New tools aiding storm prediction, increasing ship navigational safety in Gulf of Mexico

Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida may be more prepared than ever, thanks to some new tools that are enhancing the capabilities that provide the foundation of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS).

These tools -- GPS Continually Operating Reference Systems (CORS) and Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) -- are being put into place through local, state and federal partnershipsand are providing better and more accurate information about the Gulf that will help with storm prediction and aid in ship navigation. The new CORS stations are being funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geodetic Survey and put into place through the newly formed Gulf Coast Spatial Reference Consortium, a partnership among the Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Louisiana State University's Center for Geoinformatics, the University of Southern Mississippi's Mississippi Spatial Reference Center and the Alabama Department of Transportation. The consortium provides Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data consisting of carrier phase and code range measurements in support of three dimensional positioning, meteorology, space weather and geophysical applications along the Gulf of Mexico.

CORS, which are being added at or near NOAA tide gauges in each Gulf state, provide location data at centimeter-level accuracy. Improved accuracy is necessary for coastal mapping, surveying and restoration, for flood protection and to aid the development of better coastal models for hurricanes and flooding. The tools can also help resource managers better identify long-term trends in sea level rise and the sinking of coastal lands (called coastal subsidence).

"We are excited to be part of this project to provide the latest geospatial data with information from tide gauges, sea level observations, land elevation reference points and 3D positioning," said Dr. Gary Jeffress, Director of CBI. "This system will help local and regional leaders plan for improved resilience to any impacts of sea level rise or subsidence and coastal storm surge flooding. The project will assist development of long-term strategies to address coastal change impacts along the northern Gulf of Mexico."

When the upgrades are fully implemented, CORS stations will cover some 16,000 miles of shorelines, bays and estuaries. So far, four stations in Florida and five in Texas have been installed; six additional CORS stations will be installed in Florida, Alabama and Louisiana this year, with remaining stations installed in 2016. Several of these stations are being added near busy U.S. ports and population centers in the Gulf of Mexico.

NOAA also recently installed PORTS® in two locations in Louisiana. PORTS® is an integrated system of oceanographic and meteorological sensors that provides mariners with accurate and reliable real-time information about environmental conditions in seaports, including water levels, currents, water density and meteorology. The installation of two new PORTS® systems in Louisiana brings the total PORTS® operating in the Gulf to nine.

The new Louisiana PORTS® were installed by NOAA at Port Fourchon, which services 90 percent of the Gulf's deepwater oil and gas industry and provides more than 20 percent of the U.S.' daily energy supply, and Morgan City/Atchafalaya Bay, a newly established foreign trade port.

"Real-time knowledge of the currents, water levels, winds and density of the water can increase the amount of cargo moved through a port and harbor and enable mariners to safely use available channel depths," said Rich Edwing, NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) director. "Even one additional foot of draft can substantially increase the profit of a shipment."

Information from these and other sensing instruments in the Gulf of Mexico are provided in real time and near-real time through the GCOOS Regional Association's free and publicly accessible data portal, online at http://data.gcoos.org/.

"As a region with rapidly growing communities along low-lying coastal areas and an infrastructure that is critical to our nation's energy security, improving and enhancing our coastal observing systems are vital to our nation's interests," said Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of the GCOOS-RA. "More than 14 million people call the Gulf Coast home. The Gulf is also a vital economic driver for the regional and the U.S. economies, providing jobs for 20 million people and generating $234 billion annually.

"Better predictive capabilities for storms and flooding is of utmost importance to protecting lives, commerce and our nation's energy supply."

Enhancing navigation is also important, Kirkpatrick said, when you stop to consider that the Gulf has 14 of the top 20 U.S. ports by tonnage and that in 2012, when Hurricane Isaac forced the closure of a single port, the Port of New Orleans, for four days, it resulted in the estimated loss of more than $400 million and had a ripple effect on the global supply chain.