This year has been by all accounts, a momentous and challenging time, and as the current fiscal year ends, we take a moment to look back at where we came from, the current conditions on the ground, as well as future needs and opportunities. Despite the pandemic, civil issues, and economic disruptions, ocean data continues to stream from the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (COOL) to federal and state agencies, companies, and anyone interested in the ocean. This robust system came into being with the support of SEBS Exec Dean Robert Goodman. Since our formation Bob has acted as coach, mentor, and cheer leader. Dean Goodman is retiring this year and all of us at COOL want to thank him for his support over the years. Our goal moving forward is to build on his vision for a sustained presence in the ocean, and using that information to develop new insights for the good of the planet and humanity.

As the pandemic began, Rutgers quickly determined that the COOL infrastructure was deemed critical for serving state and national needs. The success of maintaining the network throughout the COVID outbreak was a reflection of the dedicated hard-working staff of COOL. They maintained one of the world’s largest HF Radar networks and supported glider efforts under difficult working conditions. Activity is now ramping up with the start of hurricane season, and research activity is increasing as we move into the next phase of reopening the university. All that has been accomplished is a reflection of the dedicated efforts of the full COOL team. Finally, COVID raised many challenges, and we now are assessing on how we might increase the ocean observing network’s resilience. This will be achieved through continued automation, backups for supply chain disruptions, and improved cyberinfrastructure tools allowing for coordinated control of the network. This becomes a new priority to be tackled in the coming years.

Here is a link to our 2020 report.

Sincerely,

RUCOOL