Caribbean Regional Association for Coastal Ocean Observing (CaRA/CarICOOS)

1. Caribbean Regional Association for Coastal Ocean Observing (CaRA/CarICOOS) 2009 Regional Coordination Workshop Seattle, WA August 25, 2009

2. Part 1: Project Status ReportSupport to the Caribbean Regional Association for Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing (05/01/2008 – 04/30/2011) Implementation of the Caribbean Regional Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing System(08/01/2008-07/31/2011)Project InvestigatorsJulio M. Morell, Jorge E. Corredor, Aurelio Mercado, Jorge E. Capella, Luis Aponte, Miguel Canals – UPRM Roy A. Watlington, Naseer Idrissi – UVI

3. Project Status Report: Project Schedule and Milestones • Enhancing proactive participation and diversity within the Governance Structure and strengthening the Regional Association. • Continued revision and refinement of CaRA’s draft business plan. • Continued and expanded exchange with stakeholders to provide for further development of CaRA’s needs assessment. • Continued refinement and prioritization of CaRA’s observing system design and ensure interoperability of data and information products. • Enhancement of stakeholder recognition and trust through rapid development of appropriate, effective avenues of access to useful integrated data products that meet expressed CaRA stakeholder needs. • Emplace and maintain core coastal observing assets for near real time observations of coastal circulation, waves, winds and water quality in Atlantic and Caribbean coastal zonal bands. • Implement an operational modeling program that will generate coastal wind, wave and circulation forecasts providing an integrative regional context to observational data and generate improved storm surge driven coastal inundation maps and surface tidal elevation products. • Develop regionally focused coastal water quality products derived from remotely sensed data and validated using in situ observations. • Maximize usefulness and availability of the above data streams by implementing DMAC standards and procedures assuring data availability to the IOOS community. • Assure usefulness to all stakeholder sectors by implementing a tailored product design and delivery strategies.

4. Keys to Success • Sustained stakeholder engagement through web page presence, press interviews & releases, workshops and meetings (sector focused in particular), one-on-one visits, new observing assets/data products • Intern Program (sustained development of regional expertise) • Visiting expert program (technology transfer) • Strategic Alliances and Leveraging • Buoy program – University of Maine • Modeling: • ADCIRC Circulation – PennState • ADCIRC/inundation – PR DNRE Renaissance Institute & UNC • ROMS/HYCOM – RSMAS • SWAN (UniNorte) • UPRM Alliance for Coastal Modeling • Surface currents • CODAR program: DHS-funded “National Center for Secure and Resilient Maritime Commerce and Coastal Environments” (CSR) • Water Quality • Partnerships with remote sensing specialists: NOAA CoastWatch, European Space Agency, USF • NOAA Atlantic Test Bed for CO2 monitoring • Coastal Weather • ICON/CREWS • PR Seismic Network • Coastal weather mesonet – WeatherFlow • Liaisons for needs assessment (NWS, PR Sea Grant Program, USGS, USCG, DNRE) 4

5. Potential Challenges • Challenges: • Institutional (UPRM, UVI) – cumbersome purchasing, contractual & accounting procedures • Maintaining stakeholder interest with few unique data streams • Lack of understanding by public of graphical products (ie: NWS GF) • Resolving challenges: • Under consultation with CaRA Board • Increased observing system products • Outreach & Education, sustained product improvement

6. Current Status: Products

7. Current Status: Product Examples • “one-stop-shopping” for government, commercial & recreational stakeholders on ocean and weather conditions • Existing data streams (NOAA, USGS, Navy) • Real-time Buoy data • Real-time Meteo • Model data • Imagery • storm-driven coastal inundation products for local government for emergency management & planning (PR State Emergency Management Agency) • Coastal weather data & products to NWS-San Juan for improved forecasting capability • Outreach to stakeholder groups to assure appropriate product use

8. Current Status: Observations Code: CW = NOAA CoastWatch, ESA = European Space Agency, USF = U. of South Florida, CSR = DHS CODAR Project, CRP = NOAA Coral Reef Program

9. Map 1a: Existing Observing Assets

10. Map 1b: Leveraged Assets

11. Current Status: In Water Assets • CarICOOS Data Buoy A

12. Current Status: In Water Assets • NOAA MAPCO2 Buoy • NOAA PMEL, NOAA CRP • CariCOOS

13. Current Status: On Land Assets

14. Current Status: On Land Assets • CSR – CODAR HF Radar • Equipment on loan from: • Rutgers COOL • TAMU

15. Current Status: Modeling and DMAC subsystems

16. Coastal Currents ADCIRC (J. Capella-CaRA, Dave Hill,- Penn State)

17. CURRENT STATUS - MODELING ASSETS (NOWCASTS AND FORECAST) • PR DNER contracted CaRA – UPRM Alliance for Coastal Modeling to perform Coastal Zone inundation modeling using ADCIRC, SWAN and COULWAVE. • Coastal Winds • WRF J. Gonzales-CaRA/UPRM, S. Strippling NHC • Coastal Waves • SWAN ( C. Anselmi, CaRA-UPRM, J. C. Ortiz –UniNorte)

18. MODELING ASSETS (cont.) • storm surge-inundation ADCIRC • (J. Gonzalez, CaRA-UPRM, A. Mercado-UPRM, B. Blanton-Renaissance Institute ), collaboration DRNA • offshore currents (HYCOM/ROMS) • L. Cherubin-RSMAS, N. Idrissi-UVI), IAS/NCOM (D. Ko-NRL)

19. Part 2: Looking Forward: Future Plans .

20. Future Plans: Major Products

21. Future Plans: Observations

22. Future Plan: Modeling and DMAC

23. CariCOOS Future Plans

24. Funding Scenario