The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System: 10 years of protecting and preserving the Gulf

GCOOS is one of 11 regional associations that partner with the Integrated Ocean Observing System, U.S. IOOS®, a federal, regional, private-sector partnership committed to tracking, predicting, managing and adapting to changes in our ocean, coastal and Great Lakes environments.

From the Executive DirectorDear Friends,

A decade ago, the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System was in its infancy — more than an outline on paper but still a long way from the comprehensive system envisioned as part of an international network of ocean observation systems.

In those early days, many organizations in the Gulf were using ocean instrumentation to gather data, but hosting it individually with little ability to share real-time and near-real-time information quickly and easily among users. But visionaries like Worth Nowlin wanted to change that and so they led dozens of workshops that brought together the Gulf ’s best and brightest minds. Together they developed a plan for the creation of a comprehensive regional observing system and began putting the pieces into place that would bring it to life.

Thanks to this foundational work, GCOOS today has 132 members, representing the academic, industry, governmental and nongovernmental sectors. Sixteen organizations are streaming data to the GCOOS online portal and thousands are using it in their day-to-day operations. In those early days, we were almost begging for data streams; today, with our limits in funding, we occasionally must turn away potential partners.

All in all, this is a good problem to have — one that proves the importance of our focus on providing a home for unique data sets and on our attention to outreach and education across all sectors, along with the general public, so that potential users can put these data streams to good use.

As we celebrate our 10th anniversary year in 2015, we are also looking forward to the future and continue to update our Build Out

Plan. This comprehensive document was developed with input from hundreds of stakeholder groups and addresses the need to maintain and enhance our existing Gulf observation tools, to bring new measurements online and to fill the largest data gaps.

The need to fulfill these priorities was clearly evident

during and following the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oilrig — the biggest man-made disaster in the nation’s history. The disaster illustrated the critical need for support to maintain and enhance our observing capabilities in the Gulf. At GCOOS, we are working hard to find cost-effective ways to bolster our observing capabilities.

The Gulf of Mexico remains one of the world’s most important and productive bodies of water and, as the Deepwater disaster proved, we need assets in place to protect it for us all.

Dr. Barbara KirkpatrickExecutive Director

About GCOOS

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association is a 501(c)3 organization responsible for developing a network of business leaders, marine scientists, resource managers, governmental and non-governmental organizations and other stakeholder groups that combine their data to provide timely information about our oceans  — similar to the information gathered by the National Weather Service to develop weather forecasts.

With members from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, GCOOS has established a sustained observing system for the Gulf of Mexico to provide observations and products needed by users in this region for:

• Protecting public health and safety;• Supporting healthy ecosystems and water quality;• Mitigating the effects of storms and man-made disasters;• Ensuring safe and efficient marine operations;• Monitoring the Gulf for long-term changes and environmental trends.

An Ocean Observing VisionaryIf anyone could be called the father of ocean observing systems, it would probably be Dr. Worth Nowlin, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Oceanography at Texas A&M University. In 1988, Dr. Nowlin was asked by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the World Meteorological Organization and the International Council of Scientific Unions to lead a group of experts in the creation of a plan for a global ocean observing system that would provide marine meteorological data (including air-sea exchanges), ocean circulation patterns and property distributions within the ocean. This year, after 17 years, he will step down as a member of the GCOOS Board of Directors.

“The need for ocean observing systems was really driven by the need for safe and efficient marine transportation and to have a better understanding of the role of the ocean in climate,” Dr. Nowlin said. “We needed to develop a global overview of what we should measure and why. We had six years of meetings all over the world and eventually developed a plan that is still being implemented today.”

But many recognized that having a global plan and instrumentation wasn’t enough — attention was also needed in coastal zones where people lived and worked and played. In the U.S., that led to the development of an umbrella organization called the Integrated Ocean Observing System, made up of 11 regional associations that covered each of the nation’s ocean regions and the Great Lakes. Dr. Nowlin spearheaded the creation of GCOOS-RA covering the Gulf of Mexico.

“We knew there were 25 or 30 groups that were collecting data around the Gulf, and what we needed was to develop software that would easily allow these datasets to be queried by machine. And that’s how we started,” he said.

