Marine Operations

Marine Operations include recreational boating, fishing and diving; search and rescue; commercial fishing; marine transportation and shipping; dredging activities; extraction of offshore mineral and energy resources, including oil and gas, wind farms and other emerging energy extraction processes and associated infrastructure impacted by water-level trends.

 

Observation and model needs to support these activities include, but are not limited to:

  • Water depths in harbors, ports and transit areas;
  • Accurate shoreline locations;
  • Water-level elevation;
  • Surface waves, currents and winds;
  • Visibility;
  • Weather forecasts, with particular emphasis on storms.

Goal 1

Ship motions (i.e. heave, pitch and roll) impacted by maritime conditions change actual
vessel draft and ability to navigate safely through channels and around other traffic. Ensure
safe navigation to and from U.S. ports for industrial users by providing real-time oceanographic
conditions from models and observations that impact safe navigation of commercial vessels
and barges via products.

Goal 2

Convert real-time ocean observations and models into information that sophisticated
and unsophisticated users can easily access and utilize via smartphone applications (apps).