OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEMS 

 GENERATE WAVES OF DATA 



When Cap'n Jim Willis flew over the Cape 

 Lookout shoals in 1993, he noticed that the 

 northeast ocean swells from Raleigh Bay spread 

 out like spokes on a wagon wheel. 



"As the waves come around from the 

 northeast, they wrap around the tip of the shoals," 

 says Willis, a longtime Bogue Banks resident 

 and a self-described "banksologist." 



However, the weather data from 

 instruments in the area didn't give wave 

 direction, height and length, or time of day and 

 date, according to Willis. 



But that changed in June when a new 

 weather buoy was deployed off Cape Lookout 

 shoals. 



The buoy monitors a variety of ocean 

 conditions, including waves, currents, water 

 temperature and salinity. It also records wind 

 speed and direction, and other weather data. 



Willis says the buoy is in the center of 

 the wagon wheel — where it provides useful 

 oceanographic data. "It will provide valuable 

 information for researchers, surfers, boaters and 

 fishermen," he adds. 



The new buoy relays data from its sensors 

 to shore every hour. Once checked for quality 

 control, the data eventually will be posted 

 online at the Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean 

 Observing System (SEACOOS) Web site, 

 as well as through the National Oceanic & 

 Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National 

 Weather Service (NWS) and the National Data 

 Buoy Center. 



SOUTHEAST OBSERVING 

 SYSTEM 



The buoy is part of SEACOOS, a regional 

 research group created to better understand 

 what's happening in coastal ocean waters 

 stretching from North Carolina to Florida. 

 Researchers are using buoys and radar near or on 

 the ocean to develop detailed maps and data sets. 



SEACOOS, which knits together small 



monitoring programs already 

 operating along the coast, is a 

 collaborative effort among the 

 University of North Carolina at 

 Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), North 

 Carolina Sea Grant, the University 

 of North Carolina system and 

 numerous other partners in South 

 Carolina, Georgia and Florida. 

 The SEACOOS Web site provides 

 an update on North Carolina 

 observing systems, as well as other 

 systems around the region. 



"We are trying to integrate 

 many different elements and form 

 a merged information system 

 that will address scientific and 

 societal issues," says Harvey Seim, 

 SEACOOS project coordinator 

 and UNC-CH physical oceanographer. "We 

 see a tremendous benefit in marrying satellite 

 remote sensing and ship-based observation 

 with offshore measures at Chapel Hill so that 

 you can get all the information in one place in a 

 consistent fashion." 



Funded by the Office of Naval Research, 

 SEACOOS also is a pilot component of the 

 Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOSS) 

 that will become a network of "eyes" on buoys, 

 ships, satellites, underwater vehicles and other 

 platforms that supply data and information for 

 ocean predictions in U.S. waters. The national 

 IOOS program is part of the federal Ocean.US 

 program that was created by the National 

 Oceanographic Partnership Program. 



"The eventual goal for IOOS is to save the 

 United States close to $1 billion a year through 

 enhanced weather forecasting resources and 

 more efficient marine transportation," says 

 Seim. 



Because there is little data on weather 

 conditions in the ocean between Cape Hatteras 

 and Cape Fear, the new Cape Lookout buoy will 



above: The UNC-CH Institute df Marine Sciences 



IN MOREHEAD ClTY PRDVIDES TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR 

 THE NEW BUOY, NOW LOCATED OFF CAPE LOOKOUT. 



provide much-needed data in this large section 

 of North Carolina's coastal waters, according to 

 Rick Luettich, director of the UNC-CH Institute 

 of Marine Sciences in Morehead City. 



"This data should greatly improve the 

 quality of the marine forecast provided by 

 NWS, as well as provide information to the 

 public on current conditions in this region," says 

 Luettich, the buoy coordinator. 



"This information will be of great value 

 to anyone who is fishing, boating or involved 

 in recreation along the central North Carolina 

 coast," he adds. The buoy also will provide 

 important data that will help ocean scientists and 

 NWS weather forecasters improve their ability 

 to predict the behavior of the coastal ocean." 



Thomas Kriehn of the NWS in Newport 

 agrees. 



"The buoy is in the boating superhighway 

 between Beaufort Inlet and the Big Rock that 

 is a popular spot for offshore fishermen," adds 

 Kriehn, meterologist in charge of the NWS 

 Newport office. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 



