SEA-COOS

The Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing

System Harvey Seim, UNC-CH

•National IOOS•Regional observing systems

U.S Global Ocean Observing System Steering Committee, formed 1998 – responsible for design of IOOS.

Ocean.US, formed 2000– a component of NOPP – responsible for implementation of IOOS.

A number of reports to Congress have identified the need for sustained and integrated coastal observations. They will be used to:•detect and forecast climate variability•facilitate safe and efficient marine operations•ensure national security•manage resources for sustainable use•preserve healthy and restore degraded marine ecosystems•mitigate natural hazards, improve weather forecasting•ensure public health•enable sustained marine researchenable sustained marine research

The Coastal Component of the Integrated Ocean Observing System should be:•An end-to-end (measurements and data management to analysis and applications), user-driven system based on sound science

•Cost-effective through the incorporation of existing infrastructure and shared use of collected resources and expertise

•Both sustained (in perpetuity) and integrated (multi-disciplinary, synoptic observations for a variety of purposes)

•Responsive to the information needs of many user groups

•Coordinated and linked to developing components of IOOS

The thematic scope of the system will increase with time.

The system will initially consist of existing operational components and be capable of improving marine operations, weather forecasting and mitigating natural hazards.

As new technologies become operational, more difficultissues can be addressed, such as national security, managing resources and sustaining ecosystem health.

Ocean.US workshop, March 2002 (my view)

Engaged ocean community to determine what should bemeasured and some initial aspects of implementation. Madea significant effort to engage federal agencies in the processand identify their role in coastal GOOS. Did not do much toclarify role of regional systems.

Core Variables: salinity, temperature, bathymetry,sea level, surface waves, vector currents water columncontaminants, dissolved inorganic nutrients, dissolved oxygen, fish species and abundance, zooplankton speciesand abundance, optical properties, ocean color, etc…

Near-Term Actions: create a federation of regional oceanobserving systems (i. e. figure this out); implement US contribution to global component (largely figured out);

Implement data management system (working hard on this);Establish the initial IOOS by incorporating existing elements:

a) Enhance and augment moorings (500), and tide gauge network (1000) to measure more variables;b) Conduct regular ship surveys of bathymetry and benthichabitats, c) support infrastructure maintenance.

The IOOS model of overlappingregional systemsthat with the National (federal?) backbone form a national system

Winds WindsHeat FluxesHeat Fluxes Rivers Rivers

Winds WindsHeat FluxesHeat Fluxes Rivers Rivers

Loop CurrentLoop Current

Gulf StreamGulf Stream

Florida CurrentFlorida Current

SE region has common forcing, is linked oceanographically, needs merged information to address scientific and societal issues

Hurricane paths and locationssince 1880

SEA-COOS Goals

Developmental: Design, develop, deploy, evaluate, and improve a model-based, real-time, integrated, multi-purpose regional coastal ocean observing system for the Southeast in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies and regional users.

Scientific: identify and understand the processes that control regional-scale cross-shelf and along-shelf exchange, cyclogenesis, physical/chemical/geological/biological response to wind forcing, response to climate variability, ecosystem health and variability, etc.

Operational: implement a system that delivers information aboutthe coastal ocean to users in a timely and useful manner in supportof Ocean.US objectives (safe marine operations, mitigating naturalhazards, improve national security, detect climate change, ensurepublic health, etc.

 Supporting Objectives -Promote integration of the Southeast coastal ocean observing system by (1) linking several subregional observing systems and (2) supplementing and enhancing the de facto operational coastal ocean observing system

-Establish testbeds and observatories for fostering technology development and introducing new technology through quantitative assessments

-Provide a testbed for conducting observing system experiments and assessing various data assimilative coastal ocean models and information products -Develop and demonstrate new data and information products via a Web-based information management system, and in association with a range of user communities

-Create and operate a regional information system that will foster understanding of coastal ocean processes and coastal ecosystems on a regional scale.

SEA-COOS partners and in-kind collaborators

Partners In-kind collaborators

University of North Carolina Naval Surface Warfare Center/USN

 University of South Carolina CO-OPS/NOS/NOAA

Skidaway Inst of Oceanography

NAMOC/USN

 University of Miami National Data Buoy Center /NOAA

University of South Florida 

NCEP/NWS/NOAA

NCSU (Sea Grant)

 

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary/NOS/NOAA South Carolina Sea Grant Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory/NOAA

University of Georgia (Sea Grant)

NCDDC/NOAAUniversity of Florida (Sea Grant)

 

Jacksonville and Miami Regional NWS Offices/NOAASouth Carolina Department

of Natural ResourcesField Research Facility/USACE

NCSC/MCNCSoutheast Fisheries Science Center/NMFS/NOAA

SEA-COOS includes the coasts of NC, SC, GA and FL, from theEEZ to head of tide, and will consist of:

An observing subsystem (measures and transmits data)

A communications network and data management subsystem(organizing and disseminating information)

A data analysis and applications subsystem (translating data intoproducts for users – computer modeling)

Outreach and education subsystem – to assess users needs andIdentify needed products

SEA-COOS will contribute to the national system but be designed to address regional and local needs and concerns

, by Sept. 2003

HF Radar major effortin first year – includesinstallations at Duck, NC,Miami, FL and Tampa, FL

Univ. Miami (Shay) will leadeffort, has considerable priorexperience but with systemswith smaller aerial extent

Circulation Modeling: first year effort – to blend existing programs to provide region-wide coverage.

Regional models will provide information products in a variety of formats and will interface to larger-scale modeling efforts.

Also are a mechanism to synthesize observations using assimilative techniques.

Data management: essential linkage between regional contributors and with external users.

Outreach/education/collaboration:

Non-science users (by Sea Grant) – justification of system existence

Federal agencies (by PIs) – to coordinate resource allocation

Management agencies (by Sea Grant and PIs) – to impact policy decisions

Broader science community (by PIs) – to increase scope of issues addressed by the

system

Year 1 Goals•More sites reporting real-time observations

•Critically evaluate key technologies in field deployments

•Use and refine data assimilative modeling techniques

•Produce nowcasts and forecasts from circulation models

•Implement a regional data management system

•Develop mechanisms of information exchange between SEA-COOS and non-research users

•Engage the SE research and management community to plan for further development of the system

•Develop a working partnership with federal operational and research entities to link to national infrastructure.

•Establish a flexible Governance system