TAMU’s Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (TAMU-GERG) now has a new high frequency radar station online on the south Texas coast. You can find data from the Port Mansfield GERG CODAR station (PMGC) on the GCOOS HFR Portal.

This new station is part of a wider effort to bridge high priority HFR data gaps in the Gulf of Mexico. In the past year, GCOOS has awarded funds to Florida State University to work in collaboration with the University of Southern Mississippi to install a new station in Panama City, Florida, which will be operational in 2024.

We’re also pleased to share the news that we will be collaborating with Louisiana State University (LSU) on a new $5 million, NOAA-funded expansion that will install up to eight HFR along the Louisiana coastline. Spearheaded by LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences’ Dr. Kevin Xu, and LSU Department of Geology and Geophysics’ Dr. Sam Bentley, the HFR will allow near-real-time monitoring of the speed and direction of ocean surface currents in coastal waters.

HFR data is particularly important for U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue operations, emergency response to oil, gas and other hazardous chemical spills and for the National Weather Service’s marine forecasts.

• Once the radars are installed, GCOOS will be hosting the data on its HFR Portal.
• Read more about the LSU project