Today, the GCOOS-RA includes members from all sectors of the community — from industry to academia — and focuses on data collection and dissemination. And, unlike some other regional associations, it has included a strong outreach and education component from the beginning.

“It was really visionary of Dr. Nowlin and the early organizers to focus on data integration along with education and outreach when they created GCOOS,” said David Driver, Chairman of the GCOOS Board

of Directors. “That has given GCOOS the ability to support experts throughout the Gulf in the development of new ocean observing tools, in maintaining observing instrumentation and in making sure that the ocean community is aware of the tools available to help them in their day-to-day operations. Many in the ocean community, and especially those in the Gulf, are extremely grateful for his service and vision and we are so grateful for his many years of service.”

Special ThanksDeveloping the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System would not have been possible without the input and support of those volunteers who have served on our Board of Directors. We’d like to thank all of them for their service.

Current OfficersPresident David Driver, BP America, Inc.First Vice President Jan van Smirren, Fugro GEOSSecond Vice President Terry McPherson, LMISecretary Joe Swaykos, NOAA National Data Buoy CenterTreasurer Worth Nowlin, Texas A&M University*

Current and Former Board Members Ann Jochens, GCOOS Regional Coordinator 2005-2012 &GCOOS Executive Director 2012-2014

Charlene Bohanon, Galveston Bay FoundationSteven Buschang, Texas General Land OfficeCortis Cooper, Chevron*Alyssa Dausmann, U.S. Geological SurveyJohn Dindo, Dauphin Island Sea Lab*Carol Dorsey, Alabama Public Health LaboratorySara Graves, University of Alabama — HuntsvilleAlan Hart, Continental Shelf AssociatesLars Herbst, Minerals Management Service*Pat Hogan, Naval Research LaboratoryStephan Howden, University of Southern MississippiGary Jeffress, Texas A&M University — Corpus ChristiBarb Kirkpatrick, Mote Marine Laboratory*William Lingsch, Vencore Services and Solutions, Inc.Mark Luther, University of South Florida*Robert (Buzz) Martin, Texas General Land Office*Chris Oynes, Minerals Management Service*Alfredo Prelat, Terralliance*Nancy Rabalais, Louisiana Universities Marine ConsortiumDon Roman, University of Southern Mississippi*Pat Roscigno, Bureau of Ocean Energy ManagementMichael Spranger, University of FloridaRobert Sullivan, Chora Creative*Raymond Toll, Science Applications International Corporation*Sharon Walker, University of Southern Mississippi*Jennifer Wozencraft, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers*

*Denotes former board member

Among the most notable successes during the first decade of GCOOS is

the fundamental change in how ocean monitoring is conducted in the Gulf

of Mexico. There has been a shift from stand-alone systems that acquire

proprietary data to interconnected and coordinated systems that publicly

share data in real-time. This change has led to real improvements for

those who live, work and play in the Gulf region.

Harmful Algal Blooms and Public Health: Supporting New Technologies and Integrating Existing Data

Since 2007, GCOOS-RA has been working with partners from the Florida Department of Health and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance to coordinate a Harmful Algal Bloom Integrated Observing System Plan for the Gulf. The collaboration resulted in the widely popular A Primer on Gulf of Mexico Harmful Algal Blooms and several pilot projects to advance understanding of HABs and waterborne pathogens.

The most frequent and widespread harmful algal bloom in the Gulf of Mexico is caused by Karenia brevis, which produces neurotoxins that can become airborne in sea spray and can also make shellfish toxic. If people eat affected shellfish, they can get neurotoxic shellfish poisoning; when carried on marine aerosols, Karenia toxins can cause respiratory illness, especially in people with chronic lung diseases, resulting in increased emergency room visits for a vulnerable population.

Other species of algae — particularly Dinophysis and Gambierdiscus — are also proving to be emerging threats to human health in the Gulf states.

