MARCOOS PROGRESS as of December 2007
(as reported on January 4th Conference Call)
Theme 1: Safety at Sea – Search And Rescue
Weather
Progress
- New dedicated Linux computer for running the Weather Research Forecast
(WRF) purchased, delivered and installed at Mount Holly NWS Office. WRF
installed by NOAA personnel. Rutgers visit scheduled for January 13 to configure
WRF forecasts with the same experimental operational set up as Rutgers. – Scott
Glenn (RU), Al Cope (NOAA)
- Inventory of the existing WRF capabilities at the 5 Mid Atlantic WFOs is
underway. – Jay Titlow (Weatherflow), Bill Boicourt (UMaryland)
- Weatherflow coastal monitoring site data (~100 new sites) is being formatted as
netCDF data for inclusion in the Coast Guard’s Environmental Data Server (EDS). – Jay Titlow (Weatherflow) and Eoin Howlett (ASA)
- MARCOOS subarea for the NWS North American Model (NAM) that uses the currently the operational version of WRF) are now being extracted from the NOMADS website and made available on the Rutgers Ocean Modeling Server via Opendap. – John Wilkin (RU), Eoin Howlett (ASA)
- Eoin can fill in the missing Dec 22-Jan 1 NAM data.
- Stevens ocean forecast runs are submitted at 1 am local time each morning, what
is the best NAM forecast to extract based on this operational schedule?
- Jay will continue WRF inventory.
- Jay & Eoin continue moving the Weatherflow data in netCDF into EDS.
HF Radar
Progress- Two standard range CODARs installed and operating on City of Norfolk and Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel property. Data from CODARs being compared to ChesROMS numerical model of Chesapeake Bay and to NOAA ADCP's on Coast Guard navigation buoys. Third NOAA COOPS CODAR will soon be installed an operated cooperatively. – Larry Atkinson (ODU)
- All 26 operating CODAR sites are now registered in the MARCOOS online HF Radar database. The registry contains all the site, hardware and software info necessary to assure all sites are running at optimal settings. It also lists immediate problems that need to be addressed as part of the start up phase. – Hugh Roarty (RU), Todd Fake (UConn)
- Needs for existing site upgrades were identified based on the information provided in the registry. – Hugh Roarty (RU)
- Advanced CODAR training dates set for Feb. 18-22 at Rutgers. CODAR will send technical support staff to Rutgers for training.
- As sites were registered, they were added to the National HF Radar Network Server at Rutgers. 24 of the 26 Mid-Atlantic sites were reporting to the National network before software upgrades temporarily halted new site additions. – Josh Kohut (RU)
- Scripps, RU and NOAA developed plan for RU to purchase a new computer (about $3K each) that will mirror the existing national servers at each location but will allow for RCOOS development and testing of new products. - Josh Kohut (RU), Mark Otero (Scripps), Jack Harlan (NOAA), Dave Ulman (URI), Dan Holloway (Opendap)
- Plans developed to implement the Opendap HF Radar radial data combiner on the radial data consolidated by the national network servers and produce total vectors on the 3 national grids (6 km, 2 km and 1 km resolution). HFRprogs toolbox Dave Kaplan wrote for the national server is now running locally for the implementation. Opendap implementation will require the new test server above to be purchased. – Josh Kohut (RU), Dave Ulman (URI), Dan Holloway (Opendap)
- The effect of different receiver antenna patterns on the resulting radial surface currents is being assessed with Coast Guard drifter data. Results will be compared with the simulations of Kip Laws, including programs to assess the difference between the measured and ideal patterns, and relate the difference to the expected variability in the surface currents. Purpose is to determine best practices for the operation of the individual CODAR sites. - Josh Kohut (RU)
- While software to generate the total vector current fields from the national network server is developed, the existing Rutgers-generated total vector fields will be upgraded with all new sites as available and will continue to produce current fields for the subsequent modeling product development. - Hugh Roarty (RU), Josh Kohut (RU)
- Sites that still need attention
- Tuckerton – bad receiver antenna pattern due to nearby tower– definitely move south to Brigantine. – RU will move
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel site - New locations for this site are being investigated. High background noise and a very distorted antenna pattern (made worse by two recently installed police radio antennas) make the current location unsuitable.
