NANOOS, PacIOOS, and AOOS Backyard Buoys partners were hosted by the Quileute Tribe in La Push, WA, on 19-20 Feb 2025 for our annual All Hands meeting. We experienced the beauty and the brawn of a Pacific Northwest winter while trading success stories and lessons learned. All three regions have deployed and maintained buoys over the last year and shared stories of how the data are being used to improve safety. We will release a meeting report in the coming weeks, and you can now download the Backyard Buoys app to your phone!
NANOOS Engagement Lead Rachel Wold and Ocean Coach Charlie Loos demonstrated the NVS Fishers web app, a free online tool that provides near real-time and forecasted data to help anglers visualize ideal fishing conditions and safe navigation. Features for tuna and salmon fishers include surface temperature and currents, chlorophyll, pycnocline, and thermocline, and forecasted bottom oxygen for crabbers. Other features include digital NOAA nautical charts, routing capabilities, and more. Thanks to Charles and everyone who joined us, and feel free to send us your feedback.
NANOOS is proud to host a webinar highlighting the NVS Fishers web app, a free online tool that provides near real-time and forecasted data to help anglers visualize ideal fishing conditions and safe navigation. Features for tuna and salmon fishers include surface temperature and currents, chlorophyll, pycnocline, and thermocline, and forecasted bottom oxygen for crabbers. Other features include digital NOAA nautical charts, routing capabilities, and more. NANOOS Engagement Lead Rachel Wold and Ocean Coach Charlie Loos will demonstrate how to use this tool to help you stay safe and catch more fish!
Register using the link below and see you on 18 March 2025, 12-1 PM PT, via Zoom. The webinar recording will be made available on the NANOOS website.
A high school student advised by NANOOS PI John Mickett and supported by NANOOS Harmful Algal Bloom Observing Network (HABON) funds was recently named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar. Anson Chen, a senior at Nikola Tesla STEM High School in Redmond, WA, developed a machine-learning model to predict HABs in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) using historical observations of HAB samples with ocean and other measurements. His results to date have been impressive, with excellent predictions two weeks in advance at some sites. Anson used ORHAB data among other sources to feed the algorithm and presented his results to the ORHAB group last summer. The goal is to improve HAB prediction in the PNW, possibly adding this evaluation of risk to the PNW HAB Bulletin, available via NANOOS.
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Northern California resulted in a tsunami warning and evacuation in Coos Bay and other parts of Oregon on Thursday, 5 December 2024. The warning was fortunately cancelled after a few hours and didn't result in a local tsunami this time but made many locals aware of the importance of preparedness and knowing where the designated safety assembly areas are located ahead of time. It was great practice to see how immediate the local traffic impeded quick evacuation, and community members were quick to share the NVS Tsunami Evac app on social media:
"This is a great tool to see if you're in a tsunami safe zone or evacuation area! Stay prepared friends!"
"There's an app! NVS Tsunami Evacuation. It's free — access it now! This is a really awesome website — type in your address and see where you are in relation to local and distant earthquakes/tsunamis. And keep in mind that in the event of a larger tsunami, your roads/routes will likely go through the inundation zones...good idea to make a plan now so we are all a little more ready for next time."
"This is awesome!!! And I'm going to print this part out to hand out to cars passing by on the next alert! Perfect."
OR/CA had a Tsunami Warning yesterday. It's a good reminder to have a plan.
This storm season has been unusually intense this year, with multiple major storm tracks including a bomb cyclone generating a historical pressure drop and 13 meter waves. This has been particularly hard on our in-situ assets off the coast. We are indebted to the US and Canadian Coast Guards and the Makah Tribe for their roles in helping us recover valuable assets affected by storm action. The CRITFC/CMOP Plume buoy moved a couple km in November, and then another 1 km during the bomb cyclone. The US Coast Guard volunteered to recover the buoy in order to remove it from its new potentially hazardous location close to a shipping channel. The Coast Guard Cutter Elm successfully recovered the buoy mid-December, and it is now home at the new CMOP Field Office in Astoria, Oregon.
Farther north, the UW/APL Cha'ba buoy withstood the bomb cyclone but broke loose afterwards. Fortunately it drifted into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where the Neah Bay Coast Guard helped tow it closer to shore. The Makah Tribe's F/V Alyeska then plucked it out of the water with all of its equipment intact.
Lastly, one of the two Quileute Tribe's Backyard Buoys spotter buoys went adrift during the bomb cyclone and wandered for a while. Fortunately, the Canadian Coast Guard Cutter Sir Wilfred Grenfel was able to recover the buoy off the coast of Vancouver Island and it has been retrieved.
Photo Credit: CRITFC
19 Dec 2024
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LiveOcean Webinar
Thanks to Dr. Parker MacCready for a fantastic webinar highlighting the UW Coastal Modeling Group's LiveOcean, and to everyone who joined us and engaged with so many great questions! In case you missed it, or if you would like to review the content, the recording is available on the NANOOS YouTube page and linked below. You can also find it along with other NANOOS webinars and tutorials on the new NANOOS Videos page.
NANOOS is proud to host a webinar highlighting the UW Coastal Modeling Group's LiveOcean, a computer model simulating ocean water properties. LiveOcean makes 3-day forecasts of currents, temperature, salinity, and biogeochemical fields like oxygen and phytoplankton. It is accessible on NVS, along with many interactive features. Join Dr. Parker MacCready, LiveOcean Project Lead, to learn about the model, how it can be accessed and utilized, and have the opportunity to provide feedback.
Register using the link below and see you on 10 December 2024, 10-11 AM PT, via Zoom. The webinar recording will be made available on the NANOOS website.
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2023 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information, ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring, is summarized to provide a thorough overview of conditions in Puget Sound and the surrounding area during 2023. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS, and is published by UW's Puget Sound Institute and Puget Sound Partnership as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 15 October 2024. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar will be in December. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
Backyard Buoys shares their story of democratizing data through co-design and co-production in a special issue of Oceanography Magazine, "On a Vision for Capacity Sharing in the Ocean Sciences". The article describes how remote coastal Indigenous communities and IOOS Regional Ocean Observing Systems work together with a common purpose, safety at sea. By sharing expertise across regions and disciplines, the team can meet known challenges efficiently while remaining flexible to emerging needs or constraints. Underpinning it all is an understanding that co-production takes time, trust, and commitment, and that the lessons we learn will help future wave buoy stewards and their communities. Photo Credit: Dennis Wise, UW
NANOOS PI Jack Barth and Jace Marquardt (OSU) visited the Quinault Indian Nation's Taholah School on September 30, 2024, the day before successfully recovering an underwater glider off Westport, WA. Jace and Jack brought an underwater glider for interested Taholah high schoolers to take apart, examine all the internal electronics and mechanical features that make the glider work, and then put it back together. The students were eager to get their hands on the equipment and caught on quickly about how we use o-rings to keep out sea water and about the many other technological innovations in underwater gliders. Photo Credit: Quinault Indian Nation
CRITFC-CMOP Recommended for Coastal Resilience Grant
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) has been recommended for a three-year grant to improve its CMOP modeling in the Columbia River estuary and apply the modeling to coastal resilience efforts on the WA side of the estuary under the NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation. CRITFC will lead this effort to identify climate change threats through hydrological modeling to support salmon recovery in the Columbia River estuary. Building on NANOOS-supported CRITFC-CMOP estuary models, this project will create a positive feedback loop between the ecosystem and cultural resilience by increasing tribal capacity to develop and implement powerful modeling tools to guide restoration decisions.
The Department of Commerce and NOAA announced $101.5 million in funding across 12 awards to expand equitable service delivery and support the modernization of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Regional Associations. These funds are made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration's Inflation Reduction Act. NANOOS will use this funding to support regional coastal resilience in the Pacific Northwest by investing in: better detection of ecosystem stressors such as harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, and marine heat waves; expansion of hyper-local wave buoys in the region; co-design of data products and decision-support tools; and engagement with a broader swath of communities.
Se'lhaem Monitoring Buoy Deployed in Bellingham Bay
NANOOS partners redeployed the Se'lhaem Buoy, located in Bellingham Bay, WA, on 19 August 2024. The buoy is a collaboration between Northwest Indian College, Western Washington University, and the Northwest Environmental Moorings Group at APL-UW. The buoy collects and transmits in near-real time data of wind, air temperature, water temperature and salinity, and more. The Se'lhaem buoy, first deployed in 2016, has provided data for researchers, students, and Tribes to observe and learn about the state of the environment in Bellingham Bay. Cascade Daily News covered the deployment with an excellent article and photos. Photo Credit: Amy Larsen
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 20 August 2024. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next tentative webinar date is 15 October 2024 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 21 January 2025. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar will be 13 March at 11am. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
NANOOS Lightfish Completes First Offshore HABs Mission
NANOOS and partners have started using a combination of new technologies to improve the frequency and coverage of offshore HAB observations in the Pacific Northwest and better inform public health officials and marine resource managers of HAB risk. We are pleased to announce the first successful operational mission of the SeaSats Lightfish, a solar-charged autonomous surface vehicle, augmented with a water sampling system designed and built by APL-UW. In late July, the Lightfish covered a 60-mile trackline out of Newport, OR, collecting 15 water samples near Heceta Head and rapidly returning them to a shore-side lab. Samples were analyzed at the OSU Hatfield lab for plankton abundance, species composition and levels of domoic acid, the HAB toxin that causes amnesic shellfish poisoning. This work is possible by funding from both the IOOS Ocean Technology Transition Program and NANOOS HAB-ON program.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 18 June 2024. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next tentative webinar date is 24 August 2024 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
NANOOS has developed a brief video tutorial that walks users through various data products developed to help visualize where ideal and safe fishing conditions occur, including combined SST and surface currents, pycnocline, and thermocline forecasts.
