Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services

Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) is an NOS program that supports safe and cost-efficient navigation by providing shipmasters and mariners with accurate real-time information required to avoid groundings and collisions.

The Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) collects and distributes oceanographic observations and predictions to ensure safe, efficient and environmentally sound maritime commerce. The center provides water level and coastal current oceanographic products, measures and predicts tides throughout the nation, and is responsible for disseminating this information to the public.

CO-OPS manages the National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON), which provides basic tidal information to determine U.S. coastal marine boundaries and to create nautical charts. CO-OPS also manages a national network of Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Systems (PORTS®) that reside in 10 major U.S. harbors. The PORTS® network provides real-time information such as water levels, currents, air gap (the clearance between the water surface and the bottom of a bridge), meteorological and other oceanographic data to mariners to help them avoid groundings and collisions.

Water level station at Buzzards Bay, MA. The station includes a data collection platform, acoustic sensor with a protective tube, satellite antenna, various meteorological sensors and a solar panel that keeps the station battery charged.

In addition, CO-OPS establishes standards for the collection and processing of water level and current data. It conducts research into new or improved oceanographic observing systems and designs software to improve data processing capabilities. It also performs regular data analysis and quality control of data gleaned from the NWLON and PORTS® systems.

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