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SeaSondes
Play Role in Gulf of Mexico Disaster
Response
1 September
2010
Image shows
SeaSonde currents (colored vectors) nearest to the Deepwater Horizon
leak site superimposed on the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) oil particle trajectory forecast (blue blotches). This data
set (from 4 June 2010) and others collected throughout the disaster
response period are posted online at the U.S. Integrated Ocean
Observing System (U.S. IOOS) official leak response site.
The BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig ablaze.
Image credit: U.S. Coast Guard.
SeaSonde antenna operating in Alabama.
Five years after Hurricane Katrina’s wrath was felt by
residents in the Gulf of Mexico, the area now faces another disaster. On
20 April 2010 the explosion on Deepwater Horizon oil rig set into motion
the oil leak that flowed until 15 July and is now on record as the largest
oil spill in U.S. history. Its impacts as well as required cleanup and
remediation will continue for years.
Within days of the explosion, CODAR engineers worked alongside scientists
at University of Southern Mississippi to complete installation of their
3 Long-Range SeaSonde radars and mobilize this network so that it would
provide coverage of the surface currents from Mississippi as far east to
Pensacola, Florida.
Data from this network, and another Long-Range SeaSonde network positioned
along the west Florida shelf (owned and operated by University of South
Florida), were loaded hourly into the US IOOS national HF radar network
database and from there used by NOAA scientists alongside their models
of circulation and oil transport in the Gulf.
A wider swath of scientists used this data and that from Rutgers University
underwater glider fleet to compare with and to analyze the utility of the
HyCOM and SABGOM models running in the Gulf.
While ocean circulation in the deep water areas of the Gulf can be resolved
with confidence using satellite-derived data, the current circulation patterns
on the shallower shelf areas are poorly observed by satellite as these
areas are influenced less by geostrophic and tidal effects, but more by
winds, bathymetry, and river discharge. These influences reduce the effectiveness
of satellite-derived current information while emphasizing circulation
nowcasts and forecasts that input data over the continental shelf. SeaSonde
HF radar current patterns are the most obvious and critical nowcast observations
that satisfy this need.
Please allow approx. 30 secs. for video to begin play
NEWS
COVERAGE
Considerable press has been given to the use of SeaSondes in the Gulf of
Mexico response. Of the writings, we especially like that article written
by Paul Voosen which appeared in the New York Times online. Click
here for the full article
At left: San Francisco State University’s Jim Pettigrew explains to NBC
Bay Area news reporter Vicky Nguyen the basics of how HF radar works, how
it can help in the Gulf response effort, and also the incredible SeaSonde
coverage along California’s coastline that represents the world’s most
extensive HF radar network. The news video segment can be at the left.
The
website specially devoted to U.S. IOOS’ disaster response in the
Gulf of Mexico (entry portal http://
rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/deepwater/ ) contains arguably the
best collection of oceanographic information and analysis available
for public viewing. We call special attention to the Deepwater Blog
section (direct link is http://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/deepwater/category/deepwater-blog/).
Of the 127 postings made thus far, there are simply too many interesting
entries involving SeaSonde data to list. So, instead we show below
an excerpt from the blog dated 4 June 2010, (posted by Dr. Scott
Glenn of Rutgers University) illustrating one specific example how
SeaSonde data is being used.
The blog is posted online at http://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/deepwater/category/deepwater-blog/page/8/
HF Radar tells the story
for the Florida Coast.
Figure 1. This is the NOAA Oil Spill Forecast
for June 3. The oil that is north of the Deepwater Horizon site
was located directly south of the Mississippi/Alabama border, directly
south of Mobile Bay. Very little is south of the Alabama/Florida
border.
Figure 2. Here is the NOAA oil spill forecast
forecast for June 4. There is a significant eastward shift in in
the highest oil concentrations shown in the blue colors. The black
line showing the outer boundary has shifted significantly to the
north and east, making landfall in Alabama and Florida.
Figure 3. Now we overlay the surface current maps
from the National HF Radar network. The shore-based radar systems
are observing strong currents generally to the east. West of Mobile
Bay, the strong currents are running to the southeast, moving the
oil slick away from the Mississippi coast. East of Mobile Bay,
the currents turn, heading northeast, toward the Florida coast,
exactly how the oil is moving. The HF Radars are showing us where
the oil is going and why. No wonder the U.S. Coast Guard uses HF
Radar for Search And Rescue.
Figure 4. Now here is the HF Radar surface current
map from the Florida shelf south of Tampa. The oil slick is just
making it into the coverage area for these HF Radars. Currents
here are alongshore generally to the north. The outer edge closest
to the oil is heading northeast towards Tampa, but the currents
closer in are running parallel to the coast.