Imperiled by OA: How US Pacific Shellfish Farms Are Coping
A recent article in Dialogue Earth, the second in a two-part series, features NANOOS Executive Director Jan Newton and shellfish growers and scientists from our region who describe how monitoring through IOOS for OA and water treatments are helping growers in the PNW, and can provide a model to help growers in West Africa. The article outlines similarities between challenges faced by shellfish growers in the PNW and Senegal, calling out the importance of funding and highlighting the disparity in support for monitoring programs across the world. Photo credit: Ted S Warren / Alamy
The spring deployment cruise off the coast of La Push, WA, recently took place aboard the U Washington's R/V Robertson to recover Winter Cha'ba and deploy Summer Cha'ba, NEMO-Subsurface, and ESP moorings. A field team from the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) joined the deployment cruise to shadow and support the UW-APL group. This was a valuable training opportunity for CRITFC staff, who gained knowledge on topics including rigging, boat operations, buoy design, AIS systems, ESP prep, and troubleshooting. The experience also strengthened bonds between these two NANOOS partners. We look forward to future field shadowing opportunities as a valuable tool for knowledge transfer among NANOOS field staff. Photo Credit: John Mickett
22 May 2024
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NANOOS Presentation for NOAA West Watch
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 16 April 2024. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next tentative webinar date is 18 June 2024 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
A recent article in the Arctic Sounder highlights the importance of accurate ocean conditions for subsistence hunters and fishers in Alaska. John Hopson, a hunter out of Wainwright, explains how beneficial the Backyard Buoys project and prototype app has been: "Now we can just pull out the app as soon as you get up, because it's real-time, and you can see, ‘Oh yeah, I can go boating today,' or 'Nah, I think we're going stay home today,' without even having to do much. It was well received by the hunters here." Photo credit: Michael Tuzroyluk
New Nature Article Highlights Increasing PNW Coastal Hypoxia
A paper by NANOOS PI Jack Barth that highlights "widespread and increasing near-bottom hypoxia" along the PNW coast was recently published in Nature Scientific Reports. Maps of near-bottom oxygen since 1950 show a consistent trend toward lower oxygen levels over time. Widespread and increasing near-bottom hypoxia is consistent with increased upwelling-favorable wind forcing under climate change. The paper acknowledges NANOOS-IOOS support for some of the observations. It is a great example of how data and information that informs tribal and state coastal managers can also be sustained to reveal changes in the ecosystem that influence adaptation strategies.
Partners from NANOOS, PacIOOS, AOOS, the Quileute Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation, Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, American Samoa, Marshall Islands, Sofar Ocean Technologies, and others recently joined together in Honolulu for a Backyard Buoys All-Hands meeting. We shared stories about the work and the regions, ideas, and lessons learned, made plans for the future of the project, and strengthened the bonds that tie us to each other and to the water that connects us. Participants reflected on the great synergies, collaboration, and success of the project, making a difference to people's safety. (Photo Credit: Lloyd Pikok, Jr.)
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 27 February 2024. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next tentative webinar date is 16 April 2024 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2022 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information, ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring, is summarized to provide a thorough overview of conditions in Puget Sound and the surrounding area during 2022. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS, and is published by UW's Puget Sound Institute and Puget Sound Partnership as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
We had strong turnout for the webinar on 26 October 2023. Thank you for your attendance and great questions! In case you missed it, or if you would like to review the content, the recordings are available on the NANOOS YouTube page. The webinar presentation slides, Northwest Environmental Moorings (NWEM) ERDDAP data server, and data manual are also linked below.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 27 February 2024. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next tentative webinar date is 16 April 2024 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
The Quileute Tribe's wave buoy test deployment, off La Push, WA, withstood over 23-foot seas during a powerful cyclone that hit the PNW coast 25-26 September 2023. The buoy's anchor did drag about 200 yards to the north, but performed remarkably given the conditions. This is one of the key reasons that the Backyard Buoys project is conducting test deployments with the partner Indigenous communities, so that the mooring configuration can be evaluated and revised to withstand the full range of conditions while reliably delivering data to the people who need it.
On 6 October 2023, the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) deployed a wave buoy off Point Grenville, WA, as a test through the Backyard Buoys project. Conditions were generally calm with 4-5 foot swell, as Joe Schumacker, QIN Marine Resources Scientist, Liesl Danyluk, APL-UW Field Engineer, and two QIN fishermen deployed a Sofar Spotter buoy over the side of a Quinault Indian Nation crabbing vessel, the F/V Seeker. This site was chosen by the QIN to provide wave information for tribal and non-tribal vessels using the remote area, and for Quinault tribal members using small boats and canoes to check surf conditions off the reservation when deciding to use the coastal waters for recreational, subsistence, and commercial uses. Photo Credit: Dennis Wise, UW Media
Calling all students, researchers, and curious minds. NANOOS is proud to host a webinar highlighting the Puget Sound ORCA mooring data collected by the Northwest Environmental Moorings (NWEM) group at the Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, sustained through NANOOS funding.
Join Dr. Seth Travis, NWEM Data Manager, to learn how to access, subset, and download the Puget Sound data. Seth will also show how NWEM developed a data workflow to integrate across multiple oceanographic sensors and apply a suite of quality control protocols.
Register using the link below and see you on 26 October 2023, 9-10 AM PT, on Zoom.
Tracking Warm Sea Temperatures - Is it a Marine Heatwave?
The NVS Climatology app allows visualization of current and historical data to see how different conditions are. Dynamic plotting enables users to explore year-to-year differences for a variety of data sets including water temperature and wave height. This function makes it easy to compare recent marine heat waves or to compare current data to other years, as well as the long term average. Click to expand the plot, then highlight any year in red by clicking the bubble next to the year. See the guide on how to track anomalies and follow the Tracker to see if a heat anomaly is a marine heatwave.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on15 August 2023. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next tentative webinar date is 19 Sept 2023 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
NANOOS kicked off its 20th anniversary with a series of events. "NANOOS Spotlight: Bridging Science and Industry for Ocean Observing to Meet Community Needs" held in Seattle, WA, was dedicated to highlighting ocean science and technology that addresses community needs. Our annual meetings in Astoria, OR, set a direction for the future and brought our investigators and governing council together. A Community Event featuring NANOOS science and applications presentations showcased strong partnerships and how data are being applied, plus offered NVS demos, posters, and networking. Finally, a reception celebrated NANOOS' 20th Anniversary, including premiering a new video highlighting why NANOOS matters.
Our event "NANOOS Spotlight: Bridging Science and Industry for Ocean Observing to Meet Community Needs" is dedicated to highlighting ocean science and technology that addresses community needs. Join us for exciting guest speakers, including Congresswoman Jayapal, and a dynamic panel discussion with NANOOS partners in science, engineering, and industry, showcasing the latest developments relevant to understanding the ecosystem of the PNW coastal ocean. We hope this event, in NANOOS's 20th anniversary year, will spark collaboration and future development, especially around efforts that build resilience to coastal climate change impacts. Don't miss this opportunity to reconnect with NANOOS or see for the first time what we're all about!
2 August 2023, 2:00-4:00 pm PDT, University of Washington Waterfront Activities Center
Join Us for the NANOOS 20th Anniversary Celebration!
Don't miss the annual GC/PI meetings and community events in Astoria, Oregon, on 9-10 August 2023. Open to all PIs, GC members, and affiliates; this event offers informative talks, networking opportunities, and lively discussions. The PI meeting on August 9th will focus on NANOOS' vision for the next decade and finding synergies among our current efforts. On August 10th, the morning GC-PI meeting will showcase annual NANOOS accomplishments and plans. The public is invited to enjoy the afternoon NANOOS Community Event with presentations, NVS user demos, science posters, and more! The evening will culminate in a special reception, celebrating NANOOS' remarkable past and launching its future.
We look forward to seeing you there! Please be sure to register, it helps us greatly.
Our first buoy was deployed off La Push, WA, by the Quileute Tribe on 3 May 2023. This buoy will be out for a short deployment to test mooring design and data collection modes. Backyard Buoys is funded by the National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator program, and involves NANOOS, PacIOOS, and AOOS with their partners. See more information for our data app in progress, deployment pictures, and more.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2022 set aside funds to IOOS that NANOOS is using to replace aging observing asset parts and to assure continuation of these vital data streams used to assess safety and protect economic and ecological benefits from the sea. With these funds, buoys and gliders that have served many years are being either replaced or revitalized, and equipped with newer tech sensors.
NANOOS Radar Data Helps USACE Improve Nearshore Storm Modeling
OSU-NANOOS data are supporting the US Army Corps of Engineers' development of a high resolution nearshore storm modeling system for the West Coast. Data from the OSU X-band radar station on the USCG Yaquina Bay watchtower provides wave predictions and bottom bathymetry data useful to the model development. Additionally, OSU deployed four Sofar Spotter wave buoys with bottom-mounted pressure sensors last fall, ~1 km offshore Nye Beach in Newport, OR, within the operational radar footprint. The wave buoy data will be used as a ground-truth check on the radar-derived data products and also directly to support and evaluate the storm modeling system.
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2021 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information, ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring, is summarized to provide a thorough overview of conditions in Puget Sound and the surrounding area during 2021. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS, and is published by UW's Puget Sound Institute and Puget Sound Partnership as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
NANOOS/NERRS Data Used in South Slough Student Research
Water quality and weather data collected as part of NANOOS/NERRS System Wide Monitoring Program is being used in graduate student research, including projects on HAB prediction by the South Slough Reserve's Graduate Fellow and eelgrass communities by the Margaret Davidson Fellow. Additionally, the South Slough Reserve's education and science programs are using the water quality datasets for tidal marsh metrics that can be used to evaluate wetland resilience to sea level rise, which will be exhibited at the Reserve's Visitor Center.
