UNC Coastal Studies Institute and NC-COOS Outer Banks Projects              

 

CSI and NC-COOS are involved in a variety of collaborative projects along the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  The variety of equipment, locations and educational products combine to make useful tools for those who live, work and play on the North Carolina Coast.  The information gathered from these stations can be used to improve the decision making process for coastal managers, severe weather response teams, fishermen, boaters, educators and others in whose decisions coastal conditions play a role. 

Jennette's Pier: The Jennette's Pier Observing Partnership (JPOP) is located on Jennette's Pier in Nag's Head, North Carolina. JPOP is a collaborative effort to quantitatively observe the ocean and the atmosphere. Current observations include a meteorological station with wind, temperature, rainfall, and humidity.  Future plans include a wave and current meter, water temperature, and an experimental radar to messure wave spectra.  Data is available through a kiosk interface at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. JPOP partners include NC-COOS, the UNC Coastal Studies Institute, the NC Aquarium Society, the Outer Banks Boarding Company, SurfChex, and NC SeaGrant.  Technical assistant is also provided by the Army Corp. of Engineers Coastal Hydraulics Lab. 

Coastal Ocean Radar or CODAR : As part of a nationwide initiative, NC-COOS is operating a surface current radar. Coastal Ocean Radar (CODAR) is used to measure the speed and direction of surface currents in the coastal ocean.  A transmitter antenna sends out a radio frequency (4.53 Mhz) that catters of the ocean's surface and back to a receive antenna.  From the Doppler shift of the backscattered radio waves, CODAR is able to calculate the speed and direction of surface currents.  The system consists of two sites along the North Carolina coast: The Coast Guard Station in Buxton and the Duck Field Research Facility.  This network provides current measurements up to 110 nautical miles offshore.  The Duck system couples with other stations to the north owned by NASA and Rutgers University to provide current data from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay northward.

Offshore Observing Tripod: 

CSI maintains a tripod located approximately 25 miles from Oregon Inlet.  Sitting in over 110 feet of water, the stainless steel tripod is outfitted with a suite of ocean observing equipment. An acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) provides current speed and direction data from the sea floor to the surface as well as wave height, period and direction.  In addition, the tripod is also outfitted with a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) which provides salinity and water density.

NC-COOS Merged Mapping Product:

This interactive tool allows users to integrate many oceanic and meteorological observations in near real time. Available layers include but are not limited to North Carolina cities, coastal towns, ports, bathymetry, land cover (NLCD), hydrology, precipitation radar, and satelite based sea surface temperature (AVHRR and MODISSST). A valuable tool for fisherman, this map can be viewed by clicking here!