The Physical Observing
System: From Monitoring
and Predicting Hazards to
Long Term Changes
Doug Wilson
Co-Chairman, IOCARIBE-GOOS
U.S. NOAA
GEO CZCP Workshop
Earth Observation Support for
Sustainable Tourism in Small Island States
March 9-11, 2011, San Juan, Puerto Rico
GOOS – the Global Ocean
Observing System - is the Ocean
component of GEOSS, the Global
Earth Observation System of
Systems.
IOCARIBE-GOOS is the GOOS
Regional Alliance for the
Caribbean Region.
OCEATLAN
The countries of the Caribbean and the
Gulf of Mexico need
GOOS as a
fundamental tool for development and
sustainable use of the marine and
coastal environment. The following
priorities
to
be
addressed
by
IOCARIBE-GOOS were determined at
the first GOOS Users Forum in 1999:
TOURISM
COASTAL POPULATIONS
FISHERIES
AGRICULTURE
MARINE POLLUTION
MARITIME SAFETY
WEATHER FORECASTING
STORMS AND HURRICANES
The goal is to provide necessary
information through an integrated
system of
• Observations
• Data Management Services
• Models
• Products
through a cooperative network of providers and users.
A primary task of this workshop is to consider what products
(and thus what observations and models) are needed to
support sustainable tourism; job of GOOS and other providers
is to implement a system that will deliver these to managers,
planners, businesses, governments, and citizens who will use
them.
Integrated Caribbean Water Level Network
Deemed a priority by IOCARIBE in 2004:
• Monitoring and Planning for Climate
Change impacts
• Circulation / Altimetry
• Monitoring Coastal Erosion
• Forecasting and Mitigating Inundation
due to storms
• Tsunami Detection and Validation
• Marine Commerce
Prior to the 2004 Indonesian tsunami there was ONE (non-US)
reliable real-time satellite reporting water level gauge in the
Caribbean.
Now there are dozens but a need for integration and products.
Caribbean Sea Level Network







 



OPER / XMIT



Status reported GLOSS IX 02/05
Caribbean Sea Level Monitoring Stations
NOAA NWS Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/ctwp/
•
Contributing RTX,
Contributing RTX (DART),
Existing,
• Gap,
Planned,
Non Operational/Unknown
Water Level and Winds drive ocean circulation. Another
important observation is coastal meteorology; necessary if we
want to correctly force local circulation models providing the
basis for accurate local forecasts of waves, currents, and
water quality.
Models must be developed
and validated based on
observations.
But once established they can
be used for regional forecasting OR used as a basis
for local coastal models, as is
being done by CARICOOS. These local models are
critical components for understanding and predicting
local conditions importance to tourism – coastal
erosion and inundation, pollution and water quality,
and beach erosion and sediment transport.
NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch combines research, in situ
observations, and remote sensing to to assess and forecast
potential damage to coral reefs by high water temperatures.
Sustained high quality longterm measurements are
critical for detecting and
planning for effects of
climate change.
“ IOCARIBE-GOOS is a basic source of information, services
and products to support sustainable social and economic
development, welfare, and safety, through systematic
observations and associated research on coasts and seas in
the IOCARIBE region.
The system is operational in nature and designed to yield
products and services that meet the needs of users.
It provides information on the past, present and future state
of the marine and coastal environment, on marine
ecosystems and biodiversity, and on weather and climate
variability.
It is also a tool for integrated management of the coastal
zone.
International cooperation and capacity building are essential
to the effective operation of the system and to enable
potential users to benefit from it.”
Some final comments:
Observational and modeling capabilities are improving
rapidly.
We need to understand the needs of the [tourism] sector,
develop useful products, and establish the environmental
and economic value of their use in order to support (and
justify) the underlying observations and research.
We need to look to new organizational structures and
partnerships;
Community data collection and observational support;
Efficient exchange of information and best practices.
Sea Level, Climate Change,
and the Chesapeake Bay
A joint project between NOAA,
regional IOOS partners,
NGOs, and National
Geographic to combine data
and model results in an
accessible format.