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

Okeanos Explorer in San Juan

Captain Eric Johnson Commanding Officer for NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer invited CARICOOS leads Julio Morell, Patricia Chardón and Sylvia Rodriguez to visit the only vessel owned by the U.S. government dedicated to exploring the seabed and ocean crust.  During the visit, this past 25th of October, the CARICOOS team had a great time learning about… 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

Workshop for teachers aims to bring ocean observing to the classroom

Organized by estuario.org, Corredor del Yaguazo and by the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras the workshop provided teachers with ideas on how ocean observing technology, near-real time data and forecast models can be used as educational tools that may be integrated into science and geography curricula at various educational levels. The Sea Grant… 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

Congratulations on Miguel Solano’s Ph.D. Dissertation and publication.

In its latest issue, Vol 3 Issue 3, the Journal of Ocean Engineering and Science includes the article titled Development and validation of a coastal ocean forecasting system for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This publication is based on Miguel Solano’s Ph.D. thesis. This research was sponsored by The Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing… 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

Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON)

News from US IOOS Background Biological diversity, or biodiversity, represents the variety of life on Earth, encompassing variation at all levels, from genes to species to ecosystems. A growing body of research demonstrates that maintaining coastal and marine biodiversity is critical for sustained human and ecosystem health in a globally changing environment. Biodiversity is critical… Read More