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A Climatology of Global A Climatology of Global Ocean WindsOcean Winds

(COGOW)(COGOW)

Risien C.M.1, Chelton D.B.1, and M.K. Hodges2

1College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University 104 COAS Administration Building, Corvallis, OR 973312National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115

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Outline

• Case Study of the Ehime Maru (Oahu, Hawaii)

• Data

• Demonstration of COGOW

• Potential Users

• Summary

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Ehime Maru vs USS Greeneville

• 9 February 2001 USS Greeneville (Los Angeles class submarine) 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

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Recovery of Missing Crewmembers

• Under mounting int’l pressure the US Navy agreed to attempt to recover the bodies

• A Navy environmental assessment concluded that moving Ehima Maru to shallower water wouldn’t result in sig. environmental impacts thus the project was approved

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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.

• DLNR, NMFS, USFW & NOAA were all involved in the recovery plan

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NOAA/HAZMAT’s Mandate

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

• Models:– assumed ave. wind speed of 10 knots (~5 m.s-1)– full range of wind directions – ebb & flood tidal conditions

• East-Northeast winds would likely contaminate beaches during both tidal conditions

• North-Northeast winds would likely push contaminants out to sea

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Buoy Locations

National Data Center Buoys (NDBC) Scripps Buoys

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QuikSCAT

• SeaWinds scatterometer launched on 19 June 1999 onboard the QuikSCAT satellite

• SeaWinds is an active microwave radar

• Measures vector winds (25x25 km) using electromagnetic backscatter from a wind roughened ocean surface

• Accuracy: 1.5 m.s-1 and 17o (equivalent to the accuracy of well calibrated buoys)

• 90% daily coverage of Earth's surface

• 3-Day averaged data & monthly averaged data

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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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Potential Users

• NOAA/HAZMAT and the National Weather Service (NWS)– Training

• regional marine workshops

– Response situations such as,• Ehime Maru, Hawaiian Islands (2001)

• Jessica, Galapagos Islands (2001)

• Education– Hatfield Marine Science Center

– Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE)

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Summary

• COGOW was not available during this incident

• No historical wind data was available for the collision site

• NOAA/HAZMAT would have used it in a planning capacity

• Thousands of sunken vessels in and around coastal waters

• This tool will be very effective in assisting response and contingency planners.

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Acknowledgements

• QuikSCAT data are produced by Remote Sensing Systems and sponsored by the NASA Ocean Vector Winds Science Team. Data are available at www.remss.com