Early Warning for Harmful Blooms

Texas A&M University, the University of Texas and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are creating the Texas Observatory for Algal Succession Time Series with their main instrument, the

Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB), a tool that combines high-resolution video and a flow cytometer to capture images of plankton species and identify harmful varieties. By feeding real-time data to the GCOOS portal, the IFCB has successfully provided early warning for six toxic HABs between 2008 and 2013 and has provided new insight into the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton species along the Texas coast. In 2008, the IFCB also provided evidence of the first Dinophysis bloom in the Gulf. This organism produces okadaic acid, which accumulates in oysters and other filter feeders and can cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning in humans. Thanks to the IFCB’s early warning, oyster harvests were closed and public health was protected.

Protecting Beachgoers

The Beach Conditions Reporting System (BCRS) was created in 2006 by GCOOS member Mote Marine Laboratory. The reporting system uses beach sentinels to provide daily reports on several parameters

33 Florida beaches covered by the Beach Conditions Reporting System

GCOOS covers16,000 coastline miles in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas

14 MILLION People call the U.S. Gulf coast home

2

OctOber 2013

15,000 Species call the Gulf home

that indicate whether a Karenia bloom is present on 33 Florida beaches. The information is reported online through GCOOS’ data portal and widely available to the public, allowing them to decide whether a visit to a particular beach is a good idea.

GCOOS also assimilates information from the Florida Department of Health’s Healthy Beaches program — which monitors for bacterial levels in water — into its data portal.

Forecasting Bloom Movements

With support from GCOOS, Mote Marine Laboratory and the University of South Florida conduct missions using autonomous underwater vehicles — underwater robots — equipped with optical phytoplankton discriminators to monitor for blooms and to map the size and location of existing blooms. These data, combined with information from fixed monitoring stations and satellite-based observations led to the creation of a HAB forecast developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2006. This forecast is publicly available and provides an early warning of bloom formation and movements to coastal communities in Florida and on the Texas coast. Teams are also testing the boundaries of the underwater robots’ capabilities to track hazardous materials and the potential to put them to use in search and rescue operations — making them a critical component of a fully developed Gulf observation system.

Hypoxia and Ocean Acidification

GCOOS also supports a coastal monitoring subsystem, Central Gulf Observing System (CenGOOS), operated by the University of Southern Mississippi. This system is critical to monitoring the hypoxic, or low oxygen, zone caused annually at the mouth of the Mississippi River by excess nutrient runoff from the 33 states that drain into the Gulf through the river. CenGOOS has also been a test-bed for new technologies that are measuring ocean acidification, which occurs when oceans absorb excess carbon dioxide from manmade sources, making the pH of seawater more acidic. This chemistry change can make it more difficult for marine life to form and maintain calcium-rich structures such as the skeletons of corals

or the shells of many commercially important shellfish.

GCOOS is working with CenGOOS and Liquid Robotics to test a new wave glider platform equipped with a new device developed by NOAA’s Pacific Marine and Environmental Laboratory that can measure pH levels. The project is investigating the feasibility of using the wave glider platform to expand spatial coverage and groundtruth the technology.

1.3 BILLION Pounds of commercial fishery landings in the Gulf annually

$943 MILLION Value of the Gulf’s commercial fishery

40 percent of all U.S. recreational fishing

takes place in the Gulf

Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB)

33 Florida beaches covered by the Beach Conditions Reporting System

Integrating real-time and near-real-time data streams collected from many scientific partners throughout the Gulf of Mexico and providing it in a single, easy-to-navigate website is at the heart of the GCOOS-RA mission. But since its beginning days in 2005, GCOOS organizers knew that collecting information was only one piece of developing a robust and interactive coastal ocean observing system. Of equal importance was providing information to the public in a way that was useful for end users in all sectors — from government, to industry to environmental educators and the general public.

That led to the creation of the GCOOS Outreach and Education Council (OEC), whose primary goal is to help the public make decisions about working, playing and living in ocean and coastal waters and estuaries. The OEC provides a two-way service — educating user communities and residents about GCOOS products to increase overall ocean literacy to have a positive impact on the region and informing product developers about the types of products needed by different audiences so they can make meaningful use of the data.

Since its inception, GCOOS has been the only regional coastal ocean observing system in the nation to provide continuous funding for outreach and education. More than 7,000 children have participated in GCOOS-supported classroom and field sessions and we have engaged more than 100,000 people at science fairs and festivals.

