viii
of data-rich sources including instrumented buoys, coastal HF radar stations, and
operational autonomous glider transects yielding in turn a wealth of data products
in user-friendly formats serving the coastal maritime community.
The 11 independent but coordinated Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing
Systems established in US coastal waters have filled a void of information that has
already proven its values in daily use as well as in several high profile events and
climate-driven emergencies. Through these efforts, sustained ocean observations
now allow the publication of operational data products available through a wide
variety of electronic means to stakeholders and the general public. It has now
become possible for the mariner to know the measured winds and waves, the temperatures and currents at several sites throughout the coastal zone with data updated
within the hour through internet and cellular network connectivity. Moreover, this
data, coupled to numerical models guided by assimilation of real-time instrumental
data, has allowed operational implementation of hindcasts, nowcasts, and shortterm forecasts of ocean conditions at a scale commensurate to the needs of the
coastal ocean stakeholder.
The shift in observing strategies to prominently include autonomous land- and
sea-based electronic sensing systems prompted refocusing of the coursework at
UPRM to include, in addition to expeditionary oceanographic techniques, the practice of coastal ocean observing using autonomous observing platforms. Happily,
these courses spanned the period over which most of the modern suite of instruments and platforms became commercially available. Many of these were put to use
and indeed are still operational as part of the current observing effort.
Active involvement of the author in the establishment of the Caribbean Regional
Association for Coastal Ocean Observing (today a not-for-profit entity incorporated
in the state of Puerto Rico under the name of CariCOOS) provided first-hand experience in planning and implementation of observing systems. During the development of CariCOOS, opportunity arose for implementing high frequency radar as a
dual-use technology to detect and track vessels at sea while simultaneously tracking
ocean surface currents over a wide swath of the coastal ocean. Numerous other
opportunities arose for mutually beneficial collaboration with various academic,
governmental, and private-sector organizations which are discussed below in greater
detail. Concurrent service of the author on the Ocean Studies Board of the US
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine provided expert views
on many of the topics here discussed, particularly regarding ocean observing,
numerical modeling, and carbon biogeochemistry.
The book is biased to the practice of ocean observing in the balmy tropics. Due
apologies are extended to colleagues working in more rigorous climes and to the
reader for the comparative void of information in this regard. Likewise, international readers outside the USA will find the book necessarily biased to the author’s
experience within this jurisdiction to which PR and USVI are subject.
Preface
of data-rich sources including instrumented buoys, coastal HF radar stations, and
operational autonomous glider transects yielding in turn a wealth of data products
in user-friendly formats serving the coastal maritime community.
The 11 independent but coordinated Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing
Systems established in US coastal waters have filled a void of information that has
already proven its values in daily use as well as in several high profile events and
climate-driven emergencies. Through these efforts, sustained ocean observations
now allow the publication of operational data products available through a wide
variety of electronic means to stakeholders and the general public. It has now
become possible for the mariner to know the measured winds and waves, the temperatures and currents at several sites throughout the coastal zone with data updated
within the hour through internet and cellular network connectivity. Moreover, this
data, coupled to numerical models guided by assimilation of real-time instrumental
data, has allowed operational implementation of hindcasts, nowcasts, and shortterm forecasts of ocean conditions at a scale commensurate to the needs of the
coastal ocean stakeholder.
The shift in observing strategies to prominently include autonomous land- and
sea-based electronic sensing systems prompted refocusing of the coursework at
UPRM to include, in addition to expeditionary oceanographic techniques, the practice of coastal ocean observing using autonomous observing platforms. Happily,
these courses spanned the period over which most of the modern suite of instruments and platforms became commercially available. Many of these were put to use
and indeed are still operational as part of the current observing effort.
Active involvement of the author in the establishment of the Caribbean Regional
Association for Coastal Ocean Observing (today a not-for-profit entity incorporated
in the state of Puerto Rico under the name of CariCOOS) provided first-hand experience in planning and implementation of observing systems. During the development of CariCOOS, opportunity arose for implementing high frequency radar as a
dual-use technology to detect and track vessels at sea while simultaneously tracking
ocean surface currents over a wide swath of the coastal ocean. Numerous other
opportunities arose for mutually beneficial collaboration with various academic,
governmental, and private-sector organizations which are discussed below in greater
detail. Concurrent service of the author on the Ocean Studies Board of the US
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine provided expert views
on many of the topics here discussed, particularly regarding ocean observing,
numerical modeling, and carbon biogeochemistry.
The book is biased to the practice of ocean observing in the balmy tropics. Due
apologies are extended to colleagues working in more rigorous climes and to the
reader for the comparative void of information in this regard. Likewise, international readers outside the USA will find the book necessarily biased to the author’s
experience within this jurisdiction to which PR and USVI are subject.
Preface