ATLANTIC CITY — A company hoping to build a wind power farm off the coast of southern New Jersey is partnering with Rutgers University and the state’s clam industry to study the potential impacts of wind farms on the shellfish. Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC said Thursday it is funding a $500,000 study of how New Jersey’s valuable clam industry might be impacted by offshore wind farms over the next 30 years. The study also will take the possible impacts of climate change into account. It will also examine the economics of the clam industry in the lease area in which Atlantic Shores hopes to build its projects, as well as in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, a coastal region running from Massachusetts to North Carolina. Full article at The Press of Atlantic City

On January 26-28, NOAA hosted a workshop entitled “Integrating Ocean Observations to Improve NOAA’s Hurricane Intensity Forecasts”. RUCOOL/DMCS Faculty, staff and graduate students participated throughout the workshop, including presentations by John Wilkin on the “Current State and Future Plans of Modeling and Data Assimilation Efforts for Hurricane Intensity Forecast: ROMS ocean model and DA” and Scott Glenn on “Observing the Upper Ocean During Hurricanes: The Value of Coordinated Ocean Observations,” in a session moderated by Travis Miles. The overarching goal for the 150+ attendees was to develop a framework for coordinated ocean observing in support of hurricane intensity science and forecasting. Despite marked improvements in tropical cyclone track forecasts, uncertainties in numerical models have resulted in only marginal improvements in tropical cyclone intensity forecasts over the past two decades. Research indicates that insufficient observations of upper ocean conditions are a contributing factor to our inability to improve intensity forecasts. Improving NOAA’s hurricane intensity forecasting will require an integrated ocean observing system with both sustained and targeted (i.e., rapidly deployed) ocean observations that can in turn be used to initialize ocean-atmosphere coupled tropical cyclone forecast models. The workshop focused on upper ocean and air-sea interface observing, analysis, and modeling by developing a framework for coordinated ocean observing in support of hurricane intensity science and forecasting. The workshop brought together leaders in the observational and modeling communities to discuss ways to improve integration, coordination, and communication across NOAA ocean observing and modeling activities as it relates to hurricane intensity forecasting.

Travis Miles gave the talk “Hurricane Gliders” on December 9th as a webinar to the Underwater Gliders User Group (UG2). The transcript from the talk is located here.

The Ocean and Coastal Observing –Virgin Islands (OCOVI) team that is part of the Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CARICOOS), partnered up with RUCOOL to deploy the RU29 glider hurricane hunter just south of St. Thomas this week. Video of the deployment can be viewed here. Data from this glider is available here. The goal of these types of glider deployments is to improve understanding of the rapid co-evolution of the ocean and atmosphere as hurricanes approach landfall, affecting the storm’s intensity.  Continued advances in hurricane science, leading to increased forecast accuracy and lead times, is required to promote more timely and effective hurricane responses that save lives, property and livelihoods. We thank Vetelsen Foundation for supporting this important research.

Torpedo shaped machines known as Slocum ocean gliders travel anywhere from the ocean’s surface to more than 3,000 feet underwater, collecting critical data that not only improves forecasts but will ultimately help mitigate the damage and destruction from hurricanes. “Hurricanes since 1980 have accounted for about $870 billion in damage, about 6.5 thousand deaths,” said Gerhard Kuska, the Executive Director of MARACOOS. “That’s actually over 50-percent of all the billion-dollar disasters.” Full article and video (mouse over video and unmute for sound) at NBC CT

With the 2020 hurricane season officially underway, the UCI partnered with a team of federal agencies and research institutions to deploy a pair of Navy research gliders that will shed new light on the interactions between the ocean and powerful storms that pass through the New York Bight. Full Article at Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute Blog

The MARACOOS team and our partners have been preparing for the pending arrival of Hurricane Isaias, currently forecast to hit the Mid-Atlantic on Monday night. Ocean observations contribute to improved forecasting for storms. Working with other IOOS regions in the North Atlantic storm pathway (CARICOOS, GCOOS, SECOORA, and NERACOOS), MARACOOS provides valuable information on coastal hazards that impact safety and property. Below, we’ve highlighted some of the tools and data for the Mid-Atlantic. Original article here