Ocean Observing 101
Answering your questions about NERACOOS and ocean observations
WHAT DOES NERACOOS DO
NERACOOS produces, integrates, and communicates high quality information that helps ensure safety, economic and environmental resilience, and sustainable use of the coastal ocean.
- We operate a network of buoys, high-frequency radars, monitoring stations, models, and more (collectively called “ocean observing assets”) that collect data on regional marine conditions from Long Island Sound through the Gulf of Maine
- We partner with federal and stage agencies, universities, the private sector, and other nonprofits to help maintain assets, collect data, create tools to view data, and research the marine ecosystem
- We take our data and others’, combine it all in one place (“integrate” it), and make it available through data products like the Mariners’ Dashboard and our ERDDAP server, which contains all the data we’ve ever collected
What Are Ocean Observations?
Ocean observations are data, both real-time and historical, on wave height, wind speed, water temperature, visibility, saltiness of the water, current speed, location and abundance of animals, and more.
A foundational element of our observing system is an established network of fixed buoys providing real-time and historic data on weather and ocean conditions to mariners, regulators, researchers, and other users.
The buoy network is complemented by
- Fixed stations measuring specific variables at targeted locations
- Autonomous gliders and vessel-based observing to provide more widespread and flexible coverage
- High-frequency radar that is particularly important for search-and-rescue operations
- Satellite observations at a regional scale
These observing tools complement modeling systems that produce forecasts and historical trends of ocean and weather conditions. Observing data and forecasts are delivered through data products that make large data streams accessible and understandable for users.
Who Uses Ocean Observations?
Ship captains, scientists, fishermen, Search & Rescue teams, and surfers are just a few of the groups that use ocean observations to make decisions that affect people’s safety and the use of our natural resources.
NERACOOS observations and model predictions are used extensively by maritime operations in the Northeast, especially to support maritime safety decisions. The data and services we provide are also used for assessment and planning by coastal resource and water quality managers, emergency managers, consulting companies, aquaculture companies, energy companies, formal and informal educators, recreational boaters, and coastal property owners. Our observations and forecasts are relied upon by National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices to verify and improve forecasts; United States Coast Guard (USCG) stations to plan search-and-rescue operations (SAROPS); and commercial and recreational mariners to make operational decisions.
We are proud to deliver high-quality information that can be used to protect lives and property, support economic resilience, empower coastal communities, and improve the health of our oceans.
BUOYS
UNDERWATER GLIDERS
HIGH FREQUENCY RADAR
COASTAL MONITORING STATIONS
WATER LEVEL STATIONS
BUOYS
Fixed mooring buoys are the tried-and-true, bread and butter of the NERACOOS ocean monitoring network; buoys are useful in that they can be outfitted with all sorts of sensors that provide near real-time information on conditions both above and below water.
Some buoys have been collecting data from the same site for decades, which gives us an invaluable glimpse into the way the ocean environment has been changing over the years. You can find and download all our historical data over on our ERDDAP server, and if you’ve never used ERDDAP before, here’s a video tutorial.
The NERACOOS network of buoys are owned and operated by our partners at the University of Maine, University of New Hampshire, University of Connecticut, and Woods Hole Group.
Tools like our Mariners’ Dashboard provide information from NERACOOS’s buoys, and also integrate buoy data from NOAA National Data Buoy Center, The Pioneer Array, and Mayflower Wind.
GLIDERS
Gliders, which are “autonomous underwater vehicles”, look like a cross between a mini submarine and model airplane. Once the glider has been programmed and launched, they roam along their predetermined route, collecting and transmitting data.
The scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute with whom NERACOOS partners are using gliders to detect the presence of marine mammals in the Gulf of Maine, though that’s certainly not the only job gliders perform. Because gliders can be customized with a variety of sensors, they can collect lots of different types of data throughout the entire water column.
HIGH FREQUENCY RADAR
Did you know “radar” is an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging? High frequency radar (HFR) uses radio waves to map the direction and speed of ocean surface currents. NERACOOS’ system operators currently maintain 13 HFR stations; see their latest observations.
HFR data is used to
- Rescue people lost at sea
When a boat or person goes missing, the Coast Guard or other rescue group looks at the behavior of surface currents to determine where someone may have drifted; based on that information, rescuers can narrow down their search area, and more quickly reach those who need help. - Clean up disasters
When there’s an oil spill, HFR forecasts are used to predict how hazardous waste will disperse around the spill site so that cleanup efforts can focus on the areas that are most likely to be impacted by the event. - Forecast water quality
HFR data are also used to help monitor water quality. If there’s a problem with wastewater or pollution discharge, resource managers can use HFR observations to decide whether or not public beaches and recreational areas should be closed to limit people’s exposure to nasty bacteria and chemicals. - Inform safe navigation
HFR-provided info on currents is also really useful for mariners who need to know what kind of ocean conditions they’re likely to encounter.
When a boat or person goes missing, the Coast Guard or other rescue group looks at the behavior of surface currents to determine where someone may have drifted; based on that information, rescuers can narrow down their search area, and more quickly reach those who need help.
When there’s an oil spill, HFR forecasts are used to predict how hazardous waste will disperse around the spill site so that cleanup efforts can focus on the areas that are most likely to be impacted by the event.
Just as with an oil spill, HFR data are also used to help monitor water quality. If there’s a problem with wastewater or pollution discharge, resource managers can use HFR observations to decide whether or not public beaches and recreational areas should be closed to limit people’s exposure to nasty bacteria and chemicals.
Of course, HFR-provided info on currents is also really useful for mariners who need to know what kind of ocean conditions they’re likely to encounter.
Coastal Monitoring Stations
The coast is an interesting place because it’s where the land’s effects run into the ocean’s influence, making that boundary a particularly active area. Compared to the open ocean, conditions on the coast can change significantly in a short span of time; coastal monitoring stations are able to constantly record shifts in conditions so we don’t miss a thing.
NERACOOS partners with the UNH Coastal Marine Lab, which supports many different types of marine research, including long-term monitoring of coastal and ocean acidification. The Marine Lab sits at the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor, making it an ideal place to track how runoff from land and fresh water inflow affects the ocean’s acidity.
Coastal monitoring doesn’t start and stop at a seaside laboratory, though. Coastlines have a lot of already-built structures like municipal docks or pilings that make great homes for other kinds of sensors. For example, water level sensors use microwave radar to accurately measure tiny, tiny variations in the level of the ocean, which is useful for (among other things) tracking the progression of sea level rise.
Nutrient sensors, sometimes called water quality sensors, are another tool in the coastal monitoring toolbox. When sewage, waste and excess fertilizer flow from land into the ocean, the “nutrients” from that disgusting mix are fuel for the plants that cause harmful algal blooms, sometimes called red tide. As you might imagine, sewage and red tides greatly affect water quality, so monitoring for nutrients helps resource managers make important decisions. Lots of nutrients? Maybe close the beach so people aren’t swimming in poop.
Tide Stations
For as long as there have been mariners, the same basic question has launched a billion ships: when is high tide? Safe navigation is impossible without accurate tide tables and predictions.
NERACOOS tide gauges, which are operated by the Charybdis Group, are located in Scituate, MA, Gloucester, MA, Hampton, NH, and Saco, ME. Modern tide gauges not only measure the rise and fall of the water through the influence of the moon (AKA tides), they also record sea level rise, something that was impossible to capture using tide prediction machines of yesteryear like Old Brass Brains.
