Technologies

& Tools

High frequency radar

Land-based high-frequency radar provides real-time information on the speed and direction of surface currents over a large area. High-frequency radar can assist search and rescue efforts, and track hazardous materials as they drift through the ocean. IOOS operates the nation’s only high-frequency radar network that provides data to the Coast Guard and NOAA for these purposes.

Buoys

Buoys — sometimes referred to as moorings — are floating devices that are attached (“moored”) to the ocean floor. Buoy sensors both above and below the surface can track wind, waves, currents, water level, salinity and other ocean chemistry, water quality, and more.

Photo by: Amy Larson

Gliders & autonomous vessels

Gliders are uncrewed underwater vehicles that can monitor ocean conditions on the move. These autonomous devices follow GPS paths, collecting information as they go. Every few hours, a glider will surface to “call” home and await further instruction. Gliders are especially helpful in the event of an oil spill or harmful algal bloom or for monitoring subsurface conditions for hurricane intensity.

Photo by: Spray Glider Lab, UCSD/SIO

Shore stations

Shore stations help us track storms and weather. They can be installed on coastal beaches, islands, piers, or offshore platforms. These sensors detect changes in wind speed and direction, air temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation, rainfall, water temperature, and more.

Ships

Research and fisheries vessels carry a variety of sensors to gather chemical and biological information along cruise routes. Ocean and Great Lakes ships can also be equipped with sensors that detect conditions throughout the water column.

Photo by: UMaine Physical Oceanography Group

Data management systems

Data management is key to the success of IOOS. IOOS regions ensure users have seamless access to quality and timely data in a format they can access and understand. Using state-of-the-art information technology to integrate data from multiple federal and non-federal sources, they make critical information available in real time.

Models & forecasts

The IOOS regions incorporate observations from the platforms they operate, as well as from a variety of partners, into regional computer models that simulate the ocean and coastal environment, and forecasts to support planning, preparedness, and coastal safety. Data from the IOOS regions are also sent to federal repositories and communications networks that support additional models and forecasts needed to predict storms, flooding, and other weather patterns, as well as the paths of algae, fish larvae and other species, and pollutants as they move through the ecosystem.

Satellites

Earth observing satellites collect imagery that allows us to measure sea surface temperature, ocean color, sea surface height, and other conditions. As part of their role as data integrators, IOOS Regional Associations serve satellite data, which can be used to identify ocean fronts, harmful algae blooms, oil spills, hurricanes, and polar ice distributions.