CARICOOS-Virgin Islands

OCOVI announces 2018 Annual Meeting

The public is advised that Ocean and Coastal Observing – Virgin Islands (OCOVI), will conduct it 2018 annual meeting on December 8th from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM for the filling of vacancies, the election of the officers and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting. The public… Read More

CARICOOS’ St. John Buoy recovered for upgrades

November 27, 2018. The longest-serving CARICOOS buoy in USVI waters, designated by the National Data Buoy Center as #41052, has been recovered so that new batteries and other updated instrument parts can be replaced. This buoy survived the fury of both hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Used heavily by fishers, ferries, cruise ships, meteorologists… Read More

2018 IOOS Fall Meeting – Selected Highlights

The eleven Regional Associations (RAs), members of their boards, and IOOS Program Office (IOOS PO) staff and partners gathered in Annapolis, MD for the IOOS Fall Meeting on September 18-20, 2018. At the meeting, participants discussed the IOOS niche in biological observations and collaborations with NASA. Click here to access the meeting website and materials…. Read More

Outlook of 2018 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea – October 30 2018, by USF Optical Oceanography Lab

So far the Caribbean Sea (CS) has experienced a record-high Sargassum bloom ever since January 2018. The maps below show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing high abundance. In October 2018, the overall bloom intensity continued to decrease from September, but still comparable to the bloom extent in October 2015. There is also significant amount… Read More

CARICOOS visited NOAA’s hydrographic survey vessel Thomas Jefferson.

A year ago the crew of the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson, in collaboration with NOAA IOOS, CDIP, and the University of Maine, recovered the CARICOOS Rincon buoy after it was ripped from its mooring during hurricane María. One year later, while the Thomas Jefferson was in the port of San Juan, CARICOOS staff visited the… Read More

NOAA/AOML – CARICOOS Piloting Workshop

  On September 25 to 27, 2018, CARICOOS personnel visited NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, Florida for a 3-days workshop about Seagliders. AOML’s Physical Oceanography Division (PhOD) personnel developed the training course to provide an overview on Seaglider fundamentals and the skill-sets in operating/piloting gliders. The learning skills provided CARICOOS personnel… Read More

Outlook of 2018 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea – October 1 2018, by USF Optical Oceanography Lab

So far the Caribbean Sea has experienced a record-high Sargassum bloom ever since January 2018. The maps below show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing high abundance. Satellite observations also showed Sargassum transport to the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Straits, and the east coast of Florida. All these observations have been are confirmed by the… Read More

Well received CARICOOS mobile application “Pa La Playa”

The Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CARICOOS) released the application Pa ‘La Playa. This app was developed to provide information on weather conditions, waves, water quality, among other data, from over 100 beaches in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This app had over two thousand downloads during the summer months of 2018 plus… Read More

US Caribbean region receives $2.7 million for Coastal Ocean Observing

The NOAA U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) awarded CARICOOS $2.7 million to maintain and enhance ocean and coastal observations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. CARICOOS is one of eleven coastal ocean observation systems and regional associations that together with federal agencies constitute the national coastal component of the Integrated Oceanic Observing… Read More

Ocean Gliders: Improving Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecasts

  A fleet of 14 torpedo-shaped ocean gliders, remotely-operated powered autonomous underwater vehicles which can measure subsurface ocean properties, were recently deployed in the CARICOOS region to collect important data in the Caribbean Sea and tropical Atlantic Ocean that could prove useful to improve hurricane forecasting. Researchers and technical personnel from NOAA-Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological… Read More