NOAA Funds Marine Forecasting In GulfNOAA Funds Marine Forecasting In Gulf

As the Deepwater spill clean-up in the Gulf of Mexico continues, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is donating $4 million to support better marine forecasting in that region.

The agency has awarded a competitive grant from its Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) program to the Southeastern Universities Research Association, a group of more than 60 universities that work with government agencies to use technology to improve the study of coastal areas, the ocean and other environmental conditions.

NOAA’s IOOS is a government-private sector partnership to discover better ways to collect data and information about the ocean and coasts. That information is then used by researchers to track, predict, manage and adapt to changes in the earth’s marine environment.

Specifically, the grant will be used by scientists to help create more precise computer models forecasting recurring conditions in the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf regions, according to NOAA. They also will explore ways to more efficiently deliver results of modeling to researchers relying on the IOOS for its data.

NOAA has been the federal agency at the forefront of the clean-up efforts in the Gulf as teams continue to try to contain millions of gallons of oil spilled when the oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank on April 20. Oil company BP was leasing the rig at the time and will likely be brought up on criminal charges by federal prosecutors for its actions. The disaster is being called the worst of its kind and experts predict the clean-up will continue into autumn.

One of the ways researchers have been trying to monitor the spill is to adapt a computer model -- called the Advanced Circulation Model and typically used to predict hurricane activity in the region --to coastal currents in the Gulf. By doing so researchers hope to better study the effects of the spill and also predict its trajectory.