The Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System

Technical Program

Real time monitoring and forecasts of:• Weather - surface ocean winds, air temperature,

visibility.• Oceanic conditions - currents, waves, temperature,

salinity, density.• Environmental quality - water clarity, turbidity,

nutrients, dissolved oxygen.• Ocean biology - algal biomass, productivity,

community structure.

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GoMOOS Observation Program:Buoys and HF Radar

A Cooperative Utility

Serves all of Gulf of Maine: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts.

Including:• Marine industries• Research institutions• Government agencies• Educational institutions• Private companies• Nonprofits

MembershipResearch/Education:Bedford Institute of OceanographyBigelow Laboratory for Ocean ScienceDalhousie UniversityMaine Maritime AcademyRutgers UniversityUniversity of MaineUniversity of MassachusettsUniversity of New EnglandUniversity of New HampshireUniversity of Rhode IslandWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Marine Industry:Bath Iron WorksHorizon Marine, Inc.Maine Lobstermen AssociationPortland Pipe Line CorporationSatlanticAtlantic Pilotage AuthorityEastport Port AuthorityFederal Marine TerminalsPenobscot Bay & River Pilots Assn.RD InstrumentsSaint John Marine PilotsSaint John Port Authority Government:

Maine Dept. of Marine ResourcesMaine State Planning OfficeMass. Coastal Zone ManagementMass. Water Resources AuthorityStellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Nonprofit:Gulf of Maine AquariumIsland InstituteNew England Aquarium

Maritime Shipping Industry

3,500 transits/year50 million tons

202,000 transit hours$43 million ops.

Each 1% savings in time =$500,000/yr

Commercial Fishing Industry

Time and safety

Av. value per fishing day = $4.1 million

“…I check for the official gale warnings, then go to the [GoMOOS] web site to see if the wind is actually blowing now. I can get a day’s work in…”--Scalloper from Stonington, Me.

Connecting Fisheries to Physical Environment

Aquaculture siting--dissolved oxygen--salinity--sea surface temp.--currents

Stock assessment--chlorophyll/productivity--circulation

Climate change

Oil Spill Contingency Planning, Prevention, and Recovery

Julie N – 180,000-gal. spill, Portland HarborSeptember 1996

Real-time Wind Waves Currents;Circulation models

US Coast Guard:

2nd largest user of GoMOOSweb site

6000 SAR missions/year500 saved lives28 lives lost/year

4% success rate after 2 hours1% inc. in SAR effectiveness = 6 additional saved lives/year

Search and Rescue

Wastewater Management

New Boston Harbor Outfall• Boundary conditionsfor nutrients• Dissolved oxygen

Helps meet costlymonitoring requirements

Alexandrium tamarence: Agent of paralytic shellfish poisoning (red tide)

Experimentaltechnologies

Future: Red Tidepredictive index

Photo credit: Larry Fritz

New Frontier for Resource Managers: Biological Observations

EstimatedAnnual Potential Benefits for 5 Sectors: GoMOOS

Search and rescue (lives saved)Oil spill mitigationEfficiencies in commerical fisheriesRecreational fishing daysMaritime transportation – vessel operating costs

$33+ million per year

Source: Kite-Powell and Colgan, 2001, for NOAA

Estimated Costs of a Regional Coastal OceanObserving System, based on GoMOOS Experience

Capitalization (over 2-3 years) +/- $12 million 10 – 13 buoy locations 4 CODAR units Prediction system Data management system

O&M +/- $4 million/yr.

Thanks! to Federal Agency Partners

Office of Naval Research – capitalization & technologyNavy METOC – wave model, customized weather forecastsNOAA – National Ocean Service – coastal applications Coastal Services Center – technical assistance NESDIS – satellites & data archive

National Weather Service – marine weather NMFS – fisheries data

www.GoMOOS.org