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GoMOOS data and tools moving to NERACOOS and GMRI websites
The Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System (GoMOOS) website has been retired. However, the ocean and weather information provided by GoMOOS will continue to be available on the NERACOOS and Gulf of Maine Research Institute's (GMRI) websites. NERACOOS and GMRI are committed to delivering the information from the GoMOOS website that the maritime community has come to rely on. NERACOOS has created a welcome page to help orient GoMOOS users to the navigation of the NERACOOS site and to introduce them to new products and services available on NERACOOS. back to top |
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Hi-tech ocean robot to start mission in the Gulf of Maine
A hi-tech ocean robot, the Wave Glider, will be launched off the coast of Maine in April on the first leg of an extensive ocean observing demonstration project. The Wave Glider, a product of Liquid Robotics, Inc. is a solar and wave powered ocean observing platform that will travel throughout Gulf of Maine waters for 6-8 weeks collecting information about water temperatures, salinity, currents and more. This project will kick off when scientists from the University of Maine's Physical Oceanography Group launch the Wave Glider in Maine coastal waters. The Wave Glider will then travel south through the Gulf of Maine collecting information that will help scientists better understand the Gulf's complex circulation patterns. You will be able to follow this mission on the NERACOOS website after the Wave Glider is launched. The launch of this ocean observing demonstration project has been facilitated by the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOSŪ) and supported by several partners including Liquid Robotics Inc., NERACOOS and the University of Maine's Physical Oceanography Group. back to top |
| Improving regional water quality monitoring
Poor water quality is a costly issue in many New England bays and estuaries. Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, and other highly urbanized coastal water bodies are prone to low dissolved oxygen during the summer months that can lead to fish kills and othe r problems. NERACOOS is providing support for the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography and SubChem Systems, Inc. to help develop capacity to improve coastal water quality monitoring throughout the region. The long-term goal of this collaboration is to develop a regional nutrient sensing facility that hosts the equipment and expertise to support real-time monitoring of nutrients throughout the region's coastal waters. Currently, the partnership is developing and testing nutrient sensors that can be deployed on buoys, piers and other structures on the water. They are also enhancing the communication systems of buoys in Narragansett Bay, RI so that the information from those buoys can be reported in real-time. These efforts will provide more frequent and timely water quality information and ultimately help managers develop more effective programs to improve the health of New England's coastal waters.
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A new system for forecasting coastal hazards
Nor'easters, hurricanes and other coastal storms that impact the Northeast can result in costly damage and cause hazardous conditions for coastal residents. NERACOOS is working to deliver improved and more detailed coastal forecasts to provide warning of coastal flooding, to facilitate evacuation and other emergency measures and to develop accurate information of coastal inundation. With support from NERACOOS, ocean modelers at the University  of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have developed a pilot forecast system for the town of Scituate, MA, which experiences frequent damage from coastal storms. The Scituate Inundation Forecast System is now up and running and is providing the National Weather Service, emergency managers and others with detailed forecasts of coastal conditions such as winds, waves and water level. These forecasts can be viewed by visiting the Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System main page and selecting the "Scituate Inundation" for the forecast model. The next phase of this effort is to create a similar forecast system for the coastal area around Hampton, NH. The long-term goal of this effort is to provide the region with a coastal forecast system that can provide detailed forecasts of coastal storms and help emergency management minimize loss of life and damage to coastal property. |
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Observing system update
The teams that operate the NERACOOS system of ocean observing buoys are continually working to maintain and upgrade the buoys and their instruments so that the hourly information keeps flowing to all that rely on it.
In Long Island Sound, the University o f Connecticut's LISICOS (Long Island Sound Integrated Coastal Observing System) team continues their monthly routine servicing, which includes cleaning and maintaining the water quality and meteorological sensors. More recently they have repositioned the Central Sound buoy which broke anchor, and have recovered the Western Sound buoy, which is undergoing a major overhaul and sensor upgrades. New to the Western Sound buoy this summer will be an onboard current meter, providing current speed and direction data in real-time. The University of New Hampshire is currently upgrading the Great Bay buoy's systems and when that work is complete they will re-deploy the buoy at its station in Great Bay. The University of Maine's Physical Oceanography Group has just completed a major spring re-deployment operation where Gulf of Maine buoys A, B, E, F, I, M and N have been replaced with fresh buoys. Back in February they deployed a new buoy (F02) for the DeepCWind program in upper Penobscot Bay. This buoy will be removed in May 2012 and will likely be re-deployed for Jan 2013-May 2013.
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Right Whales and Ocean Observing: An Exhibit that Connects People to Research
The Seacoast Science Center and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary are partnering with NERACOOS to create an interactive to uch screen display highlighting right whale research and ocean observing. The display will showcase the efforts being made to reduce threats to Right Whales in the Gulf of Maine through research, including the acoustic buoys of the Right Whale Listening Network. Funding is through NEOSEC (New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative) to support individual institutions in working directly with ocean scientists to advance ocean literacy, achieve broader impacts of ocean research, and expand partnerships between scientists and educators. To learn more about NEOSEC and this project, click here.
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Maine Fishermen's Forum: Connecting With Our Users
The annual Maine Fishermen's Forum is a unique event that brings together many individuals and organizations involved and interested in regional fisheries including fishermen, managers, policy makers, researchers, NGO's and many others. Participants come from throughout New England and Canada. The forum provides a great opportunity for NERACOOS to talk to many of our stakeholders and get feedback on our products and services. This year NERACOOS staffed a display, hosted a seminar on ocean forecasting and conducted a discussion group to better understand how fishermen use ocean observing data. Our ocean forecasting seminar was well attended and included presentations from John Cannon of the National Weather Service, Robert Beardsley of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Kate Burns of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and James Manning of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. On the final morning of the forum NERACOOS hosted a discussion group that included fishermen from MA, ME and Nova Scotia. The overall message from fishermen was that they really use and rely on the data that NERACOOS provides.
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Strategic Planning and Implementation Team Meeting
On April 3, 2012 the NERACOOS Strategic Planning and Implementation (SPI) team held their annual meeting at the University of Rhode Island's bay campus in Narragansett Rhode Island. The NERACOOS observing system leads provided updates on the successes and challenges of their operations. The operations teams are working hard to make sure that ocean and weather information is delivered to the maritime community. A common challenge NERACOOS is facing is that much of the NERACOOS observing system infrastructure (buoys and sensors) are aging and need to be replaced. The SPI team also reviewed its structure and membership and will be identifying new members to invite. The other key topics discussed were the development of climatology data products from buoy data and the improvement of the NERACOOS data management system.
For the past three years Dr. Jim O'Donnel of the University of Connecticut has served as the chair of the SPI team. Jim is stepping down from this position and NERACOOS is grateful for all his work in coordinating this team. Dr. Al Hanson of the University of Rhode Island will take over as chair of the SPI team. The next SPI team meeting will be in the fall of 2012.
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Upcoming meetings and events
May 9, NEARCOOS Board of Directors Meeting, Rye, NH May 15-16, 23rd Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference, Portsmouth, NH May 21-23, Global Conference on Oceans, Climate and Security, Boston, MA June 19-21, Ocean Energy International, Boston, MA June 24- July 1, Newport America's Cup, Newport, RI SAVE THE DATE! November 1-2, NEOSEC Ocean Literacy Conference, URI Narragansett Bay, Sign up to receive more informationback to top |
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