- Great Captain Island – bad antenna pattern from nearby light tower.
- Duck & Hatteras – sporadic noise and interference from Duck pier – alternative sites tested by CODAR. – Hugh & Harvey to develop plan
- Assateague – wild ponies walking on ground plane – to be fenced in.
- Sandy Hook – low signal to noise – assess cable run. – Dave & Chip from Rutgers to assess
- Block Island – assess power issues with two sites on same breaker - reduce draw as required. – Hugh & Dave Ulman
- Moriches – seeking permanent permission to operate at Coast Guard base. – Art can help here
- Need to develop a working group at Advanced CODAR Training to address the software settings used to account for double peaked Bragg spectra that occur in regions with both strong and weak flows. – Larry, Josh, Hugh, etc.
- Need the central site IP address, username and password for the remaining 2 CODAR sites to enter them into the national network. Josh will add them when the national servers are again available after the software upgrade.
- Define and purchase with Scripps the computers to mirror the national network servers that enable RA development of new products. - Josh Kohut (RU)
- Start the best practices document for CODAR operations in the Mid Atlantic. –
CODAR working group
Modeling
Progress- UConn Short Term Prediction System (STPS) statistical model is being run on the existing New Jersey Shelf domain used by Rutgers and UConn in the earlier Coast Guard tests. UConn is working with ASA to get the existing forecasts into EDS, and to expand the STPS domain to the full Mid Atlantic. - Jim O’Donnell & Todd Fake (UConn)
- Rutgers ROMS Mid-Atlantic Bight domain is now nested with the North Carolina MAB-GOM domain developed for Navy applications. Rutgers MAB ROMS group is working on the 4D-Var assimilation of CODAR, Glider, Shipboard and Mooring data, focused mainly on the NSF LaTTE Experiment and the ONR Shallow Water 2006 Experiment. - John Wilkin ( RU)
- Stevens NYHOPS System Updates. - Alan Blumberg & Nickitas Georgas (Stevens)
- A new high-resolution forecasting model is now operational and accessible through the web www.stevens.edu/maritimeforecast
- The new NYHOPS grid has an increased resolution by approximately a factor of 8, and encompasses a larger domain by approximately 30%, including Delaware Bay, NJ Coast, New York Harbor, the Hudson/Raritan Estuary and tidal Hudson River, Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, and the New York Bight from coastal Maryland to Nantucket, MA.
- The updated NYHOPS website provides visual displays of daily 48hr marine forecasts and real-time comparisons with national and local datasets hosted at Stevens IT for sea level, currents, temperature, salinity, speed of sound, waves, and CDOM on the updated high-resolution grid.
- Inputs are based on updated high-resolution freshwater, wind, waves and other inputs (either observed or forecasted by NOAA models). Upgrade to the new grib2 standard for NOAA meteorological and wave forecast guidance has been completed.
- Passive assimilation of collected observations, including HF Radar data for the NY Bight Apex, is operational on the new grid, and available on the NYHOPS web page under “Present Conditions.” Preliminary testing of several algorithms for active assimilation has been underway, with promising results.
- The new NYHOPS provides up to 48hr coastal flooding and blowout guidance in a redesigned Storm Surge Warning System service and website for several locations primarily along the coast of New Jersey, with flexibility for expansion to other areas.
- Extensive online validation of the updated model is underway and is expected to be completed within the new year.
- UMass has hired a post-doctoral fellow to join their MARCOOS modeling team, the feature oriented initialization scheme is under testing using the Shallow Water 2006 time period, the HOPS system is being moved to a Linux platform in preparation for real time runs, and the glider, HF Radar, and SST data from the test time periods have been downloaded. - Avijit Gongopadhyay (UMass)
- UConn & ASA work to get the existing STPS current forecasts into EDS in preparation for the full region in the future.
