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Climatology of Global Climatology of Global Ocean WindsOcean Winds

(COGOW)(COGOW)

C.M Risien and D.B. Chelton

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Ehime Maru vs USS Greeneville• 9 Feb 2001 USS Greeneville collided with a Japanese

training and fishing vessel Ehime Maru

• Ehime Maru sank in ~ 600m of water, ~17km south of Diamond Head (Oahu, Hawaii)

• 26 of 35 crew members were rescued, 9 remaining crew members were assumed trapped inside the vessel

• After an environmental assessment & under mounting int’l pressure the US Navy agreed to attempt to recover the bodies

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Environmental Concerns

• There was still concern that during relocation a release of

contaminants (diesel fuel & lubricating oil) could occur

– Beach Contamination

– Marine Mammals, Migratory Birds, Sea Turtles, etc.

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NOAA OR&R’s Mandate

• To determine, through the use of oil-plume models, the optimal sea state and wind conditions necessary to avoid beach contamination

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Buoy Locations

National Data Center Buoys (NDBC) Scripps Buoys

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Ocean Wind Climatologies

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Climatology of Global Ocean Winds

http://cioss.coas.oregonstate.edu/cogow

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Summary

• Scatterometers provide valuable information in many regions of the world ocean that are sparsely sampled by ships and buoys

• Anticipated uses:– Oil spill mitigation– Training and emergency response planning

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NWS Feedback

• “excellent potential for our regional marine workshops”

• “Eastern Region would very much like to have this kind of data for our marine program”

• “The web site is cool”