NANOOS is pleased to announce that OSU has completed installation of a new High Frequency Radar at Westport State Park, WA near Point Chehalis. The team led by Mike Kosro has released the data to the national network as well as to NANOOS NVS. We will make a bigger celebratory release soon.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 1 November 2022. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next tentative webinar date is 24 January 2023. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
Backyard Buoys Awarded Cooperative Agreement with NSF
Backyard Buoys (a collaboration among NANOOS, AOOS, PacIOOS, Indigenous partners, educational partners, and Sofar) was awarded a $5M cooperative agreement with the NSF Convergence Accelerator program. By co-developing Community Research Implementation and Stewardship Plans (CRISPs) and taking advantage of low-cost user-friendly Spotter buoys, the Backyard Buoys project aims to empower Indigenous and other coastal communities in the PNW, Alaska, and the Pacific Islands to collect, steward, and use wave data that complements their existing knowledge to support their blue economy. Additionally, the team will develop training modules to increase local capacity and co-produce educational materials that integrate both Indigenous knowledge and ocean data from the buoys. Photo Credit: C. Gruben-Elias, Only Way Outfitting
The WA Shelf glider, a collaboration between the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), Oregon State University (OSU), and the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) was deployed from 1-16 September 2022. The data revealed information on hypoxia that is very valuable for informing tribal crab harvests. Additionally, Jack Barth (OSU) coordinated with Joe Schumacker (QIN) to visit the Taholah school to interact with QIN students. Jack brought along the glider that had been just recovered, giving an interactive talk on gliders, data, and NANOOS. Photo Credit: Quinault Indian Nation
NANOOS is excited to announce a new feature in NVS which allows users to "customize" the information presented. Set up the map view to display the region, the asset or model overlay, etc. that you are interested in, then select the “Snapshot” tool to create a link that stores this information. You can then share or visit this link at any time to access data with these specifications. Log in to your NANOOS user account to save your Snapshots links.
A moderate to strong marine heatwave, with water temperature anomalies (divergence from normal) exceeding 7°F (~2°C), is now being observed in the central North Pacific. Formed in July, we see sea surface temperatures over two standard deviations above normal. See below to understand what qualifies as a marine heatwave and how to track this.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 9 August 2022. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 18 October 2022. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
A NOAA/UW team deployed the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) "Friday" at the NEMO mooring about 15 miles off La Push on the WA shelf as part of a MERHAB project titled "Strengthening Early Warning and Forecasts of Domoic Acid Events in the Pacific Northwest: Using the ESP to Close the Data Gap". ESPfriday provides near-real time observations of domoic acid (DA) three days per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays through 10 October. Data is served by NVS and the "Real-time HABs" website, which incorporates contextual data and other data products to enhance interpretation and understanding of the ESP data
NANOOS, AOOS, and PacIOOS are collaborating with Sofar Ocean Technologies and coastal Indigenous partners in each region on a community-led ocean observing project funded by the NFS Convergence Accelerator program. Backyard Buoys uses simple and affordable instruments, called "Spotters", to put access to and stewardship of ocean data in the hands of those most affected by climate change on the coast.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 26 April 2022. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar is in early August 2022. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
NANOOS held its virtual community workshop on 25 March 2022 and we would like to thank all those who participated! We had exceptional presentations from our users on Fisheries, Coastal Hazards, and Maritime Safety. The day was filled with rich conversation about how we can improve NANOOS services and how we can expand the reach of NANOOS within and beyond existing user communities. For more information and to watch the proceedings, please visit the workshop page.
Following the catastrophic volcanic eruption near the Tongan Islands on January 14th, the National Tsunami Warning Center issued an advisory alert as the tsunami was being detected across the Pacific. These alerts were picked up by NANOOS's smartphone app (TsunamiEvac) and passed on to our many stakeholders. Near real-time water level data from NOS gauges displayed on NANOOS' NVS Data Explorer showed small but detectable tide aberrations on January 15th along the PNW coast (Port Orford, OR, shown here). Over January 15th, NANOOS received ~2,300 new users with 255 new accounts created, and over 4,000 pageviews as people visited the NANOOS tsunami portal and smartphone application in an effort to learn more about the event. This brings us all a reminder to plan your evacuation route ahead of time using the NVS Tsunami Evacuation app.
Improving Ocean Data for Indigenous Coastal Communities
NANOOS is excited to be working with AOOS, PacIOOS, and Sofar Ocean, a lower-cost buoy and sensor company, to improve access to ocean data for Indigenous communities with funds from NSF's Convergence Accelerator program. The goal of the project is to provide oceanographic data and information to Indigenous communities through the design, deployment, and operation of more accessible instrumentation. Through a co-design process, the partners will design, deploy, and maintain lower-cost instruments such as wave buoys, providing new tools and information at locally relevant scales.
NANOOS' virtual poster, "Improving access to ocean and coastal data: Engaging coastal communities to develop user-defined products" is now accessible to the public. We presented this as part of the Community Engagement and Capacity Development for Ocean and Coastal Management session at the AGU Fall 2021 Meeting in December. This poster highlights our process for developing user-defined products, which is based on community engagement at every stage: needs identification and concept development, application design and execution, and sustained communication to ensure usability.
NANOOS and partners have published an article on the importance of working in partnership to observe and model ecosystem multi-stressors in a recent supplement to Oceanography, "Frontiers in Ocean Observing: Documenting Ecosystems, Understanding Environmental Changes, Forecasting Hazards". The article led by and involving many NANOOS PIs, "Multi-Stressor Observations and Modeling to Build Understanding of and Resilience to the Coastal Impacts of Climate Change", describes how ocean observing systems and collaborations can help the Pacific Northwest region face challenges presented by climate change.
To help track water property changes that may have ecological impacts in Puget Sound, several UW scientists developed a dashboard of five metrics using regional real-time environmental measurements. The metrics go beyond simply reporting observations by also placing them in a historical context and giving insight as to what factors may be causing the observed change. This project was funded by the Puget Sound Partnership.
NANOOS is excited to reconnect with our community at our upcoming community workshop in Astoria, OR on March 24-25, 2022! This meeting will be an opportunity to galvanize PNW users and stakeholders, connect with old and new partners, solicit direct user feedback, and seek pathways to execute our vision together. In order to help us plan for the event, especially while we seek the safest and most effective strategies to meet during uncertain times, we ask that you please fill out our quick poll.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 26 October 2021. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 27 January 2022. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2020 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information, ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring, is summarized to provide a thorough overview of conditions in Puget Sound and the surrounding area during 2020. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS, and is published by Puget Sound Partnership and UW's Puget Sound Institute as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
NANOOS' new five-year cooperative agreement with NOAA is official. This investment in observing and modeling in the coastal ocean, estuaries, and shorelines of Oregon, Washington, and Northern California will provide real-time information and integrated data products to support known and emerging stakeholder needs. These funds allow NANOOS to continue to engage with the public and specific user groups, increasing the utility of the data for coastal resiliency and optimizing safety, economy, and sustainability. NANOOS will focus on increasing the equity and diversity of our engagement throughout our efforts. Specific enhancements will include observing biology and harmful algal blooms.
In August, a team from APL/UW, NOAA NWFSC and MBARI deployed the Environmental Sample Processor "Eddie" off the coast of La Push on the Washington shelf. This is the sixth deployment of an ESP at this location, and it is the first of seven deployments jointly funded by IOOS and the NOAA NCCOS Monitoring Event Response for Harmful Algal Blooms (MERHAB) over the next four years. The instrument will be in the water for around 6 weeks, providing near real-time observations of domoic acid (DA) 6 days per week as well as archived samples for subsequent eDNA analysis. The "Real-Time HABs" website incorporates contextual data and other data products to enhance interpretation and understanding of the ESP data (e.g., maps of water paths). Photo Credit: Stephanie Moore, NOAA NWFSC
With input from the scientists at the Geological Survey of the Washington Department of Natural Resources, NANOOS recently updated the tsunami evacuation map portal to include new tsunami inundation model results completed for all areas within the Puget Sound and parts of the Strait of Georgia to encourage hazard planning and increase community resilience throughout the region. Modeling results indicate that the tsunami would first arrive in all inner coastal waterway locations as a trough, with sea level gradually receding, and would reach the west side of Whidbey Island in about 90 minutes, with large wave crests in excess of 5 m (16 ft) traveling north into the Strait of Georgia and south through Puget Sound. Most other locations within Puget Sound and parts of the Strait of Georgia would encounter this first tsunami wave within 2–4 hours of the earthquake, leaving little time to issue official warnings, although any felt earthquake shaking is an immediate warning.
IOOS Role in Detecting Climate Effects at the Coast
IOOS plays a major role in detecting the coastal climate signal and its manifestations (i.e., sea level, marine heat waves, harmful algal bloom, OA, habitat, etc.). The IOOS Association, a non-profit organization that supports the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (US IOOS), released a white paper on "Detecting the Coastal Climate Signal: The IOOS Contribution." The paper includes examples from the NANOOS region, and high-level recommendations for how IOOS can meet community needs in a changing climate.
OceanHackWeek 2021 was a hybrid event with both virtual and in-person opportunities designed to expand and better accommodate more diverse participation and learning environment preferences. Tutorials and projects spanned oceanographic sub-disciplines (turtle movement from drone video to surface currents from high-frequency radar), data sources (remote sensing, ocean and climate models, OOI, IOOS, OBIS, etc.) and open-source programming languages, supported by a common computational infrastructure on the cloud and coordination that enabled extensive project collaborations. This event was co-led by the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the University of Washington, and partially funded by IOOS.
Introducing the California Current Acidification Network
Strong collaboration between industry members and scientists led to the development of the California Current Acidification Network (C-CAN) along the Pacific coast in 2010. The partnership continues on, leveraging SCCOOS, CeNCOOS, NANOOS, and NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program. Engaging industry members remains a top priority for C-CAN as they expand ocean acidification monitoring beyond measuring the chemistry of the seawater to include biological measurements as well. Now one of six different Coastal Acidification Networks representing different regions of the country, C-CAN is the only one initially driven by industry members.