“The GCOOS Outreach and Education Council provides opportunities for us to see how raw scientific data are being processed and interpreted in formats appropriate for a broad audience. This gives us first-hand experience to work with many other professionals — scientists, educators and graphic artists — to combine concepts of psychology, graphics, video, gaming and common sense to create products with rich interactive content. In the end, we are able to see how the seeds that GCOOS sowed — the raw data

— are bearing fruit to enhance the public’s understanding of the complex Gulf of Mexico environment.”

— Lei Hu, Data Manager at Dauphin Island Sea Lab & GCOOS Data Management Committee Liaison to the Outreach and Education Council

Education and Outreach: A Key GCOOS Mission

2015 Gulf Guardian award winners student Cory Diaz and her teacher Renee Hale

GCOOS partners Nature’s Academy and the Galveston Bay Foundation are featured in a Ranger Rick magazine photo shoot

132 GCOOS-RA members 1,900 Sensors on GCOOS member data stations

3 Gulf Guardian awards earned by GCOOS-RA 318 Stations feeding data into GCOOS data portal

Creating Eco Heroes

In 2011, the OEC began working with GCOOS-RA partners to develop an interactive game that would help make Gulf of Mexico research more relevant to residents’ everyday lives.

The 23-member OEC worked with partners at informal learning centers — The Florida Aquarium, Dauphin Island Estuarium, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Texas State Aquarium and the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies’ Center for Marine Education and Research (IMMS-CMER) — to develop an interactive game called Eco Hero that educates players about the societal value of real-time coastal and ocean information and supports informal science education on topics related to water quality, nutrients and nutrient reduction, coastal community resilience, habitat conservation and ecosystem integration and assessment. MindClay Creative, Inc., partnered with IMMS-CMER and GCOOS to render the game characters and help translate the science in a fun, engaging way.

During the game, players have the opportunity to explore how their everyday lives and livelihoods are connected to the Gulf and learn how their choices and actions affect the health of this important body of water and the lives of its human and non-human residents. The game is now available at seven informal learning centers, and we have a portable version for public outreach events. Eco Hero is also being adapted for use by the National Aquarium in England.

Engaging Citizen Scientists

Hundreds of groups Gulf-wide are monitoring their local environments, collecting important data about how conditions are changing over time. But where is all that information going? Often the answer is that the information is gathered and archived locally but isn’t shared with other organizations or agencies that could make use of it.

For the GCOOS-RA, the next big thing in community engagement is launching a new citizen-science data portal that will help make information that citizen-science groups gather more accessible to a wider audience. GCOOS already provides a one-stop-shop online clearinghouse for environmental data gathered by scientists from all U.S. Gulf of Mexico states. Our latest project is adding citizen-collected information to the mix beginning with the Galveston Bay Foundation in Galveston Bay, Texas, Nature’s Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, Fla. The citizen-science data portal is now being beta tested; our goal is to increase the information available from locations throughout the Gulf region.

Information for Boaters and Fishermen

Numerous agencies, organizations and the maritime industry utilize the GCOOS-RA data portal to share data about oceanographic conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. But our audience is wider still

— with data important to commercial fishermen and recreational boaters and anglers. We provide web pages designed with the boating and fishing communities in mind — giving them information that will keep them safe while they’re playing and working in Gulf waters — whether that means knowing wind speeds and water currents or gaining information about the locations of invasive lionfish populations.

7,000+ Students participated in GCOOS classroom/field lessons

100,000 People reached through festivals and science fairs

Nearly 400 named tropical storms and hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic basin since 1890, with many of the most intense and costliest storms making landfall in the five Gulf states.

Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in 2005, is the most memorable in recent history in the cost in human lives and in economic damage in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Katrina’s aftermath left more than 1,800 people dead and caused an estimated $108 billion in economic damage, making it the costliest hurricane in human history.

Weathering the Storm: GCOOS Data Integration Proves Invaluable

GCOOS-RA began aggregating and integrating data from its partners in 2005, just before Hurricane Katrina arrived. During the storm, the U.S. Navy had a telecommunications failure that rendered wind data unavailable. Fortunately, the GCOOS network was up and running, allowing the NOAA Hazardous Materials team to use our data streams to develop circulation models to predict the trajectories of storm debris and pollutants. These same data streams also allowed our partners at the University of South Florida, Louisiana State University and Roffer’s Ocean Fish Forecasting Service, Inc., to continue to generate forecast models, plume trajectories and track

contaminant plumes that were critical for post-hurricane surveys.

