GCOOS
Part 1: Introduction to the Ocean Observing System Enterprise
Have you ever wondered how we know whether a hurricane will get stronger? Where an offshore oil spill will go? When fish might be spawning? Thousands of ocean sensors play a critical role in everything from forecasting hurricanes to helping us understand and manage living marine resources. No single group could possibly place enough sensors to monitor all coasts, bays and oceans over the space and time scales needed. Instead, academic, private and public entities work together to create ocean observing networks or systems.
A sensor being installed on a GCOOS buoy, photo provided by Dr. Chris Simoniello
The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), organized by the Group on Earth Observations, is an international effort to coordinate the gathering of information about our air, water, land and biosphere. More than 100 governments and 100 international organizations are represented. The ocean component of GEOSS is the Global Ocean Observing System. Its early development was led by Texas A&M University Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dr. Worth Nowlin. One U.S. contribution to this global ocean network is the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). IOOS has 11 Regional Associations that coordinate observations, data management and stakeholder engagement in different ocean regions across the US and Great Lakes. The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System, focused on the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida, is based at TAMU-College Station.
A map of the various stations comprising the GCOOS network. Image from the GCOOS data portal.
Partners across the TAMU System, as well as a diverse group of people from federal and state government, academia, non-profit organizations, small businesses, industry, and educational institutions contribute to and guide activities of the GCOOS Regional Association.
Part 2: What We Measure and Why
From oil and gas reserves, to the commercial fishing industry to its intrinsic beauty, the Gulf of Mexico is a national treasure with countless natural resources. Understanding the processes that drive oceanic and atmospheric cycles helps to protect public health, ensure safe marine operations, and support jobs and quality of life for 14 million people who live along its coast.
Container ships, shown above, rely on data provided by GCOOS. Photo provided by Dr. Chris Simoniello.
At the heart of this understanding is the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System, GCOOS. GCOOS brings together the many organizations working to understand the Gulf’s ocean processes. It takes in their data and ensures the information is timely and accurate before compiling it into a central hub that is accessible to all who need it.
This bathymetry map, or elevation of the seafloor, is one product provided by the GCOOS network. Image from: GCOOS
In addition to compiling and sharing data, GCOOS supports ocean modeling and forecasting, keeps long-term data sets that help us understand environmental changes over time, and supports outreach and education activities to help create a more ocean-literate society. By collecting a wide range of data and developing user tools based on that data, GCOOS serves many societal needs focused on four core areas: human health and safety; marine operations; coastal hazards; and healthy ecosystems and living resources. In upcoming episodes of “On the Ocean,” we’ll explore GCOOS’s role in the Gulf of Mexico, and learn how different ocean observing tools support knowledge of everything from microscopic cells that wreak havoc on human health to large-scale tropical systems that reshape coasts.
Data provided by GCOOS are also useful in the monitoring and prediction of harmful algal blooms, such as bloom of the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia, shown above. Image from GCOOS
Contributor / Script Author: Dr. Chris Simoniello
Editor: James M. Fiorendino
Part 3: Tools of the Trade
Nearly all ocean processes can be captured in one word, “Energy”: where it comes from, where it’s going and how it’s changing along the way. The boundary between the atmosphere and ocean, called the “air-sea interface”, is where enormous amounts of moisture and heat energy are exchanged, influencing things like the formation of tropical cyclones, ocean waves and currents, and weather.
A schematic of the processes occurring between the ocean and atmosphere at the air-sea interface; figure by Jayne Doucette, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI [2013].
At least 34 variables in the disciplines of physics, biogeochemistry and biology are measured to understand ocean processes. The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (or GCOOS) gathers these data and packages it for use by all who need it. Tools to understand ocean physics include sensors which measure wind speed and direction, humidity, air temperature, and barometric pressure; radiometers to measure incoming light energy from the sun; and radar to measure ocean currents. Other tools of the trade include echosounders, which map the seafloor using sound waves, probes that infer salinity, or the concentration of dissolved ions in seawater, by measuring conductivity, and pressure sensors which are used to measure sea surface height.
The CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) is a core component of oceanography, and refers to a suite of instruments which are lowered through the water column collecting salinity, temperature, and a range of other data with respect to depth. The image to the right shows a SeaBird Scientific SBE 19plus V2 SeaCAT Profiler CTD.
To understand ocean biogeochemistry, we measure the optical properties of water to detect dissolved matter like nutrients or contaminants. Other probes quantify dissolved oxygen or ocean acidity. To understand ocean biology, tools range from complex cameras to track microscopic plankton to satellite-linked tags to study movement of the largest fish, marine mammals and sea turtles. Data from the wide array of sensors and probes managed by GCOOS and partners allow scientists to detect and predict conditions of our dynamic Gulf of Mexico.
High Frequency (HF) radar, one example of ocean sensors used by GCOOS, is used to track surface currents. Data are useful for search and rescue operations as well as predicting movements of oil spills. HF arrays are comprised of systems of antennae (left), which provide current data over coastal waters. The right image is an example of HF radar coverage on the west coast of the United States, images from IOOS, https://ioos.noaa.gov/
Part 4: Economies of Scale
The core set of atmospheric and oceanographic variables measured as part of a coordinated observation network, and the products derived from these data demonstrate how the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) serves many societal needs.
Consider High Frequency Radar (HFR). HFR is a system of transmitters and radio antennae receivers along coasts whose signals indicate the speed and direction of ocean surface currents, and heights and periods of waves; wave period is the time interval between the peaks of a wave. This information helps determine when people and property are at risk from disasters like hurricanes, oil spills, and toxic algae blooms. Additionally, data from GCOOS aids the Coast Guard in search and rescue operations, reducing the search area by as much as 66%. GCOOS data also enhances safety for beach-goers with warnings about dangerous conditions like high waves and rip currents. Information about the physical state of the Gulf of Mexico helps scientists understand the movement of drifting organisms like larval fish and corals.
For work like this, it is especially important to gather into one network information from individual systems. For example, the data from radars operated by Texas A&M University-College Station, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University of South Florida, together give a more comprehensive picture of Gulf of Mexico surface currents than any one system alone can provide. Imagine the collective benefits from an observing system with more than a thousand data sensors! The image above shows locations of the network of sensors deployed in the Gulf of Mexico currently.
Contributor / Script Author: Dr. Chris Simoniello
Editor: James M. Fiorendino
This has been On the Ocean, a program made possible by the Department of Oceanography and a production of KAMU-FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.