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Top to bottom:
MODIS Chlorophyll Image
NOAA Research Vessel Ronald H. Brown
Mount Washington Observatory
Great Bay Coastal Buoy
Appledore Island |
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The
mission of the Center is to advance the nation’s capability
for coastal ocean observing by developing and demonstrating new technology
and the innovative use of existing technology.
The Vision…
The U.S. Integrated and Sustained Ocean Observing System
will provide our nation with real-time information to improve the
safety and efficiency of marine operations, to predict storms and
other natural hazards, to improve national security, and to reduce
public health risks. A sustained observing system will provide the
longer-term records needed to understand climate change and human
impacts on the coastal environment. This will lead to more effective
stewardship of the ocean’s living resources and the protection
and restoration of healthy marine ecosystems. This vision has been
recognized and incorporated into the President’s Ocean Action
Plan. NOAA is the lead Federal agency charged with implementing
the vision.
The Challenge…
Coastal ocean observing systems are an integral part of the
Integrated Ocean Observing System. Making and interpreting observations
in coastal waters is especially challenging because of the complexity
of influences from the land and the need for rapid responses in
many situations. Satellites and buoys are now generating high-volume
data streams but these data are still lacking in many respects.
Models are needed to assimilate the data into a coherent picture
of the dynamic coastal environment. Finer spatial and temporal resolution
is needed, and new techniques are required to separate atmospheric
effects from ocean surface features in satellite images. The Joint
Center for Ocean Observing Technology was formed to meet these and
other technological challenges faced by coastal ocean observing
systems.
The Focus …
The Joint Center is developing and demonstrating new technologies
for coastal ocean observing. We are focusing on the synergistic
use of data from existing land, atmosphere and ocean observing systems
to build models that predict coastal and ocean environmental conditions.
Through innovative partnerships, the Center is working to identify
technological gaps and to find cost-effective solutions to close
these gaps. Prototype products developed and demonstrated by the
Center will be transitioned to regional and national ocean observing
networks and to operational agencies.
The Goals …
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Create and serve Web-based products designed
for targeted user communities by combining observations and
model-generated results. |
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Establish the Appledore Island Observatory as a test-bed
facility for infusing new observing technology into the Gulf
of Maine regional observing network. |
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Develop a regional-scale prototype system of systems for
observing / modeling ocean-atmosphere-terrestrial interactions. |
NOAA-UNH Joint Center for Ocean Observing
Technology
University of New Hampshire , Morse Hall, Durham, NH 03824-3525
www.jcoot.unh.edu
Director: Douglas Vandemark |