The GCOOS network also proved critical when the National Data Buoy Center’s web system was rendered inoperable for three days following Katrina. Thanks to our established partnerships, which are geographically distributed and include a great diversity of observational capabilities, GCOOS maintained access to needed data streams. This proved the importance of having an independent back-up for the federal system during a catastrophic event.

GCOOS funding has also helped partners at the TAMU Conrad Blucher Institute develop several specialized products using information from the Texas sub-system, Texas Coastal Ocean Observation Network (TCOON). The first product is software that enables the Corpus Christi National Weather Service office to integrate near-real time data into its weather forecasting system to more accurately predict the conditions of oncoming storms; another application for mobile devices provides real-time information on ocean water levels and currents for harbor pilots and ship captains navigating the Houston Ship Channel. A third mobile app provides coastal users with real-time wind measurements.

Hurricanes and Human Safety: Improving Forecasts

GCOOS-RA supports an observational subsystem in the central Gulf called CenGOOS, which includes a buoy in the Mississippi Bight. During Katrina, the buoy’s sensors survived winds in excess of 170 mph and transmitted a continuous record of meteorological and oceanographic data as the storm passed. This is an extremely rare — and valuable — data set that has been used to improve subsequent storm modeling and forecasting.

19 high frequency radar (HFR) stations in the Gulf and Southeastern Atlantic

105 high frequency radar (HFR) stations needed

The Gulf is ranked 9th in size among all the world’s bodies of water

The Gulf of Mexico and Southeastern Atlantic have the United States’ highest density of energy activities and are home to 13 of the nation’s top 20 U.S. ports by tonnage. With an estimated 50 percent of transported goods being hazardous materials, ports are vulnerable to contaminant spills. They’re also just plain vulnerable.

In 1980, a 200,000-ton freighter in Tampa Bay lost its radar on a crucial turn during tropical-storm force winds and heavy rain, steered out of the navigation channel and into a main support pier of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, collapsing the road and sending 35 people plunging 150 feet to their deaths.

Improving Navigational Safety

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse led to the development of a new system designed to provide real-time information on water levels, currents, waves, bridge height clearances and visibility to harbor pilots and freighter captains, giving them the information they need in making decisions on when and how to navigate shipping lanes and channels. This system, developed by the National Ocean Service and called the Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS), has proved invaluable to the maritime industry.

Locations where PORTS is operational have seen:• A 59 percent reduction in groundings;• 37 percent less property damage;• 45 percent fewer injuries;• 60 percent fewer deaths.

The Tampa Bay PORTS is the first NOS support tool developed to improve the safety and efficiency of maritime commerce by integrating real-time environmental observations, forecasts and geospatial information. Since its development in 1991, six other systems have been implemented throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Today, the buoy observations, model forecasts, bathymetry data and satellite products derived from GCOOS-funded partners, staff and regional stakeholders are critical to the observations and predictions of water levels, currents, salinity, winds, atmospheric pressure and air and water temperatures that mariners need to navigate safely.

Navigating Gulf Waters: Safer Shipping

In 1980, a freighter lost its way in the Tampa Bay shipping channel after its radar failed in storm-force winds and heavy rain. The ship steered into a main support of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, collapsing the roadway and killing 35 people. This famous St. Petersburg Times photo shows a car just 14 inches from plunging into the Gulf.

$234 Billion Economic impact generated annually by the Gulf

11 Of the top 20 U.S. ports (by tonnage) are located in the Gulf

Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas would be ranked 9th in global Gross Domestic Product if they were their own country

The oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico is a vital energy resource not only for Gulf residents, but also for the entire nation. More than 40 percent of the total U.S. petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf coast, as is 30 percent of total U.S. natural gas processing plant capacity. There are more than 4,000 oil and gas platforms in the region, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is opening new leases that will result in others coming on line. If placed end-to-end, existing Gulf oil and gas pipelines could wrap around the Earth’s equator, exceeding nearly 25,000 miles (more than 40,000 km).