- Dynamical Modeling Groups continue spinning up their data assimilative models in the region in preparation for real time forecasts in year 2.
Data Management
Progress- Draft data management plan developed for MACOORA. – Eoin Howlett (ASA)
- Opendap access to NOAA weather forecasts, codar and glider data set up on Rutgers Ocean Modeling server for access by the modeling groups. Need for a more convenient glider data structure for assimilation identified. – John Wilkin (RU)
- Existing Rutgers real-time HF Radar current maps available via ftp for STPS. –
Josh Kohut (RU)
- Eoin Howlett (ASA) to attend February Data Management meeting for MARCOOS.
- Eoin Howlett and John Wilkin collaborating on the design of a new glider data format that facilitates assimilation by forecasters.
Theme 2: Ecosystem Decision Support – Fisheries
Satellite Data
Progress- Lisa Ojanen (past employee NOAA’s Rick Stumpf) has been hired to replace Jen Bosch (now a UMaryland Ph.D. student) as the satellite system operator at Rutgers. - Lisa starts work Jan. 7
- Satellite efforts are now focusing on transitioning NASA developed water mass algorithms to an operational product for the Mid-Atlantic region.- This effort is being headed by U. Delaware in collaboration with the Rutgers Remote Sensing Lab
Gliders
Progress- First IOOS glider ordered October 1, 2007.
- 8 regional glider flights have been conducted to date: 6 from Massachusetts to Tuckerton, and 2 from Tuckerton to Norfolk. – Hugh Roarty (RU), Wendell Brown (UMass), Larry Atkinson (ODU), Bill Boiocurt (UMaryland), Harvey Siem (UNC)
- Raw data to go with the real time plots is now available on the Rutgers website – John Kerfoot (RU)
- Advanced Glider Training is scheduled for Jan 9-11 at Rutgers. Over 20 people have signed up, including 3 from UMass, 1 from UMaryland, and 1 from UConn.– Hugh Roarty (RU)
- Plan first spring glider run along the southern section from Tuckerton to Norfolk. - Larry, Bill, Harvey, etc.
- Attend ONR Glider TTI meeting to compare QA/QC procedures for glider CTD data. - John Kerfoot
Education/Outreach
Progress- We negotiated a supplemental award from MACOORA to fund the development of the COSEE NOW community center to extend and improve our ability to be able to work with MARCOOS audiences (including fishermen) and formatively assess the data products developed with MARCOOS. – Janice McDonnell (RU)
- We identified a contractor (expert in internet communication and community building) called Interface Guru who will be consulting with us to assist us in virtually connecting with MARCOOS audiences. – Janice McDonnell (RU)
- We conducted a literature review where we identified a recent study with fisheries managers and their thoughts/opinions on use of real time data products. – Janice McDonnell (RU)
- ADCPs were deployed by SeaGrant project to measure nearshore waves and currents for the validation of the nearshore CODAR product to be used for beach condition forecasts. – Josh Kohut (RU), Tom Herrington (Stevens)
- A proposal to Columbia University to use MARCOOS to assess how coastal zone managers and agencies use and respond to information from the Ocean Observing System was approved. Several Columbia Public Policy students will be dedicated to the project. - Andrew Voros (COAST)
- First report from the NSF OOI Cyber Infrastructure Implementing Organization uses MARCOOS as a model for future OOI systems, and recognizes that the OOI pioneer array will be in the MACOORA domain. The document indicates the that the OOI scientific user community has the need to integrate IOOS and OOI data streams. – Oscar Schofield (RU)
- Meeting requested by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) help on Jan 4, 2008 to discuss water quality applications of MARCOOS and data sharing between MARCOOS and NJDEP. – Josh Kohut (RU)
MARCOOS Management
Progress- Subcontracts distributed using successful SEACOOS task order model
- New web designer hired. Management website launched.
- Expand MARCOOS website to foster communication between working groups.
Revised January 15, 2008