NANOOS Presentation for NOAA West Watch Highlights Hypoxia and Marine Heat Wave
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 20 July 2021. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region, including the recent hypoxia off the coast and higher than normal temperatures. It included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 26 October 2021. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
NANOOS is pleased to announce that the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories' Ocean Observatory (FHLOO) is now transmitting near-real time data to NVS. Variables include temperature, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll, pH, CO2, and turbidity, which complement continuous monitoring of microplankton using an Imaging FlowCytoBot. FHLOO was funded by the National Science Foundation and UW. This will be a key observing asset for the area; the FHLOO occupies a central position in the Salish Sea, influenced by both Fraser River conditions and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
New Quileute/UW Real-time Hypoxia-Monitoring Moorings
The Quileute Indian Tribe, UW-APL, and NANOOS collaborated on a project to improve responsiveness to and understanding of WA shelf hypoxia events, particularly in relation to the Quileute Treaty Dungeness crab fishery. The Quileute Indian Tribe has long recognized the need for real-time oxygen data to evaluate hypoxia and guide fishing and management decisions. Funds were made available to the tribe through the Fishery Disaster Relief Program for Tribal Fisheries under the Bi-partisan Budget Act of 2018 in response to a crab fishery disaster in 2015. The Quileute Natural Resources Program worked with UW-APL to build, deploy, and initially maintain two real-time oceanographic moorings, which are equipped with near-bottom oxygen sensors and profiling current meters allowing for detection of hypoxic water and measurement of the transport of this water.
Oregon State University partners deployed the NANOOS-supported long-term mooring "CB-06" located 6 nmiles off Coos Bay, Oregon, on 7 April 2021. The at-sea effort was led by Prof. Burke Hales and accomplished from the Pacific Eagle, a tug that took on special cranes and a mini-A frame for the job. The mooring is currently reporting near-surface temperature, salinity, and solar radiation on NVS now, with biogeochemical data in cooperation with NOAA PMEL expected soon. This buoy is part of NOAA's Ocean Acidification Observing Network, measuring ocean acidification variables.
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission partners deployed the NANOOS-supported "SATURN-07" mooring 13 April 2021, as part of Coastal Margin Observation & Prediction long-term monitoring of Columbia River estuary lateral bays. This buoy is located in Baker Bay, the most ocean-ward lateral bay on the Columbia River. It measures salinity, temperature, oxygen, chlorophyll, turbidity, and CDOM, monitoring the phytoplankton blooms and the exchange between the main-stem Columbia and the Bay.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 20 April 2021. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 20 July 2021. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
March 11, 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and is a good time to prepare for a tsunami on the Pacific Northwest Coast. The NVS Tsunami Evacuation App now provides a custom map view showing your quickest street route to safety after a local Cascadia earthquake, as well as the distance to safety and how fast you need to travel to escape the tsunami. This initial rollout of the tool is for the communities of Seaside, Rockaway Beach, Pacific City, and Coos Bay. NANOOS thanks Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and University of Oregon InfoGraphics Lab for their leadership on this collaboration.
NANOOS is pleased to present the J-SCOPE experimental January-initialized forecast for the 2021 upwelling season. The forecast includes Washington and Oregon coastal waters and is referenced by state and tribal resource managers. Bottom oxygen is forecast to be lower than normal in the Washington and Oregon shelf waters early in the upwelling season, and bottom Ω is forecast to be undersaturated throughout the upwelling season, with the exception of supersaturated conditions in shallow coastal regions of Washington. J-SCOPE, a partnership led by Dr. Samantha Siedlecki (U Conn), is funded by NOAA OAP and MAPP and presented by NANOOS.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 26 January 2021. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 20 April 2021. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
The Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research (ICOOS) Act of 2020 was officially signed into law on 31 December 2020, reauthorizing the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). We want to thank Senate Cantwell for co-sponsoring the bill in the Senate and to the strong support from our WA and OR Congressional leaders in the House and Senate. Passage of the Act is a strong endorsement of the work the NANOOS and the ten other IOOS regions do to provide ocean and coastal observations and data to stakeholders.
PNW HAB Bulletin Supports Tribal Access to Razor Clams
Members of the Quinault Indian Nation were able to harvest clams on the Washington coast for the first time since fall 2020. Joe Schumacker, Quinault Department of Fisheries, states that "access to weekly HAB monitoring data and guidance from the PNW HAB Bulletin gave us the confidence to go forward with a tribal dig at Mocrocks this week." These PNW HAB Bulletins are produced through the ORHAB Partnership, of which NANOOS is a partner, and allow coastal managers to better protect marine mammal health and shellfish safety by assessing HAB risk in the Pacific Northwest. The PNW HAB Bulletins and near real-time data can be found on the NANOOS Real-Time HABs app. Photo Credit: David J. Ruck, NOAA
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2019 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information, ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring, is summarized to provide a thorough overview of conditions in Puget Sound and the surrounding area during 2019. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS. This report is published by Puget Sound Partnership and UW's Puget Sound Institute as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
As we mourn his passing, NANOOS pays tribute to Dr. Ru Morrison, former NERACOOS Director, whose leadership, vision, and friendship have touched us in many ways. His insights, especially in the formative years of IOOS regional associations, have contributed to us all. He was a passionate advocate for ocean observing, including the development of climatology apps and regional OA networks, which continue to benefit the entire IOOS enterprise and our stakeholders here in the PNW. His warmth, character, and camaraderie will be deeply missed. Photo Credit: Angus Blackburn
Through a NANOOS-supported partnership between Oregon State University (OSU), the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) and the Quinault Indian Nation, an underwater glider completed a 15-day mission to map ocean properties near Grays Harbor, Washington. The success of the mission was set up by IOOS funds that allowed for the revival and testing by the OSU glider research group of a CRITFC glider that had gone unused for many years. The partners look forward to more underwater glider missions starting next April 2021 and continuing through the summer season each year from then on. Photo Credit: Steve Pierce, OSU
30 Oct 2020
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NANOOS Presentation for NOAA West Watch
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 20 October 2020. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 26 January 2021. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
New Award for Sensors to Map Ocean Carbon Chemistry
UW CICOES has been awarded a 3-year grant by IOOS Ocean Technology Transition to test and transfer a carbon dioxide (CO₂) sensor. The Autonomous Surface Vehicle CO₂ (ASVCO₂) sensor, developed at NOAA PMEL, is based on the current community standard (MAPCO₂) system used on buoys for measuring air and surface ocean partial pressure of CO₂. ASVCO₂ pilot field missions will be conducted with IOOS partners, NANOOS and PacIOOS, and the technology will be transferred to commercial partners to incorporate onto autonomous surface vehicles. This transfer will provide technology to map surface ocean carbon chemistry throughout coastal and coral reef ecosystems without a reliance on ships and help to better constrain the ocean CO₂ sink. Photo Credit: Randy Bott, NOAA PMEL
IOOS Ocean Technology Transition funded $1M to UW, OSU, Ocean Aero, NANOOS, and NOAA NWSFC to enhance and deploy Ocean Aero's Triton Class vehicle to collect offshore water samples in Washington and Oregon for harmful algal bloom (HAB) analysis. This early warning system will augment existing HAB sampling efforts allowing water collection at HAB generation sites in rough weather conditions, common during peak HAB seasons of early spring and fall. The data will be valuable to the PNW HAB Bulletin for ground-truthing and increasing the accuracy of HAB forecasts and providing essential measurements of toxin concentration.
The NVS Tsunami Evacuation Zone App was highlighted in the June issue of TsuInfo Alert, a bi-monthly newsletter produced on behalf of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. In the article, NANOOS PI Jon Allan provides a retrospective look at the 10-year development of the NVS Tsunami web app and smartphone application. The development process highlights the strong collaborative approach taken by both NANOOS and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and Washington Department of Natural Resources to ensure easy access to critical life safety information (tsunami evacuation zones and warning information) for the NANOOS region.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 21 July 2020. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 20 October 2020. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
NANOOS Welcomes CRITFC as Observing System Partner
NANOOS is pleased to announce the transfer of operations for the CRITFC Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction Program (CMOP) to the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC). CRITFC, a NANOOS member, will continue to provide long-term Columbia River estuary observations, forecast modeling, and data management services for application to fisheries management, shipping, aquaculture, weather forecasts, public utilities, and search-and-rescue to make operational decisions. CRITFC coordinates fisheries policy and technical services for the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribes. Former CMOP Director Antonio Baptista notes, "...the tribes are in an outstanding position to expand and bring a centuries-long perspective to what we started decades ago."
NANOOS Invites Expressions of Interest on Next 5-Year Effort
NANOOS invites input for our response to the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Notice of Federal Funding to guide the next 5 years of NANOOS operations. If you would like to be considered for projects under the new 5-Year award, follow the links below to submit your (1) Expression of Interest and (2) Budget Estimate. Submissions are due 25 July; see Timeline for more information.
On June 8, Oregon Congresswoman Bonamici hosted a panel "Turning the Tide – a World Oceans Day discussion on revitalizing coastal communities" with NANOOS Executive Director, Jan Newton, and NANOOS PIs Jack Barth (OSU) and Jaime Pinkham (CRITFC), among others from Pacific Northwest organizations. Discussion focused on opportunities to revitalize coastal communities and increase funding for ocean data with the next recovery package. Newton, on behalf of the NANOOS community, thanked the Congresswoman for her continued leadership in fighting for efforts that protect the health of our ocean and create good-paying jobs, invest in coastal restoration and resilience projects, strengthen ocean research and monitoring.
NANOOS is pleased to present the J-SCOPE experimental April-initialized forecast for the 2020 upwelling season. The forecast includes Washington and Oregon coastal waters and is referenced by state and tribal resource managers. Bottom oxygen is forecast to be lower than normal in the Washington and Oregon shelf waters over the upwelling season and throughout the fall, and bottom Ω is forecast to be undersaturated throughout the upwelling season, with the exception of supersaturated conditions in shallow coastal regions of Washington early in the upwelling season. J-SCOPE, a partnership led by Dr. Samantha Siedlecki (U Conn), is funded by NOAA OAP and MAPP and presented by NANOOS.
Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Endurance Array glider data collected along the Newport Hydrographic Line (44.65°N, 124.5-128°W) are now available for 2019 through early 2020 via a new NVS glider app. The app includes figures showing temperature, salinity, and bio-chemical data for individual east-west transects as well as links to the IOOS Glider DAC where users can download these data. In the coming weeks, this app will be extended to include all data (April 2014 – April 2020) collected along this glider line. This collaboration between OOI and NANOOS builds upon previous work to include near real-time OOI mooring observations in the NVS Data Explorer.
NANOOS is proud to release a major update of its Tsunami evacuation smartphone app (NVS-TsunamiEvac) for both iOS and Android. The new version receives push notifications from the National Tsunami Warning Center that may include information statements on distant earthquakes, tsunami advisories, watches, or warnings. With notifications enabled the messages are pushed directly to your phone. These improvements are important for local residents and visitors to the coast concerning potential distant tsunami threats. For local tsunami threats, long-duration (3-5 minutes) earthquake shaking will be your only warning.
Understanding the Marine Heat Wave in the Pacific Northwest
NANOOS Executive Director Jan Newton was invited by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries to present "Understanding the Marine Heat Wave in the Pacific Northwest" in their Webinar Series. The webinar was part of a speaker series in partnership with Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Feiro Marine Life Center, and the Peninsula College STEM Club. Jan gave a view into the mechanisms and effects of marine heatwaves and used data and screenshots from NANOOS NVS Climatology App to show these events and differences in how marine heatwaves are manifest in different coastal areas. Over 700 people registered and 475 attended this webinar, showing strong interest in ocean and climate literacy. You can watch the webinar at the link below.
NANOOS Presentation for NOAA West Watch Tracks Marine Heat Wave
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 21 April 2020. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region, including the 2019 NE Pacific marine heat wave. The warmer temperature anomaly signal is no longer evident in PNW coastal waters. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 21 July 2020. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) recently deployed a wave buoy in northern Washington waters, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), a NANOOS member, to monitor sediment transport around the Elwha River and Port Angeles. This will be a much welcome asset to the region for many applications. Important to coastal navigators and planners, CDIP buoys measure wave height, period, and peak direction, as well as water temperature. Data from this asset and other CDIP buoys are available via NVS.
New dynamic plotting capabilities have been added to the NVS Climatology app. Users can now explore year-to-year differences for a variety of data sets including water temperature and wave height. This makes comparing the two recent marine heat waves or comparing to other years easy. Click on the "+" in the lower right corner to expand the plot, then highlight any year in red by clicking the bubble next to the year. As always, use the comment link to let us know what you think of this new functionality.
Two new assets from the National Weather Service (NWS) have been added to the NVS Data Explorer, Boaters, Tuna Fishers, and Maritime Operations apps. NWS Cape Disappointment and NWS Clatsop Spit are land-based stations at the north and south entrances to the Columbia River and will provide near real-time wind speed, wind direction, and wind gust data. We added these assets at the request of Columbia River bar pilots. Please let us know if you have data requests.
NANOOS Presentation for NOAA West Watch Tracks Marine Heat Wave
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 7 January 2020. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region, including recent behavior of the NE Pacific marine heat wave. The temperature anomaly signal dissipated over fall along the coast, but is still strong farther offshore. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 21 April 2020. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments.
NANOOS Executive Director Jan Newton was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Companies Ian Hanomansing on "The National" in a feature focused on the 2019 Northeast Pacific marine heat wave and titled, "A new blob is brewing, and it's set to seriously impact marine life off B.C.'s coast". NANOOS assets (the Point Wells ORCA buoy in particular) and online data products from the NANOOS Climatology application were introduced during the feature. The report also described the large and coordinated efforts by NANOOS partners in Washington State to respond to ocean acidification, rising temperatures, and changing marine conditions, including the shellfish industry, academia, and state and federal agencies.
The Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) performed a demonstration at the Oceans19 conference in Seattle, WA, while IOOS Director Carl Gouldman, NANOOS Executive Director Jan Newton, and Northwest Fisheries Science Center PI Stephanie Moore presented: "Understanding Harmful Algal Blooms in the PNW: What we've done, what we're going to do, and why it matters". The ESP is an advanced, underwater, robotic biosensor that enables remote, automated measurements of HAB's and their toxins.
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2018 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information, ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring, is summarized to provide a thorough overview of conditions in Puget Sound and the surrounding area during 2018. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS. This report is published by Puget Sound Partnership and NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
NANOOS Presentation for NOAA West Watch Shows Marine Heat Wave
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 10 September 2019. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region, including discussion of the marine heat wave that has developed off the coast. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is 7 January 2020. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments!
NANOOS recently worked with the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center to correct a number of broken links in the NVS Tsunami portal that are used to alert the public of an earthquake generated in the Pacific basin and potentially a destructive tsunami. The revision to the web portal's alerting capabilities will eventually enable similar information to be pushed directly to a user's smartphone, providing users with needed information about a distant tsunami event, so stay tuned. A reminder for a local earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone, if you feel strong shaking, go immediately to high ground!
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 22 January 2019. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar date is TBD. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and please let us know if you have any comments!
A new version of the UW Live Ocean model has been released! Alongside greater spatial resolution comes the coverage of the Salish Sea in the model's 3-day forecasts of variables like aragonite saturation state, oxygen, nutrients, and phytoplankton. Forecasts are available for many depths, including a bottom contour. See the LiveOcean homepage link below for more information and some great animations.
Are you prepared for a tsunami? NANOOS, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, has a new (free!) smartphone app showing Pacific Northwest evacuation zones. Whether you are a coastal resident or just taking a trip to the coast, you can use the app to see if you are in a tsunami evacuation zone, plan your evacuation routes, and download published evacuation brochures. If you are logged into your myNANOOS account, all your places will be saved automatically! Oregon residents can create custom brochures centered on their area of interest. The app is available from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
NANOOS Outreach staff will be providing demonstrations of the NVS Boaters App at upcoming boat shows in both Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Join us at the NANOOS booth at the Portland Boat Show during January 12-13 to try out the NVS Boaters App. Catch the live demonstration at the Seattle Boat Show on January 31 at 12:15 in the North Hall. The NVS Boaters App provides users with real-time and forecast water and weather data in order to plan safe trips.
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2017 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information, ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring, is summarized to provide a thorough overview of conditions in Puget Sound and the surrounding area during 2017. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS. This report is published by Puget Sound Partnership and NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
NOAA's most recent West Watch was held on 27 November 2018. The webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar is scheduled for 22 January 2018 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate in the survey they are conducting to evaluate if this series continues. Please let us know your comments!
The Pacific Coast Collaborative and the federal Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification have partnered to foster a West Coast ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) monitoring network that is scientifically grounded and responsive to management needs. A Task Force was established to proceed toward this goal by building a comprehensive inventory of OAH-relevant monitoring efforts, from Alaska to California. Access the inventory and further information below.
NOAA's Western Regional Collaboration Team brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The September 2018 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar is tentatively scheduled for 28 November 2018 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate and to make sure this series continues, let us know your comments!
The IOOS Pacific region OA data portal is now the IOOS Partners Across Coasts OA data portal, with the same great URL and acronym. This data portal provides ocean acidification relevant data for diverse user groups, from shellfish growers to scientists to managers to the public. Originally built for the west coast of the United States, the geographic scope of the portal is now expanding to the entire nation with support from U.S. IOOS and NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program and to Canada, through our partnership with the Hakai Institute and others.
New Technology Tested to Aid Forecasts of Harmful Algal Blooms
The Submaran S10, an autonomous surface/underwater vehicle powered by wind and solar power, will be deployed on a test mission to sample seawater for harmful algal bloom (HAB) cells off the Washington coast. Samples from two 1-2 day pilot missions will be delivered to the Makah Tribe Water Quality Lab for analysis. Funded by U.S. IOOS via NANOOS, the effort is contributing to the development of a NOAA Pacific Northwest HAB Bulletin, a forecast system that supports the management of shellfisheries, clamming beaches, and human health. This work is a collaboration of NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, University of Washington Applied Physics Lab (APL), NANOOS, the Makah Tribe, the Olympic Region HAB (ORHAB) partnership and OceanAero.
Our IOOS OTT team led by John Mickett (UW & NANOOS) and Stephanie Moore (NOAA NWFSC) deployed the Environmental Sample Processor "ESPeddie" ~15 miles off La Push for the next six weeks to aid managers and scientists understanding HABs. This fifth deployment was funded by IOOS and NOS. ESPeddie samples Pseudo-nitzschia and domoic acid levels, with the near-real time data served by the NANOOS Data Visualization System (NVS) and the "Real-time HABs" app, which incorporates contextual data and other data products (e.g., maps of water paths) to enhance interpretation and understanding of the ESP data.
NANOOS held an official signing ceremony with U.S. IOOS Program Director Carl Gouldman (middle) at our annual GC/PI meeting on August 16 to celebrate our certification this past spring by NOAA as a Regional Information Coordination Entity. With the certification of CeNCOOS last week, all 11 IOOS Regional Associations are now certified by NOAA for their data management, governance, and infrastructure practices! See the U.S. IOOS press release announcing this important milestone.
The new NVS "Seacast" app was designed for the coastal fishing community, allowing users to see forecasts for a variety of ocean conditions up to three days out for any location in the region. Building on the web app that Oregon State University PIs have been designing and testing since 2012 via Oregon Sea Grant funding, the app has now been transitioned to NVS, with new features we added based on requests by users at our NANOOS community workshop last summer. See the article below for the fascinating story of Seacast's development, and be sure to check out Seacast on NVS!
NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS are teaming up for a Biological Observations Workshop on Nov 7-9 in Santa Cruz, CA, focusing on animal movement and marine biodiversity. The goal is to identify priority stakeholder needs for regional telemetry and other types of observations of aquatic species that could be served by an Animal Telemetry Network/Marine Biodiversity Observing Network/Ocean Tracking Network baseline network and evaluate current capabilities. We invite both stakeholders with biological information needs and scientists working in this field.
NOAA's Western Regional Collaboration Team brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The July 2018 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar will be 25 September 2018 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
Ready to hit the waves? Check out our new "Surfers" app! Here you will find webcams, observations, forecasts for eight different measures of wave conditions, Surfrider's water quality data, and other useful information. A big thanks to Oregon and Washington Surfrider for helping develop the app!
NOAA's Western Regional Collaboration Team brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The May 2018 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar will be 24 July 2018 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
Beach season is here, and with it comes the newest NVS app, "Beach View"! This app will give you water quality data, tide tables, and wave and wind information to help you plan your next beach expedition. It also features a collection of webcams from across the Northwest to give you a peek at conditions in near-real time.
The newest version of the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) has been released. This version features "Seacast", a new app designed for the coastal fishing community. Based on a project by Oregon Sea Grant and Oregon State University, the app allows users to see forecasts for a variety of ocean conditions up to three days out. Additionally, all apps have an improved user interface with consolidated map overlays and a helpful guide to walk users through different aspects of the app and introduce new features.
NANOOS passed the requirements for Certification as a Regional Information Coordination Entity (RICE) of the federal government. Certification as a RICE means that NANOOS' governance is transparent and linked to regional priorities, our people are qualified, and our data are sound. Complying with IOOS data standards ensures the data are reliable, freely available to the public, and will be archived at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.
NANOOS Hosts U.S. IOOS Biological Data Training Workshop
NANOOS hosted the first U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Biological Data Training Workshop, co-sponsored by the Ocean Biogeographical Information System (OBIS), on February 8-9 at the University of Washington in Seattle. The workshop provided discussion and hands-on training for analyzing and managing marine biological data with the goal to make this information accessible on an international scale.
NANOOS Participates in National Coastal Ecosystem Moorings Workshop
More than 30 experts from government, academia, and private industry came together in Seattle, Washington, for the inaugural National Coastal Ecosystem Moorings Workshop, which NANOOS helped lead. Organized and hosted by the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) and sponsored by NOAA/U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), participants discussed configurations of ecosystem moorings, use requirements, current and emerging sensors, technical needs, deployment and maintenance, and the integration with other observing systems. Expanding the suite of existing water column ecosystem moorings in the coastal regions of the United States is one of the recommendations of the National Strategy for a Sustained Network of Coastal Moorings.
NOAA's Western Regional Collaboration Team brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The March 2018 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar will be 22 May 2018 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
The Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) updated website, based on the NANOOS website, was recently launched. From the GOA-ON website, one can access the interactive data portal, updates from GOA-ON, and other related resources. The upgrade of the GOA-ON website was a collaborative effort between NANOOS and NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.
Fukushima Radiation Levels in the Pacific Northwest
Want information on Fukushima Radiation Levels in the Pacific Northwest? The Integrated Fukushima Ocean Radionuclide Monitoring (InFORM) is such a resource. InFORM works to acquire data and assess risks associated with the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, while making this information available to the public. This collaborative effort involves academic, non-governmental organizations and citizen scientists. InFORM scientists have collected water and biological samples from the NANOOS region, which can be accessed from their website.
NOAA's Western Regional Collaboration Team brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The January 2018 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar will be 20 March 2018 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
University of British Columbia Salish Sea Model Live on NVS
The high-resolution "SalishSeaCast" University of British Columbia (UBC) model, funded by the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR), can be accessed on the NVS Data Explorer App. This model includes temperature and salinity now-casts from the surface to 415m depth, covering the Strait of Georgia and Salish Sea.
Webinar: Forecasting pH and Aragonite Saturation State in the Pacific Northwest
Join the California Coastal Acidification Network (C-CAN) for this webinar on Monday, January 8 at 1 pm PST. Learn about and view initial results from two carbon chemistry forecasts featured on the NANOOS portal. Dr. Parker MacCready, University of Washington, will present on the LiveOcean 3-day forecast model, and Dr. Samantha Siedlecki, University of Connecticut, will present on JISAO's Seasonal Coastal Ocean Prediction of the Ecosystem (J-SCOPE) model. Joe Schumacker, Quinault Indian Nation, will also share his perspective on the needs and utility of such tools.
Forecasts for Pycnocline and Thermocline Depths now on NVS!
Thanks to feedback received from the fishing community, the NVS Data Explorer and Tuna Fisher apps now include forecasts for pycnocline and thermocline depths for the NANOOS region, indicating the areas and depths at which fish are more likely to be found. These 5-day forecasts are produced from the Oregon State University Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) model.
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2016 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring are summarized to provide a thorough overview of Puget Sound conditions for 2016. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS. This report is published by Puget Sound Partnership and NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
NOAA's Western Regional Environmental Conditions and Impacts Coordination project brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The October 2017 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS, and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions.The next webinar will be 23 Jan 2018 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
NANOOS staff shared a booth with NOAA at the annual Pacific Marine Expo from 16-18 November 2017 in Seattle, Washington. This event is the largest commercial fishing and marine tradeshow on the West Coast, with attendance from fishermen, shipyard workers, captains, charter boat operators, port officials, and other groups affiliated with the maritime industry. NANOOS participation in this event was an opportunity to present the NVS Boaters and Tuna Fishers Apps to this user group, and gain valuable feedback.
NANOOS participated in the Discover Science Weekend on 10-11 November 2017 at the Seattle Aquarium. This year's event welcomed over a thousand visitors each day. The exhibit by NANOOS, which included a "Great Build a Buoy Challenge" and NVS demonstrations, was very popular with kids of all ages.
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Upcoming NANOOS Outreach Efforts in the Pacific Northwest
NANOOS will be engaging with users and the public at various outreach events throughout the Pacific Northwest in the coming month. The "State of the Coast" annual one-day meeting for Oregon coastal community members will be taking place in Florence, Oregon on October 28. Craig Risien, researcher at Oregon State University and NANOOS data management staff, will be presenting on ocean condition forecasts, including related NANOOS products. Join us on November 10 – 11 at the Seattle Aquarium for the annual "Discover Science Weekend", where NANOOS staff will be hosting the great "Build-a-Buoy" challenge and demonstrating the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) to the public. See links below for more information on these two events. See you there!
Annual Fall IOOS Meeting Held in Seattle, Washington
This year's U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) fall meeting was held at the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington. The meeting included participation from the IOOS Program Office, the IOOS Association staff and board members, directors of the Regional Associations, and NOAA staff from other offices. Discussion topics included sustaining existing observations, next steps to implement the national coastal mooring strategy, gaps in the observing infrastructure, updating the IOOS Strategic Plan, transitions in modeling, and engaging with the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT). These annual meetings continue to foster the coordination and collaboration for our distributed system.
NOAA's Western Regional Environmental Conditions and Impacts Coordination project brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The August 2017 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from the NANOOS, CeNCOOS and SCCOOS regions, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions.The next webinar will be 24 October 2017 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
NANOOS Annual Meetings Held in Vancouver, Washington
NANOOS held its annual Principal Investigator and Governing Council meetings on August 10 - 11 in Vancouver, Washington at the WSU Vancouver campus. Over 20 attendees from diverse NANOOS member institutions were present to review progress to date as well as plans for the upcoming year. Many thanks to Dave Easter from the IOOS Program Office for calling in to share IOOS updates with our Governing Council.
High-Frequency Radars Coming to the Washington Coast!
NANOOS is pleased to announce that it has received funds for two high-frequency (HF) radars to measure coastal surface currents. These assets will be sited in Washington state as part of the fiscal year 2017 award from NOAA, entitled "Sustaining NANOOS, the Pacific Northwest component of the US IOOS". Surface current data from HF radars can be used for search and rescue, tracking HABs or other floating items, model skill enhancement, maritime safety, and environmental risk reduction. This add was part of a "Fill the Gaps" IOOS Association campaign aimed to address observing gaps in our national system.
Great Attendance at the NANOOS Community Workshop!
A big thank you to over 60 people who attended our NANOOS Community Workshop on July 13th in Newport, Oregon. During the one-day workshop, participants learned about what NANOOS is doing and explored NANOOS products and services including NANOOS' data portal, the NANOOS Visualization System and its many topical specialized apps. Most importantly, the participants provided us with helpful feedback on our products. We look forward to implementing some useful modifications.
The newest version of the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) has been released. This new version includes climate indices and Bakun upwelling indices and anomalies, all available in the Climatology app. Users can view interactive plots, and download historical data directly from NVS. Additionally, the Tsunami Evacuation app has updated the Washington state evacuation zones, as well as evacuation brochures.
NOAA's West Watch webinars summarize coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western U.S. Region. The 6 June 2017 webinar included contributed slides from NANOOS, CeNCOOS and SCCOOS, who regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The slide deck may be accessed below. The next webinar will be 22 August 2017 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
NANOOS Community Workshop July 13th in Newport, Oregon
You are invited to a NANOOS community workshop. At this one-day workshop learn about what NANOOS is doing and explore NANOOS products and services including NANOOS' data portal, the NANOOS Visualization System. and provide feedback on our products. During the course of the day we will break out into small groups to understand your particular data needs, get feedback on our products and services, and explore any other ways we can provide a service to your user group. The workshop will be followed by a science talk at the Hatfield Marine Science Center by OSU oceanographer Dr. Burke Hales, titled "What Drives Estuarine Acidification?".
