Note: CoastWatch Operations have been transferred from COP to NOAA Satellites and Information in Fiscal Year 1995
Issue
In the fall of 1987, a "red tide" event, a toxic plankton
bloom, occurred off the North Carolina coast, causing an estimated
$25 Million loss to fisheries and tourism for that area when State
authorities had to close shellfish beds for several months. NOAA's
polar orbiting satellites were able to detect ocean thermal features
associated with the event in the data collected from the Advanced Very
High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). These were then translated into
high resolution sea surface temperature (SST) images which provide
the means for tracking this toxic marine algae as well as for many
other activities and phenomena that are associated with sea surface
temperatures. This red tide event gave birth to the idea of CoastWatch.
Approach
CoastWatch is designed to provide satellite remotely sensed and in
situ environmental data and information to Federal and State decision
makers and researchers in a timely and accessible manner. CoastWatch
focuses on regional and national priorities, such as unusual environmental
events and tracking algal biomass that contribute to toxic phytoplankton
blooms. CoastWatch required an extensive research, product development
and testing phase which was only possible through a cooperative effort
involving funding from NOAA's Coastal Ocean Program and technical support
from all NOAA line offices including the National
Weather Service (NWS), NOAA Ocean Service (NOS), National Environmental
Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), Oceanic and Atmospheric
Research (OAR), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Accomplishments
The development of the NOAA CoastWatch program was the first application
of satellite data to oceanography to be used on an operational basis.
CoastWatch started with only POES/AVHRR SST data for the East Coast
but now provides a variety of data from several different platforms
(e.g., satellite imagery, aircraft observation and various sensors)
covering all U.S. coastal waters. CoastWatch was transferred from a
prototype system to operations within NESDIS in 1995, where it continues
successful operations. CoastWatch now contains six regional nodes located
around the country, hosting equipment and personnel to provide near
real-time data distribution and regional scientific expertise to the
local user community. The images displayed on the NOAA CoastWatch website
are created from satellite datasets. Regional sites collect, process,
calibrate, validate, archive, and distribute the images. For many uses,
these images provide enough information and are easily viewed over
the Internet. . There are many uses for each type of image. Sea surface
temperature maps help meteorologists predict weather and fishermen
locate prime fishing areas. Ocean color and chlorophyll -a levels help
scientist track changes in the ocean that may indicate harmful algal
blooms, while ocean surface winds are used by sailors and commercial
shipping pilots for navigation. Each image and dataset is available
in near real-time, so the image is only a few hours old.
More information about CoastWatch: