URI professor leads Northeastern association on coastal ocean observations

01/23/09 - Students flocking to the shores of Narragansett beach this spring will be looking for more than just the weather and UV index. Currents, wind changes and tides are vital information for any avid beach visitor. Now, the Northeast Regional Association for Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS), led by University of Rhode Island ocean engineering Professor Malcolm Spaulding, Ph.D. , can give users this information in one easy-to-access resource.

"There is a national federation of regional associations put together to coordinate ocean observation," Spaulding said. NERACOOS is one of the 11 regional groups that oversees data collection for the Northeast. These regional associations support the national Integrated Ocean Observing System, which is a project of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

"There is a series of observations that are collected by the U.S. government in the area and the local universities," Spaulding said. The members of NERACOOS collect these observations to circulate the information to users.

"The information is available to us regionally and nationally," Spaulding said, thus creating a chain of information so local ocean data can be accessed by federal agencies.

However, there are many more local and practical uses for the NERACOOS group. The data that the regional associations collect could be used in a variety of other situations, from cleaning oil and chemical spills, expediting flood evacuation and aiding in search and rescue missions.

The group coordinates collected observational ocean data, such as tides, ocean temperatures and wind changes. Users of Spaulding's group include the Coast Guard, national security advisors at local ports and harbors, fishery managers, search and rescue officials and accident respondents.

"Say somebody is on their fishing vessel and has an accident and has gone missing," Spaulding said. If the Coast Guard were to locate them, it would need currents and wind data from the area-information that the NERACOOS information network could provide.

If such information was not available, "location estimates would be terrible, and [the Coast Guard] might say it's not worth sending a vessel over," Spaulding said. "It's a matter of loss of life and loss of property."

"Or say a student at Worchester Poly Tech[nical Institute] is surfing at Narragansett beach," Spaulding said. With this data collection, the student could look at meteorological observations to predict the conditions for the day's surfing.

NERACOOS is also working to support offshore renewable energy initiatives.

The association is working on "a variety of proposals to have wind farms on the East coast, in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic," Spaulding said.

Under Spaulding's leadership, NERACOOS works to coordinate the standards and equipment of developers, select locations for wind towers and make collected information widely available.

However, Spaulding said he has much to accomplish before the ambitious plans of the new NERACOOS organization are finished. For instance, the number of group members is consistently growing, but Spaulding is still looking to fill certain positions within the group.

"My first job is to essentially get the organization structure together," Spaulding said. "I'm in the stages of building the organization.