When the Deepwater Horizon exploded in 2010, it led to the largest man-made disaster in the history of the U.S. and pumped 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf. Eleven men died in the explosion. And while the DWH disaster was the largest, it wasn’t the only spill in the Gulf. Since 1979, there have been six significant spills and numerous smaller spills. During Katrina alone, more than 146 spills were recorded; 113 offshore platforms were destroyed, and 457 pipelines were damaged.

Today, 10 years after GCOOS’ creation and five years after the DWH explosion, some of the world’s best researchers are leading scientific studies looking at the after-effects of the spill, its long-term impacts on the Gulf ecosystem and even developing restoration projects designed to improve the Gulf and its coastal habitats. But is that

enough? With the current level of oil and gas production in the Gulf, and more leases expected in the future in the U.S. and in Mexico, there are simply not enough tools in place that will allow us to adequately respond to another spill.

That’s why GCOOS and its sister organization in the Atlantic — the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) — are calling for new and sustained funding for the operation of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and the major expansion of the high frequency radar (HFR) system in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Southeastern Atlantic coast.

• HFR is a system of transmitters and radio antenna receivers along coastlines and oil platforms that transmit radio signals that are relayed to receivers after bouncing off the ocean’s

surface. The signals are related to the speed and direction the currents are moving and wave heights. Because the information comes in near-real time, it is vital for developing accurate, timely forecast models that are crucial during response efforts when lives, habitat and property are at risk. There are 19 HFR stations in the Gulf and Southeastern Atlantic coast — with no HFR coverage

at all in Louisiana and Texas. A new plan developed by the GCOOS-RA and SECOORA calls for 105 stations along coastlines and in major ports. The cost to expand the system is estimated at $19.9 million, with an annual maintenance cost of about $1 million for the coastal HFR stations and $11.8 million to outfit the ports.

“The Gulf of Mexico is a treasure to our nation with cherished marine habitats

and species. It is also a national asset for its energy production and maritime

operations. If another spill occurs, we will need to answer the same questions:

Where is the oil? Where is it going? We have an opportunity now to develop a

comprehensive observing system in the Gulf so that we are fully prepared to

answer those questions and can quickly respond to protect our resources.”

— Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, GCOOS-RA Executive Director.

Energy Management and Oil Spill Response: Tomorrow’s Needs

Developing Gulf Circulation Models to Manage Spills: A key factor in cleaning up spilled oil is having a better understanding of where the oil is likely to move once it is released. GCOOS, along with several consortiums of universities and energy companies began testing the Gulf of Mexico Pilot Prediction Project in 2010. This 2.5 year, $1.56 million project funded by the Department of Energy was designed to evaluate and demonstrate a new computer modeling system to predict the circulation patterns in the Gulf of Mexico.

2015 Financial Snapshot

• Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are also known as gliders. They are torpedo shaped, untethered instruments that use buoyancy to move up and down in the water column in a zig-zag pattern, taking in water to descend and expelling water to ascend. They are equipped with radio and satellite transmitters that send data on things such as water temperature, salinity, water currents and other conditions that can reveal water

quality and the effects of storms to researchers in a laboratory. Gliders can be outfitted with various types of instruments to detect things such as harmful algal blooms and oil or other contaminants. Sensors on these platforms were tremendously valuable in locating oil below the surface during the DWH spill and in subsequent tracking of its movement following the explosion.

73% US IOOS

Income $2,191,076

Expenses $2,151,000*

1% JIP DeepC Viewer

5% GCOOS for GoMRI

3% Mote IT

1% IFCB (pending)

3% Texas One Gulf

3% GOMA H-N portal

9% NASA ROSES

31% Observations

5% Model/Analysis

15% Outreach/Education

5% Program Management

16% Development/Engagement

4% Organizational Support/Governing

24% Data Services/Support

2% NOPP MBON

*Reserve fund accounts for difference in income vs. expenses.

