The Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) A Regional Coastal Observing System within the Integrated Ocean Observing System

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The Alaska Ocean Observing System(AOOS) A
Regional Coastal Observing System within the
Integrated Ocean Observing System
Molly McCammon, AOOS Executive Director

• Mark Johnson
• UAF Liason to AOOS
• Institute of Marine Science
• School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
• University of Alaska Fairbanks

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Mission Statement Alaska Ocean Observing System

• Provide quality processed data to generate model
  forecasts and information products for
  stakeholders. Focus on sustainability of Alaskas
  marine resources, mitigation of impacts due to
  climate change, and improved navigation safety
  and search and rescue. Provide user groups,
  resource managers and policy makers with
  essential information to make informed
  decisions.

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Possible US Ocean Observing Regions
see www.csc.noaa.gov/coos/
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• Alaska has special challenges because of its
  size, remoteness, and extreme climate.

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Planning

• Secure interim and long-term funding
• 2M in year 1, with similar amounts in years 2
  and 3
• Move toward multiple regions to increase funding
  - 6m goal in 2006
• Identify stakeholders coastal residents,
  managers, industry, researchers and stakeholder
  needs
• Develop organizational structure, DMAC
  partnership among federal and state agencies,
  private sector, users, academia
• Develop systems
• Pilot project in Prince William Sound
• -- Expand observing capacity throughout Alaska

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Stakeholder needs

• Observational data and model forecasts
• Ocean circulation, currents, frontal locations
• Winds, air temperature, precipitation
• Fisheries ecosystem approach to management
• Search and rescue, oil spill response
• Trajectory modeling
• Currents and winds in real-time
• Coastal erosion
• Wave height and storm surge modeling
• Landfast and sea ice conditions
• Seasonal and long-term forecasts
• Sea ice
• Heat indices
• Improved weather forecasts
• Harmful algal blooms

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One Alaska - Three Regions
Arctic
Bering Sea/ Aleutians
Gulf of Alaska
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Region 1 Gulf of AlaskaRegion 2 Bering Sea
and Aleutian IslandsRegion 3 The
Arctic
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AOOS Statewide Functions

• Data Management and Communications
• Modeling and Analysis Group
• Observation, model and satellite data display
• Data Visualization animations, graphics
  Education and Outreach
• Ship coordinator small ship upgrades
• Major equipment investments for leveraging
• - Airborne EM sea ice thickness sensor (year 2)
• - Airborne Salinity Mapper (year 3)
• also for surface freshwater content (moisture
  over tundra gets CO2 flux estimate)

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Modeling and Analysis Group
Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)
50 km grid
12 km grid
3 km grid
Nested domains
1 km grid
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AOOS Region 1 Gulf of Alaska

• Users
• - commercial fishing
• - recreational boaters
• - oil gas developers
• - search rescue
• - tourism
• - managers
• - navigation services
• - aquaculture/mariculture
• Information products
• - marine sea state
• - circulation patterns from ocean models
• - coastal erosion predictions
• - nowcast/forecasts for search rescue oil
  spill response
• - fisheries/ecosystem productivity

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Gulf of Alaska Priorities

• Develop PWS observing system as pilot project
• Build new capacity in Cook Inlet, Kodiak
  Southeast Increase number of oceanographic
  moorings
• Add tide, sea-level stream gauges in real time
• Deploy surface current mappers
• Enhance fisheries ecosystem information
• Enhance ship of opportunity program

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AOOS funding will support PWS Pilot Project
Meteorology
Sea Surface Conditions
Oceanography
Water Quality
Currents
Precipitation
PWS Weather
Data Assimilation
Field Validation Experiments
Data
Real time data
Model
Ancillary
3D Model
3D Model
Retrieval
Retrieval
Data
Assimilation
Data
Assimilation
Processing
Processing
PWS Waves
Application
Research
Application
Research
Server
Server
Server (GIS)
Server (POET)
Feedback
Economic models
Education
Fishery management
Communities
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AOOS Region 2 Bering Sea/Aleutians

• Users
• commercial fishing
• subsistence
• coastal communities
• climate change research
• search rescue
• resource managers
• Information products
• sea ice vessel icing forecasts
• coastal erosion predictions
• fisheries/ecosystem productivity
• winds and wave forecasts

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Bering Sea/Aleutian PrioritiesNational Backbone

• Increase number of buoys make real-time.
  Monitor more variables.
• Add tide river gauges C-Man stations
• Several long-range HF radar surface current
  mappers at pulse pts in circulations major
  fishing grounds
• Expand fisheries surveys, increase oceanic
  parameters measured

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Bering Sea/Aleutians Regional Priorities

• N-S array of 5 moorings along 70m isobath
• Moorings across Bering Strait
• Set of moorings across AK Stream s of Aleutians
  including shelf break buoys to measure entire
  water column. 2-3 moorings in Unimak pass,
  Amukta/Samalga Pass Amchitka Pass
• Expand coverage of bottom trawl surveys and BASIS
  project surveys add biological components
• Record in real-time key indicator species such as
  whales
• Ship of opportunity program
• Cable-linked observatories on Pribilofs Little
  Diomede Island

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AOOS Arctic Stakeholders

• Users
• offshore oil gas
• shipping/navigation
• resource managers
• subsistence hunting
• climate change researchers
• Native communities/planners
• Information products
• sea ice fog forecasts
• ocean circulation patterns
• climate change indicators
• improved weather forecasts
• coastal erosion prediction

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AOOS Region 3 The Arctic
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Arctic Priorities National Backbone

• 4 C-MAN stations along Arctic coast
• Stream flow tide gauges at key sites
• Better bathymetry nearshore topography
  measurements
• Moored buoys along Arctic coast
• Network of ice-tethered buoys
• Continuity of RADARSAT or similar sea ice
  monitoring
• Validation/ground-truthing for Arctic conditions
  of natl space-based sensors

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Arctic Priorities Regional

• Improved forecasting of sea ice fog
• Cabled observatories at Barrow Canyon, Prudhoe
  Mackenzie Canyon
• Sea gliders AUVs for autonomous data gathering
• Sensors to measure sea ice thickness
• Aerosondes for remote observation of near-shore
  ice leads biological surveys
• Offshore moorings w/ice profiling sonars
• Radar coverage for measured ice edge surface
  currents for ice motion mass balance
  measurements
• Ship of opportunity program
• Wind wave measurements to mitigate coastal
  erosion improve navigation safety

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AOOS funding will support

• Coastal Sea Ice Radar at Barrow enhancement
• Measure sea ice edge motion break out events
• Real time data relay
• Work with users on data delivery
• Possible radars at Prudhoe, Kaktovik, Nome
• Future sea level stations along Arctic coast

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AOOS possible funding

• Sea ice thickness sensor
• Airborne sea ice thickness
• Near real time
• Landfast ice near shore
• Offshore transects for large-scale estimates
• Establish repeat transects
• Real time data relay to stakeholders
• Year 2

Flight Distances from Barrow
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AOOS Barrow Cabled Observatory

• Focus on user needs research is 1 user group
• Operational components become part of regional,
  state, national, global systems
• Tie into AOOS DMAC and MAG
• Education outreach collaboration

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