You Are In: USINFO > Topics > Global Issues

20 October 2004

U.S. Scientists to Study Oceans, Coasts from Space

Plans for new coastal-monitoring technology under way

U.S. scientists are making plans for how they will use space-based imaging equipment to better observe coastal conditions such as fisheries, red tides, oil spills and other ecological issues.

A press release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says a special device designed for these purposes -- the Hyperspectral Environment Suite -- will go into space in 2012 on board the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R). The new technology will provide fundamentally new means to study the oceans and coasts, according to the October 19 press release.

"NOAA is working with other government agencies, academia and the private sector to build an integrated ocean observing system, a shared collection of data that the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy strongly recommends as a critical step in improving ocean and coastal resource management," said Richard W. Spinrad, assistant administrator of the NOAA Ocean Service.

The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy is a congressionally created panel that spent several years developing wide-ranging recommendations on how to improve policies toward the coasts and oceans. Those recommendations were released earlier this year and have gone to the Congress for review and action.

Further information is available at http://www.oceanservice.noaa.gov/ and http://www.oso.noaa.gov/goes/

The text of the NOAA press release follows:

(begin text)

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSHPIERC ADMINISTRATION

[Washington, D.C.]

FUTURE NOAA SPACECRAFT WILL IMPROVE MANAGEMENT OF AMERICA'S COASTAL WATERS

Oct. 19, 2004 - Scientists from NOAA, NASA, the Office of Naval Research and academia are looking to use data from a highly advanced imaging device-set to go onboard the next generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R)-to track red tides, oil spills, upwelling and other U.S. coastal water management issues more effectively. (Click NOAA image for larger view of artist's rendering of NOAA GOES in a geosynchronous position above the Earth. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit "NOAA.")

The device, called the Hyperspectral Environment Suite, will be a major imaging instrument on the GOES-R spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch in 2012. HES will include a capability to image all U.S. coastal waters and is expected to provide critical data to resource managers and researchers studying climate, fisheries, coastal ecology and oceanography.

The scientists are part of the Coastal Ocean Applications and Science Team, or COAST, which is a new effort to ensure that GOES-R data meet stringent research and application criteria to better monitor and study coastal waters.

"NOAA is working with other government agencies, academia and the private sector in efforts to build an integrated ocean observing system, a shared collection of data that the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy strongly recommends as a critical step in improving ocean and coastal resource management," said Richard W. Spinrad, assistant administrator of the NOAA Ocean Service. "Having the type of detailed data that the HES imaging instrument can provide is a critical component of building such a system."

"Having the best possible management of coastal waters will have a positive impact on America's marine economy and better protect citizens who live in coastal communities," said Gregory W. Withee, assistant administrator of the NOAA Satellites and Information Service. "The imager's data will also provide coastal officials improved information, enabling better decisions."

Withee pointed to a key advantage of coastal imaging from GOES spacecraft. "Because it's stationary, GOES can stare at an area of interest for long periods, taking advantage of openings in the cloud cover to capture developments in coastal waters from start to finish."

COAST is reviewing coastal waters imaging requirements for HES, with a goal of having a technical approach to implementing the applications a year from now. The team will also identify, develop and test new products that help NOAA achieve its operational mission in the coastal ocean.

"COAST represents a new partnership between NOAA and the scientific community. GOES-R HES will provide a fundamentally new capability to study the complex processes in our coastal oceans," said Mark Abbott, chair of COAST and dean of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University.

The NOAA Satellites and Information Service is the nation's primary source of space-based oceanographic, meteorological and climate data. It operates the nation's environmental satellites, which are used for ocean and weather observation and forecasting, climate monitoring and other environmental applications. Some of the oceanographic applications include sea-surface temperature for hurricane and weather forecasting and sea-surface heights for El Niño prediction.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)