Caro-COOPS continues to provide data and information products to a variety of user groups, including emergency managers, environmental managers, marine scientists, the NOAA National Weather Service, and mariners in the coastal Carolinas. We hope you'll find the newsletter of interest and welcome your thoughts and suggestions; email us at info@caro-coops.org.

Storm Surge Forecasting - New Tool Assimilates Real-time Data

For more information: contact Dr. Lian Xie at North Carolina State University xie@ncsu.edu.

Next Generation Buoy System

Evaluation of the capabilities and design of the buoy system is an ongoing process. What will our 'next generation' Caro-COOPS buoy system look like? Both the addition of specific sub-modules and physical changes in the mooring are being tested for inclusion. Our current bi-moor mooring design utilizes two anchors with a hard-wired communication link from the buoy to the bottom frame; we are testing the capabilities of a single-point acoustic modem mooring to meet our needs. In August 05’ a single-point test buoy was deployed near CAP2 to test the capability of the acoustic modem technology in shallow water (10 m). If successful, the acoustic modem could eliminate the hard-wired communication cable from the buoy to the science frame, which in the past has parted due to a ship collision or by fisherman/human interference when the cable got caught by boat anchor or fishing gear. Preliminary results from our test deployment were excellent—we were successful in communicating and receiving data from the buoy to an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) located nearby on an autonomous bottom-mounted science frame. 

A single-point mooring is a more simple system to maintain than our current bi-moor design. The recovery/deployment operations are less technical and therefore exhibit less risk. In the long-term, cost is reduced as a single-point requires half the chain and wire rope (mooring elements) for each 6-month deployment. Additionally, the reduction in elements will reduce the weight imposed on the buoy.  This increase in buoyancy should benefit the buoy’s performance during storm events.  As with any change, tradeoffs exist.  For instance, in the case of a break in the anchor line on a single-point mooring, due to a ship collision or an element failure during a storm, the buoy is most likely lost unless we can quickly obtain ship time and attempt a rescue. Evaluations of the single-point mooring continue. 

Publications, Presentations, & Media

Hurricane Wind Prediction Model

A new asymmetric hurricane wind prediction model has been developed by the Caro-COOPS modeling team. Details of the model are described in a recent paper entitled: "A Real-Time Hurricane Surface Wind Forecasting Model: Formulation and Verification" coauthored by Lian Xie, Shaowu Bao, Leonard J. Pietrafesa, Kristen Foley, and Montserrat Fuentes. The paper has been accepted for publication in Monthly Weather Review, a leading scholarly journal of the American Meteorological Society.

Caro-COOPS "Introduced" to Local Business Community

Caro-COOPS was featured in the August 8, 2005, issue of Charleston Business Journal.  The article titled "Buoys, stations provide clear weather picture" by writer Rachel Pleasant provided an overview of the ocean observing and prediction system.  The Charleston Business Journal is a regional business newspaper focused on comprehensive coverage of local business.

Long Bay Presentations to SC DHEC

Dr. Braxton Davis provided an overview of Caro-COOPS and its ongoing contributions to the Long Bay Hypoxia Study to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control’s  Office of Coastal Resource Management,  October 4, and its Bureau of Water, October 7, 2005. 

Presentations at Meetings

Role of Coastal Observing Systems in Enhancing Storm Surge and Flooding Prediction, Madilyn Fletcher, Dwayne Porter, Leonard Pietrafesa, Earle Buckley, & Lian Xie.  Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005, Charleston, SC, May 8-11, 2005.

On Sea-Level Variability on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.  L.J. Pietrafesa, L. Xie, D.A. Dickey, E. Buckley, & M. Fletcher.  Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005, Charleston, SC, May 8-11, 2005.

Carolinas Coastal Ocean Observing and Prediction System and the Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program.  M. Fletcher, L.J. Pietrafesa, M. Moss, & L. Leonard.  NOAA in the Carolinas, Asheville, NC, November 2-4, 2005.

Caro-COOPS: Ocean Observing Systems in Charleston Harbor and Coastal South Carolina. Madilyn Fletcher, Dwayne Porter, Braxton Davis, Leonard Pietrafesa, Earle Buckley, & Lian Xie.  2005 ThinkTEC Homeland Security Innovation Conference, Charleston, SC, November 30–December 2, 2005

Southeastern Coastal Ocean Observing Systems in Support of Coastal Zone Management. Braxton Davis, Denise Sanger, Dwayne Porter, & Debra Hernandez. Coastal Zone Conference, New Orleans in July 17-21.   

Caro-COOPS (poster). Madilyn Fletcher, Dwayne Porter, Earle Buckley, Leonard Pietrafesa, Lian Xie, Jeremy Cothran, Braxton Davis, & Rebecca Shuford. Coastal Zone Conference, New Orleans in July 17-21.  