Climate and Upwelling Indices Now Available on NVS
The NVS Climatology app now includes data from multiple climate indices relevant to the NANOOS region, from 1980 to the present. These indices include the Multivariate ENSO Index, the NINO 3.4, the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Additionally, the app features Bakun upwelling indices and anomalies for 42, 45, and 48 °N over the same time range. These data are particularly useful in identifying variations in the climate system and upwelling conditions over the past three decades.
Plan your next trip using the NVS Boaters App, which offers features like current sea and weather conditions, tide and currents forecasts, and marina information to keep you informed before you go out. Use the new routing capability over NOAA nautical charts to safely plot your course, then log in to save your routes for another time.
Check out the following article from Three Sheets Northwest which highlights some of these features.
The NVS Climatology App enables comparison of current and past water temperature and other variables from buoys and satellites, allowing you to track anomalous conditions such as warmer than typical waters. First referred to as the "Blob" during winter 2013-2014, a large expanse of unusually warm water in the Pacific is now considered a "marine heat wave". Since then, conditions got cooler than average offshore, but still warmer than average onshore. How are conditions now?
Plan your next trip using the NVS Boaters App, which offers features like current sea and weather conditions, tide and currents forecasts, and marina information to keep you informed before you go out. Use the new routing capability over NOAA nautical charts to safely plot your course, then log in to save your routes for another time.
NANOOS Participates in NOAA Hydrographic Services Review Panel
The NOAA Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP) held a meeting in Seattle on 18-20 April 2017 to seek public comments and recommendations on navigational products provided by the National Ocean Service (NOS). As part of this meeting, NANOOS director Jan Newton presented on the different navigational tools NANOOS provides, highlighting the Boaters, Maritime Ops, and Tuna Fishers applications.
NOAA's Western Regional Environmental Conditions and Impacts Coordination project brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The March 2017 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from NANOOS, CeNCOOS and SCCOOS, who will regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar will be 23 May 2017 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
New Publications Feature NANOOS PIs, Data, and Information
Three scientific papers published recently feature NANOOS PIs, data, and information. The articles "Extreme Oceanographic forcing and Coastal Response Due to the 2015-2016 El Niño" and "New Ocean, New Needs: Application of Pteropod Shell Dissolution as a Biological Indicator for Marine Resource Management" include NANOOS PIs as co-authors. Last year's Pacific Anomalies Workshop 2, organized by NANOOS, is mentioned in the article "Satellite Sea Surface Temperatures Along the West Coast of the United States During the 2014–2016 Northeast Pacific Marine Heat Wave".
Understanding the 2015 West Coast Harmful Algal Bloom
NANOOS provides an on-line overview of what scientists have learned regarding the large, unprecedented Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) along the U.S. west coast during spring 2015. Prepared by JISAO scientist Ryan McCabe, the overview explains that the HAB was initiated by anomalously warm water temperatures. This has implications for a higher occurrence of HAB events as waters warm, which presents ecological, economic, and human health repercussions. NANOOS is collaborating with UW, NOAA, and other partners on a project to provide HAB forecasts.
NANOOS makes it a priority to engage users via outreach events throughout the Pacific Northwest. NANOOS contributed to the American Meteorological Society "WeatherFest" on January 22nd in Seattle, Washington, to heighten awareness of weather and ocean forecast and real-time data on NVS. NANOOS attended the annual Sound Waters "one-day university for all" on February 4th at Whidbey Island, Washington, to promote public ocean literacy. On February 25-26th we will be at the Saltwater Sportsmen's Show in Salem, Oregon, demonstrating the NVS Boaters and Tuna Fishers apps.
Special Collection Announced for Pacific Anomalies
Manuscripts are being solicited by AGU Journals (JGR-Oceans, GRL, JGR-Atmosphere, JGR-Biogeosciences) for the special collection titled "Midlatitude Marine Heatwaves: Forcing and Impacts" This special collection was motivated by the two Pacific Anomalies Workshops (PAWs) organized to discuss multi-year warm anomalies. The PAW2 report synthesizes knowledge on status and driving mechanisms of Pacific anomalies and their effects in three topical areas; atmosphere-ocean interactions; open ocean-coastal interactions; and ecosystem responses. Included are recommendations on needs (observations, modeling, or studies) limiting our understanding or ability to forecast anomaly dynamics or impacts.
National Strategy for Sustained Network of Coastal Moorings Released
IOOS, the National Ocean Service (NOS) and the National Weather Service (NWS) have released the "National Strategy for a Sustained Network of Coastal Moorings". The Strategy evaluates the existing inventory and provides ten recommendations towards development of an implementation plan. The primary recommendation is to identify regional observing gaps best addressed with coastal moorings, using a targeted stakeholder engagement approach to integrate stakeholder input. This effort will be led jointly by NOAA mooring operators and IOOS RAs, like NANOOS.
NOAA's Western Regional Environmental Conditions and Impacts Coordination project brought back its popular webinar series again and will present every other month. The January 2017 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts in the Western Region. The webinar included contributed slides from NANOOS, CeNCOOS and SCCOOS, who will regularly report on their local coastal ocean conditions. The next webinar will be 20 March 2017 at 1 pm. Contact us at NANOOS if you want to participate.
The newest version of the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) has been released. This new version includes a new "Routes" feature that allows users to create, edit, and download waypoints before going out on the water. This new feature is available in the Data Explorer, Boaters, Tuna Fishers, and Maritime Operations NVS Apps. NVS version 5.2 also includes modifications to cruise data in the Salish Cruises App; cruises are now listed by year in a user-friendly format for accessing data.
The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) recently redeployed the Umpqua CDIP wave buoy with a new mooring and acoustic release off the coast of Charleston Harbor, Oregon. Important to coastal navigators and planners, CDIP buoys measure wave height, period, and peak direction. Data from this asset and other CDIP buoys are available via NVS.
The October 2016 "NANOOS Observer" newsletter has been posted. This edition highlights some of the work that NANOOS has accomplished within the last five months. These announcements include new features on the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS), education and outreach events, published reports, and other exciting projects. To automatically receive new NANOOS Observer editions in the future, click the "Newsletter" icon at the top of the page and enter your email address.
The NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) version 5 is now live with several exciting new features. One of the key additions to this update include a new "Current Conditions" feature within many NVS apps. This new feature provides a regional view of data from all assets reporting real-time water and air temperatures, barometric pressures, waves, and wind measurements. NVS 5 also includes new profile and heatmap plots for select profiler platforms, including ORCA buoys. Additionally, the NVS Salish Cruises app now provides downloadable cruise data from 1998 to 2016 in the Salish Sea.
A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2015 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring are summarized to provide a thorough overview of Puget Sound conditions for 2015. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS. This report is published by Puget Sound Partnership and NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) are funding development of a harmful algal bloom (HAB) forecast in the Pacific Northwest to support management of shellfisheries, clamming beaches, and human health. The experimental monitoring and forecasting system will launch in 2017, with forecast bulletins predicting bloom location and concentration several days in advance. This new development is a joint effort between NOAA, members of the Makah Tribe, the University of Washington, the University of Strathclyde, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and NANOOS.
The report summarizes knowledge synthesized regarding status and driving mechanisms of Pacific anomalies and their effects, as well as recommendations emerging from the workshop. The report addresses three topical areas: atmosphere-ocean interactions; open ocean-coastal interactions; and ecosystem responses. Included are specific recommendations on needs (observations, modeling, or studies) that limit our understanding or ability to forecast dynamics or impacts of the anomalous conditions. Two Pacific Anomalies Workshops have been held to discuss what is known regarding the atmospheric, oceanic, and biological aspects of the multi-year warm anomalies (aka the blob) as well as the 2015-16 El Niño. Presentations and videos from both workshops are on-line.
The new Real-Time HABs website provides timely information on toxic harmful algal blooms in the Pacific Northwest. View the latest harmful algal bloom measurements from the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP), an underwater robot located on the NEMO mooring 13 miles off La Push, Washington. Real-time data on water conditions including currents, temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen are available. This NANOOS website is provided to help understand where toxic algae may be moving and the conditions that may influence toxic blooms. The ESP project and website are funded through IOOS Ocean Technology Transfer program.
The new Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) data portal, built using NANOOS NVS technology, was launched at Secretary Kerry's "Our Ocean Conference" on 16 September 2016 by NOAA Administrator Dr. Sullivan. This user-interactive portal features global ocean acidification data, such as pH, pCO2, and aragonite saturation state, as well as asset inventory and metadata from world-wide GOA-ON partners (330 from 67 countries). The portal was made possible through the vision of GOA-ON and support from NOAA, IOOS, and the University of Washington.
The NVS Climatology App provides comparisons of current and past water temperature and other variables from buoys and satellites, allowing you to track anomalous conditions such as warmer than typical waters. First referred to as the "Blob" during winter 2013-2014, a large expanse of unusually warm water in the Pacific is now considered a "marine heat wave". Conditions offshore appear to be getting warmer again, and with a circular footprint similar to its appearance back in December 2013.
NANOOS was deeply honored to remotely host NOAA Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, while she was visiting NOAA PMEL, for a short address and Q&A at the annual NANOOS Governing Council meeting on 11 August. Around 30 attendees from diverse NANOOS member institutions in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia were present. The annual meeting reviews progress to date, future plans, and provides a forum for discussion and feedback.
New Global Wave Product Based on CAWCR WaveWatch III Fields
NANOOS is pleased to announce that global, hindcast WaveWatch III monthly mean, climatology and anomaly wave fields for the period Jan 1979 - May 2016 are now available via the NVS Climatology app. These monthly views are derived from fields originally generated via the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (CAWCR), a collaboration between Australia's CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology.
A recent phytoplankton bloom in Hood Canal, Washington was seen from space! NASA's satellites recorded images of a rare bloom of coccolithophores occurring this summer in Hood Canal and Dabob Bay, Washington. Coccolithophores are phytoplankton with calcium carbonate plates that reflect light, showing up as a milky turquoise color. Washington Sea Grant, a NANOOS partner, observed the bloom from the beach.
