Rutgers receives satellite data from the NOAA, NASA and EUMETSAT (Europe) agencies and tracks polar-orbiting satellites that can be used for real-time ocean sampling guidance and for longer-term forecasting.
High Frequency (HF) Radar is used by ocean researchers to measure surface current velocity fields over the coastal ocean. An HF-radar system can measure surface currents with a spatial resolution of 1-6 km with a maximum range of 200 km. The higher spatial resolution, the lower the range. Currents are acquired every hour.
The Slocum Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), built by Teledyne Webb Research Corporation (Falmouth, MA), is an integrated instrument platform designed to operate in the coastal oceans up to 1000m depth. It has no propeller. It is designed such that, by adjusting its volume via a ballast engine, it dives and climbs in a sawtooth pattern.
The ocean and atmosphere are tightly connected parts of the Earth system, and accurate and thorough observation and modeling of our coastal environment is dependent on understanding both components. To further this mission, RUCOOL operates a state of the art meteorological monitoring station along the New Jersey coast, and runs a real-time mesoscale weather model daily.
