Coastal Ocean Observations and Observatories—Xxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxx XxXxxxxx, and Xxx Xxxxx Sample Clauses

Coastal Ocean Observations and Observatories—Xxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxx XxXxxxxx, and Xxx Xxxxx. The ability to make advances in oceanography depends critically on the ability to make measurements, and this is especially so in the coastal ocean. The problem here is challenging for several reasons. One is simply that this is a hostile setting for making measurements, especially where the net water depth is less than around 20m so that waves cause substantial problems. Further, the coastal environment is extremely anisotropic: things vary differently in the alongshore and cross-shelf directions. All variables are extremely non-stationary on seasonal time scales, where the entire nature of the water column can change (unlike the tropical or subtropical deep ocean, where only a fraction of the water column is strongly affected on these time scales). Finally, interdisciplinary issues are particularly acute in the coastal environment, making the development of non-physical sensors that can sample compatibly with physical technologies especially pressing. WHOI is tackling these issues on a number of levels. We are among the leaders in developing moorings that can endure on the inner shelf. We are developing an observatory off Xxxxxx’s Vineyard that will enable diverse year-around measurements in real time and that are capable of capturing rare and extreme events. Finally, we are working on developing new non- physical sensors that will mesh with physical data sets, and enable the development and evaluation of interdisciplinary models. These activities all represent long-term efforts that require repeated improvements and evaluations. These efforts are directly pertinent to CICOR science themes and represent appropriate places for building cooperation between WHOI and NOAA scientists and engineers.