Fish kills in Hood Canal occur when low oxygen (hypoxic) waters move up to the surface from depth, usually by seasonal southerly winds. Already we see strong hypoxic conditions in lower Hood Canal this summer. See the "Fish Kill Alert" from the UW ORCA buoy group, NANOOS partners, and follow the oxygen levels on NVS.
OOI Coastal Endurance Array Data Streams for OR and WA Coasts Now on NVS
NANOOS is pleased to announce that it is now serving National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) data from the Pacific Northwest Coastal Endurance Array through our NANOOS Visualization System (NVS). Our data team has harvested these data streams from the publicly available OOI site, porting them into NVS so our users can see multiple sources of data in our coastal waters, including NSF OOI, NANOOS, NSF CMOP, NOAA NDBC, CDIP, and others. Kudos to the visionary leaders at NSF and NOAA who worked to assure this compatibility so we can better serve those wanting coastal data from Washington and Oregon waters.
NANOOS was awarded the first of five years funding for continued operation from the U.S. IOOS office, including funding from NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program for activity in both Oregon and Washington.NANOOS will continue investment in observing infrastructure and computer modeling for the Pacific Northwest coastal ocean, estuaries, and shorelines. These diverse assets provide real-time information and integrated data products, allowing users to identify and forecast environmental conditions. These funds will improve the ability of our region to interact with the coastal ocean in a way that enables decisions to optimize human safety, economy, and a healthy environment.
Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of High Frequency Radar
IOOS has released the Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of High Frequency Radar Surface Current Data. This manual is the 9th in a series of guidance documents produced by IOOS to establish authoritative procedures for collecting high-quality data, the Quality Assurance/Quality Control of Real-Time Oceanographic Data (QARTOD) Project.
The IOOS-supported "Environmental Sample Processor" was successfully deployed off La Push at our NEMO buoy and is relaying data on harmful algal bloom (HAB) species and domoic acid toxin concentration through the NVS portal. Kudos to the team from UW and NOAA, as well as our other academic, non-profit, industry, tribal, and state partners, in making this dream reality!
The Western Regional Environmental Conditions and Impacts Coordination project May 2016 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts, including contributed slides from NANOOS.
The latest version of the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) is now live! Check out usability improvements and the addition of three new data streams: surface currents collected via the Port Townsend / Coupeville WA State Ferry and surface water temperatures collected via the Victoria Clipper, both of these are contributed by NANOOS partner Washington Dept. of Ecology. A third data product is oceanographic glider sections off La Push from NANOOS partner University of Washington, collected during 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.
New Ocean Acidification Data Stream from Quadra Island, BC
A new data stream from a shore station on Quadra Island, BC is now available on NVS. This data stream from NANOOS member Hakai Institute, monitors ocean acidification conditions in near real-time using a "Burke-o-lator" sensor system located at the Hakai Institute's Field Station at Hyacinthe Bay.
Two Pacific Anomalies Workshops have been held to discuss what is known regarding the atmospheric, oceanic, and biological aspects of the multi-year temperature anomaly known as the "Blob" as well as to note the 2015-16 El Niño. Presentations, agenda, and videos from both workshops are on-line.
March 11 is the 5th anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku, Japan earthquake and tsunami. A similar earthquake and tsunami would devastate our coast. KNOW if you are in a tsunami zone. PRACTICE your route to high ground. VIEW evacuation zones and evacuation routes at nvs.nanoos.org/TsunamiEvac
New high-tech buoy key to monitoring health of Bellingham Bay
A new buoy about two miles out in Bellingham Bay is collecting streams of data around the clock that scientists and students will use to monitor the health of north Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.
The NVS Climatology App provides comparisons of current and past water temperature from buoys and satellites, allowing you to track warmer than typical water, both from the large expanse of unusually warm water in the Pacific, known as the "Blob", and from the 2015-2016 El Niño. Can't tell them apart? Hear what experts said at the second Pacific Anomalies Workshop (PAW2).
Welcome Se'lhaem! New Bellingham Bay Buoy Deployed
A new buoy, Se'lhaem, was deployed in Bellingham Bay on February 11th. The CRITFC Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction Program, through its education partner University of Washington, deployed the buoy in partnership with Northwest Indian College and Western Washington University.
The Western Regional Environmental Conditions and Impacts Coordination project January 2016 webinar summarized coastal environmental conditions and impacts, including contributed slides from NANOOS and the CA OOSes.
Have we seen the end of the "Blob" in BC? Not so fast. The Hakai Institute’s two field stations in British Columbia have a front row seat to the dynamic changes going on in the oceans.
The second Pacific Anomalies Workshop will be held on the University of Washington campus on 20-21 January. Please register now.
This workshop is sponsored by U.S. IOOS, NOAA OAR Ocean Climate Observation Program, NOAA Western Regional Team, Washington Sea Grant, and California Sea Grant.
NANOOS has created an overview video demonstration that walks users through various NVS features and applications, and introduces other NANOOS resources.
King Tides, the highest tides of the year, happen every winter when the moon is closest to Earth. This winter's King Tides are Nov. 24-27, Dec. 23-26, and Jan. 13-15. Use NVS to see tides near you. Both OR and WA have photo projects inviting citizens to contribute King Tide images; to help visualize what sea level rise may look like in the coming decades.
A new video from UW's Applied Physics Lab shows how near real-time Oceanic Remote Chemical Analyzer buoy data, available on NVS, provided constant monitoring of evolving conditions and allowed scientists to warn of possible fish kill events in the oxygen-starved waters of Hood Canal well in advance.
An art exhibit featuring NANOOS assets is now open at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle. Local artist D.K. Pan filmed at sunset from NOS/CO-OPS Tsunami Capable Tide Stations along the West Coast to create his 39 minute video. According to Pan, "the project serves as a poetic document of place" that will bring awareness to vulnerable coastal communities.
NANOOS Director gives an overview of the IOOS ocean acidification data portal "IPACOA" serving NOAA OAP, shellfish grower, and other data streams spanning U.S. Pacific basin waters.
Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of Dissolved Nutrients
IOOS has released the Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of Dissolved Nutrients Observations. This manual, which was co-edited by NANOOS' own Emilio Mayorga, is the 8th in a series of guidance documents produced by IOOS to establish authoritative procedures for collecting high-quality data, the Quality Assurance/Quality Control of Real-Time Oceanographic Data (QARTOD) Project.
NANOOS in "Seafood 101" Supplement in the Seattle Times
"Seafood 101" explores the science of seafood sustainability, the surrounding ecosystem, careers within the fishing industry, the value of eating wild-caught seafood and the role of NOAA in managing healthy fisheries. The potential impact of the warm water "Blob" on West Coast fisheries and tracking it via NANOOS' Climatology App are featured on page 4.
The large expanse of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean, the "Blob", persists off the coast of OR and WA and has invaded inland waters. The NVS Climatology App provides comparisons of current and past water temperature from buoys and satellites, allowing you to track the warmer than typical water.
Fish kills in Hood Canal occur when hypoxic waters are rapidly upwelled to the surface, usually by seasonal southerly wind storms. Abnormal weather and oceanic conditions have resulted in extreme hypoxia in Hood Canal this year. Fish kill risk depends on whether seasonal storms or complete flushing occur first. Find out more from the Advisory and follow the oxygen levels on NVS.
NANOOS Serves WA Department of Health Shellfish Safety Data
WA Dept. of Health (WADOH) shellfish safety data is now on NVS. WADOH deploys sensors seasonally to monitor for high water temperatures that increase the risk of growth of Vibrio, a bacteria that sickens humans via contaminated shellfish. WADOH, tribes, and shellfish growers are reducing this risk by restricting shellfish harvest when environmental conditions favor Vibrio growth.
NANOOS invites your input to our response to the US IOOS FFO guiding the next 5 years of NANOOS operations. We will follow the "timeline" below. For existing NANOOS efforts, PIs must fill out a 2-page "existing" LOI. For new efforts, which can be proposed by anyone, fill out a 2-page "new" LOI.
IOOS Pacific Region Ocean Acidification Data Portal
The Pacific Regional Associations of U.S. IOOS are pleased to announce the release of the new IOOS Pacific Region Ocean Acidification (IPACOA) data portal. This portal provides relevant ocean acidification data from throughout the IOOS Pacific regions of Alaska (AOOS), Washington and Oregon (NANOOS), Central and Northern California (CeNCOOS), Southern California (SCCOOS), and the Pacific Islands (PacIOOS).
To improve our understanding of ocean and atmosphere conditions offshore the Pacific Northwest, a suite of products are now available in the new NVS Climatology App. The new App shows climate (long-term average conditions) and anomalies (present-day departures from average), allowing users to visualize if current conditions are abnormal. Is a warm sea water "blob" present? Check out this cool app!
NANOOS Receives two IOOS Ocean Technology Transition Project Grants
To advance science and enable better decision making, the Ocean Technology Transition Project through U.S. IOOS and NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program has awarded two grants to NANOOS and our partners to support forecasting of harmful algal blooms (HABs) off the Pacific Northwest coast and to improve ocean acidification (OA) observing capability along the US west coast.
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a concern in the Pacific Northwest. This year an exceptionally large West Coast bloom has closed regional razor clam and crab fisheries. New event response funding from NOAA will enable NANOOS and partners to provide improved forecasts and data to resource managers, shellfish growers, and researchers for managing HAB response.
The marine waters of the Pacific Northwest are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. NANOOS, with its partners, is collecting and making available ocean acidification related water quality data from sensitive areas along the coast and within Puget Sound.
A 6.9 earthquake hit about 50 miles west of the Northern California coast on Sunday, March 9, 2014. Use the NVS Tsunami Evacuation App to view earthquake event details and U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center warnings as well as inundation maps and evacuation routes in tsunami hazard zones.
NVS (NANOOS Visualization System] is a web app that provides easy access to data and visualizations. NVS provides a wide range of data and visualizations for observations and forecasts in a consistent format.
