The Mid-Atlantic Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System: Serving coast guard needs in the mid-atlantic bight

Abstract

The mid-atlantic regional coastal ocean observing system (MARCOOS) will implement an end-to-end regional ocean data acquisition, management, modeling and product generation system to satisfy user needs as defined by the middle atlantic coastal ocean observing regional association (MACOORA). MARCOOS will leverage extensive existing regional assets to augment federal backbone products in response to the MACOORA regional themes of maritime safety and ecological decision making. Regional products enabled by MARCOOS will in turn support the development of even higher resolution products at the sub-regional level, including supporting local MACOORA needs for Coastal Inundation and Water Quality. Through MARCOOS, regional scale observations from a network of HF-Radars, satellites, glider AUVs, and an array of meteorological stations will feed 4 operational numerical modeling systems. The HF radar network provides near realtime surface current observations along 1000 km of coastline with varying coverage from the coast out to the shelf break. The primary goal is to operate the regional system in a coordinated way to guarantee the delivery of quality ocean current and wave data. In this paper we present MARCOOS with an emphasis on the HF Radar network. Particular attention is placed on the setup, operation, and application of the network. Quality control metrics based on comparisons with coast guard deployed surface drifters (SLDMBs) have a specific focus to quantifying the uncertainty in the HF radar surface current estimates as applied to search and rescue observations. These metrics will be used to ensure that quality data is going to the coast guard and that this information is properly incorporated into existing search planning tools.