Observation Technology

Glider School

CARICOOS technical team received a hands-on-learning training from NOAA-AOML personnel on how to refurbished and prepare underwater gliders. These will be deployed during the upcoming hurricane season to collect oceanographic data which will contribute to hurricane intensity forecasting studies (Photos by Efra Figueroa).

NOAA CoastWatch Ocean Satellite Data Course

The NOAA CoastWatch Program in collaboration with CARICOOS and with the Department of Marine Sciences of UPR-Mayaguez hosted the NOAA CoastWatch Ocean Satellite Data Course during February 5- 7, 2020 at the Hyatt Place Hotel in San Juan, PR. Instructors from CoastWatch Regional Nodes across the Nation shared their expertise towards the discovery, access and… Read More

Outlook of 2020 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico* January 31st, 2020, by University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab

The situation in January 2020 has changed dramatically from December 2019. Although the Sargassum amount in the Central West Atlantic (CWA, i.e., the region east of the Lesser Antilles in the maps here) is still low as compared to some bloom years in history (2015, 2018, 2019), there isconsiderable increase from December 2019. In the… Read More

A Major Swell Event to Impact the Caribbean

A very large wave event with deep water wave heights of 10-13 feet and wave periods of 14-16 seconds will be affecting our region starting Saturday night, peaking Sunday morning, and continuing to generate large waves through Monday. This event could generate breaking waves of 15-20 feet or more as well as coastal erosion and… Read More

2019 Underwater Gliders Successfully Recovered

As during previous seasons since 2014,  autonomous underwater vehicles, also known as gliders, were deployed in the Caribbean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean to collect data on ocean properties for use in the improvement of hurricane intensity forecasts. During the mission the NOAA AOML gliders were capable to successfully occupy  transects in eastern Caribbean… Read More

Outlook of 2019 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico – December 1, 2019

The maps above show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing high abundance. November 2019 continued the situation of October 2019. Very little Sargassum was found in the Gulfof Mexico (GOM), Florida straits, Caribbean Sea (CS), and Central West Atlantic (CWA). In all regionscombined, the Sargassum amount reduced to ~0.5 million metric tons in November 2019… Read More

Sargassum outlook update, by USF Optical Oceanography Lab-September 30, 2019 update

The maps below show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing high abundance. During September 2019, Sargassum amount has decreased significantly from August 2019 in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Florida straits, Caribbean Sea (CS), and Central West Atlantic (CWA). The reductions are more than our August 2019 prediction, at rates higher than previous bloom years…. Read More

U.S. IOOS allocates funds for CARICOOS that will support continuation of its ongoing operations, expand surface current observations, enhance the hurricane glider program, issue Sargasso inundation forecasts and asses its impact on coastal ecosystems

Every year, each of the eleven IOOS Regional Associations submits their revised work to the U.S. IOOS Office. The latter includes specific actions, new product developments, and partnerships that will be carried out to accomplish the mission of providing unquestionably high-priority decision-supporting information for enhancing safety and efficiency in our coasts as well as proper… Read More

Three Naval Oceanography ocean gliders join six operated by NOAA AOML-CARICOOS in the Caribbean Sea and Tropical Atlantic

Naval Oceanography recently delivered three ocean gliders that will join six currently in operation by NOAA AOML-CARICOOS in the Caribbean Sea and Tropical Atlantic waters for a mission primarily focused on improving hurricane intensity forecasts. CARICOOS scientists and students and NOAA/AOML personnel deployed the three gliders off La Parguera near the southwest corner of Puerto… Read More

Sargassum outlook – August 2019 update

The maps below show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing high abundance. During August 2019, while there are still large amounts of Sargassum in the Central West Atlantic (CWA) and Caribbean Sea (CS), these amounts are lower than in July 2019. The amounts in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits have also reduced…. Read More