CoastWatch
Note: CoastWatch Operations have been transferred from COP to NESDIS in
FY95
THE ISSUE:
In the fall of 1987, a "red tide" event, a toxic plankton bloom, occurred
off the North Carolina coast, causing an estimated $25 million loss to fisheries
and tourism for that area when State authorities had to close shellfish beds
for several months. NOAA's polar orbiting satellites were able to detect ocean
thermal features associated with the event in the data collected from the
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). These were then translated
into high resolution sea surface temperature (SST) images which provide the
means for tracking this toxic marine algae as well as for many other activities
and phenomena that are associated with sea surface temperatures.
THE APPROACH:
CoastWatch is designed to provide satellite remotely sensed and in situ
environmental data and information to Federal and State decision makers and
researchers in a timely and accessible manner. CoastWatch focuses on regional
and national priorities, such as unusual environmental events and tracking
algal biomass that contribute to toxic phytoplankton blooms. It is a cooperative
effort involving the COP and all NOAA Line Offices including the National
Weather Service (NWS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Environmental
Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), Oceanic and Atmospheric
Research (OAR), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES:
The CoastWatch program has made significant progress in its initial objectives:
1) to provide access to near real-time and retrospective satellite and in
situ data and aircraft observations to decision makers and researchers; 2)
to enhance communications systems supporting access to and distribution of
near real-time and historical satellite and in-situ observations of coastal
ocean users; and 3) to enhance workstations and associated software for integrated
analyses of environmental quality, fisheries oceanography, and coastal hazards.
Regional sites have been established to collect, process, calibrate, validate,
archive, and distribute the data. Focus for the program now is to develop
and apply products. Such applications include the Red Tide Watch, Turtle Excluder
Devices Project, El Nino Watch, Zebra Mussel Predictions, and the Synthetic
Aperture Radar Project.
More information about CoastWatch:
- NOAA/NESDIS/CoastWatch
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