by local agencies including the Orange County Sanitation District and LA County; surf zone current measurements and modeling; a Regional Ocean Modeling System with data assimilation for robust nowcasting and forecasting of the physical and biological properties of the ocean; acquisition, storage, and distribution of remote sensing data products including ocean color, sea surface temperature, and scatterometry for wind field measurements; and IT infrastructure with wireless networking where needed, based upon the requirements of the Ocean.US DMAC (Data Management and Communications) recommendations.
http://www.sccoos.org
OS32A-04 11:15h
Real-Time Distribution of Oil Platform Ocean Current Data in the Gulf of Mexico
The U.S. Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) has issued a Notice-to-Lessees (NTL) requiring operators in the Gulf of Mexico to monitor and report, via an open web site, current measurements on production platforms and drilling rigs operating in water depths greater than 400m. The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) will be receiving these observations and making them available via the NDBC website in much the same manner as observations from the predominantly academic Regional Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (RCOOS). The data will also be available in the originally submitted binary form. The data will come primarily from acoustic doppler current profilers (ADCP), and will also be reformatted and inserted into the Global Telecommunications System (GTS). The timely availability of a significantly increased source of current profile data should open opportunities for advances in ocean analysis, forecasting, and other value-added products by all sectors of the oceanographic community for all interests in the Gulf of Mexico region. Industry (represented by the Offshore Operators Committee), MMS, and NDBC have established a working group to address the Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) of these observations. NDBC will initially perform limited range checks developed by the working group via automated algorithms. The updated details of this fast-developing reporting system and the initial QA/QC procedures will be given.
OS32A-05 11:30h
Texas Automated Buoy System 1995-2005 and Beyond
TABS was established in l995 to provide data to assess oil spill movement along Texas coast for the Texas General Land Office Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program. A system of nine automated buoys provide wind and current data in near real time. Two of these buoys are supported by the Flower Garden Banks Joint Industry Program. A TABS web site provides a public interface to view and download the data. A real time data analysis web page presents a wide variety of useful data products derived from the field measurements. Integration efforts now underway include transfer of buoy data to the National Data Buoy Center for quality control and incorporation into the Global Telecommunications Stream. The TGLO ocean circulation nowcast/forecast modeling system has been in continuous operation since 1998. Two models, POM and ROMS, are used to produce forecasts of near-surface wind driven currents up to 48 hours into the future. Both models are driven using wind fields obtained from the NAM (formerly Eta) forecast models operated by NOAA NCEP. Wind and current fields are displayed on websites in both static and animated forms and are updated four times per day. Under funding from the SURA/SCOOP program we are; 1) revamping the system to conform with the evolving Data Management and Communications (DMAC) framework adopted by the NSF Orion and OCEAN.US IOOS programs, 2) producing model-data comparisons, and 3) integrating the wind and current fields into the GNOME oil trajectory model used by NOAA/Hazmat. Academic research is planned to assimilate near real-time observations from TABS buoys and some 30-40 ADCP instruments scheduled to be mounted on offshore oil platforms in early 2005. Texas Automated Buoy System (TABS) and its associated modeling efforts provide a reliable source of accurate, up-to-date information on currents along the Texas coast. As the nation embarks on the development of an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), TABS will be an active participant as a foundational regional component to the national backbone of ocean observations.
http://tabs.gerg.tamu.edu/tglo
OS32A-06 11:45h
An Update on the Status of the Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System
As a consortium of largely academic institutions in the Southeast US, SEACOOS has been developing and implementing a pilot regional coastal ocean observing system. The four major components of SEACOOS, the observing subsystem, the modeling subsystem, the data management subsystem, and the extension and education subsystem, will be reviewed. In particular, the focus will be on identifying facets of the components that have worked well, those that have proved challenging, and current notions of best practices. Progress towards a near real-time depiction of coastal ocean circulation, and its application in support of search and rescue, spill response and fisheries recruitment studies, continues. The implications of the existing capabilities on needed areas of research and investment will be discussed.
http://www.seacoos.org