Staff News

New Members of the Caro-COOPS Team

Hanna Habashy, System Programmer II, is involved in designing, coding, debugging, and implementing MetaDoor II. He also receives, evaluates, and implements new functions and user requests. Meta-Door, online metadata entry tool, is a unique data management solution for coastal ocean observing systems. Contact info:  habashy@asg.sc.edu, (803) 777-9924 

Payne Seal, is a software developer for the SEACOOS and Carolinas Coast ocean
observing system web applications. He writes the underlying code that runs the sites and works with the databases in which the data are housed. He is also working with data providers to identify new features and new data sources so the applications provide as much relevant information as possible. Contact info:  pseal@sc.edu, (803) 777-8858 

Dr. Rebecca Shuford, fisheries oceanographer, is working with the Long Bay Hypoxia Study as well as on the development of fisheries oceanographic research initiatives. She is involved in developing studies that consider the functional relationships existing between fish biology, behavior, and movements and their oceanic environment. Studies on local fish populations here in South Carolina will incorporate ocean observations from the Carolinas Coastal Ocean  Observation and Prediction System (Caro-COOPS).  Contact info: rebecca@sc.edu, 803/777-8814

Monisha Kanoth is a software developer who will be working with on Caro-COOPS and SEACOOS data management related issues. She recently completed a Master's degree in Computer Science and Engineering at USC working on programming and web development for USC's Information Technology Office. Contact info: monisha@sc.edu, 803/777-1609

New Role for Davis

Dr. Braxton Davis recently accepted a joint faculty position with the Baruch Institute, University of South Carolina and the South Carolina Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) in Charleston, SC. This position is intended to strengthen linkages between the coastal research and management communities in South Carolina, and will focus in part on applications of coastal ocean observing systems. Braxton will continue to interact closely with Caro-COOPS and SEACOOS to help guide the development of information and products that can meet the needs of coastal managers.  Contact info: USC braxton.davis@sc.edu,  (803) 777-5538;  OCRM
DavisBC@dhec.sc.gov,  (843) 747-4323 x161

Offshore Mooring Array Status

In July/August 05’ the FRP2, CAP3, and SUN2 moorings were successfully “turned around”.  A turnaround signifies a mooring was recovered and redeployed with new instrumentation and buoy electronics.  In addition to the turnarounds at the above sites, the SUN3 mooring site was redeployed to a new location approximately 6.8 miles to the northwest of our previous deployment. The intent was to move the buoy to a safer area, away from the heavy ship traffic in and around Frying Pan Shoals. 

Instrumentation changes include the addition of a visibility sensor at FRP2. This sensor is intended to notify mariners only when poor visibility conditions exist as the sensor has a range of 0 to approximately 1.8 miles; therefore, when visibility is greater than 1.8 miles (fair to good visibility) the sensor is unable to provide an accurate value. 

November 7-16 a turnaround of the entire mooring array (7 mooring sites) took place.  This early turnaround was to switch to a Fall/Spring turnaround schedule instead of the Winter/Summer schedule, which  had presented potential problems during hurricane season.  The November turnaround was a success in every way.  We hope to rest easy until next May, the first Spring turnaround. 

The 6-month turnaround schedule is not set in stone.  If communication with a buoy is lost, a cruise is scheduled if possible to fix the problem; in some cases the buoy ends up being turned around.  A typical turnaround involves the complete or near complete swap of buoy instruments and electronics and thus a new deployment number for that site. Simply swapping a nonfunctioning instrument is not considered a turnaround and the site deployment number remains the same.  

Quarterly Trends

The examples below illustrate quarterly trends in air temperature, water temperature, bottom currents, and surface currents at our CAP2 station, approximately 5 miles offshore of Capers Island, SC. Visit the Caro-COOPS website for additional information and data illustrating changes in coastal conditions over the past months.  The gap in the data is a period that the buoy was not reporting or being serviced.

Approximate averages for the quarter June 15 to September 15

Air Temperature: 81.5 degrees Fahrenheit
Winds: 14 mph, from the SSW
Surface Currents: 0.59 knots toward the N
Bottom Currents: 0.27 knots toward the N
Bottom Water Temperature (~10 m or 33 feet): 80.3 degrees Fahrenheit 

Approximate averages for the quarter September 15 to December 15

Air Temperature: 66.2 degrees Fahrenheit
Winds: 14 mph, from the SSE
Surface Currents: 0.53 knots toward the SW
Bottom Currents: 0.28 knots toward the SW
Bottom Water Temperature (~10 m or 33 feet): 62.1 degrees Fahrenheit