Aanderaa Instruments, XylemAlliance for Coastal Technologies, Gulf of Mexico PartnerAquatrak CorporationBarataria-Terrebonne National Estuary ProgramBureau of Ocean Energy ManagementCenter of Higher Learning, University of Southern MississippiChevronTexaco Energy Technology CompanyCOAPS, Florida State UniversityConrad Blucher Institute, TAMUCCCousteau DiversCSA Ocean Sciences Inc.Dauphin Island Sea LabDialytics, Inc.Exocetus Development LLCFish and Wildlife Research InstituteFlorida COOS ConsortiumFlorida Department of Environmental ProtectionFlorida Institute for Human and Machine CognitionFlorida Institute of OceanographyFlorida International UniversityFlorida Sea Grant ProgramForristall Ocean Engineering, Inc.Fugro GEOSGalveston Bay FoundationGulf Coast Research Laboratory-Marine Education CenterGulf of Mexico AllianceGulf of Mexico FoundationGulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium, University of MississippiGulf of Mexico University Research CollaborativeHorizon Marine

Individual ContributorIndividual ContributorInformation Technology & Systems Center of University of Alabama in HuntsvilleInstitute for Marine Mammal StudiesThe International Seakeepers SocietyLiquid Robotics, Inc.Louisiana State University – Earth Scan LaboratoryLouisiana State University – WAVCISLUMCONMacArtney Underwater TechnologyMarathon Oil Co.Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research ReserveMississippi Department of Marine ResourcesMississippi Enterprise for Technology, Inc.Mississippi State UniversityMississippi-Alabama Sea Grant ConsortiumMote Marine Laboratory, Inc.The Nature ConservancyNature’s AcademyNaval Research LaboratoryNEOSgeosolutionsNortekUSA, LLCNova Southeastern University Oceanographic CenterOptical Oceanography Laboratory, USFOyster SentinelPAR Government Systems CorporationRadiance Technologies, Inc.Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting ServiceRPS Evans Hamilton, Inc.Sanibel-Captiva Conservation FoundationSeaTech, Florida Atlantic University

Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center and Aquarium (Pier Aquarium)Shell Global Solutions US Inc.Shreveport Sail & Power SquadronSociety for Underwater TechnologySRI InternationalSummer Vacation ChartersTampa Bay Estuary ProgramTampa Bay PORTSTeledyne ODITeledyne RD InstrumentsTexas A&M University – Corpus ChristiTexas A&M University Department of OceanographyTexas Automated Buoy System (TABS); GERGTexas General Land OfficeTexas Sea Grant College ProgramThinkBlue Solutions LLCTitan PartnersTowBoat U.S. Tampa Bay to Crystal RiverTulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research and LEAGU.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gulf of Mexico ProgramUniversity of FloridaUniversity of Miami – Rosenstiel SchoolUniversity of Miami Center for Computational ScienceUniversity of South Florida, College of Marine ScienceThe University of Southern MississippiUniversity of Texas Marine Science InstituteVencore Services & Solutions, Inc.WeatherFlow Inc.Woods Hole Group, Inc.

Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System 3146 TAMU | College Station | TX | 77843-3146 | 979-845-3900 | Online at gcoos.org | email info@gcoos.org

Cover photo by Todd Kihle, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC/Galveston Lab, reused under CreativeCommons Attribution license. For more detailed discussion of the topics in this report, see Chapter 23: “One System, Many Societal Benefits,” by Christina Simoniello,

Stephanie Watson, Barbara Kirkpatrick, Michael Spranger, Ann E. Jochens, Shinichi Kobara, Matthew K. Howard in Coastal Ocean Observing Systems, Academic Press, edited by Liu, Kerkering, Weisberg.

GCOOS Members

Become a GCOOS MemberThe GCOOS Regional Association is one of 11 that comprise the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System, created to track,

predict, manage and help us adapt to changes in our oceans, along our coasts and in our Great Lakes. GCOOS combines instruments on buoys, satellites, ships, drifters and underwater vehicles to make integrated, sustained observations of the

ocean and uses datasets and computer models to understand environmental changes and make ocean forecasts. GCOOS members come from industry, academia and governmental and nongovernmental organizations and help set the

direction for the organization to provide the most public benefit across all sectors of society. Email barb.kirkpatrick@gcoos.org for information about becoming a member.