Measuring Surface Currents

Nearly 50% of the nation’s population lives within 50 miles of the coastline, heightening the need for accurate, reliable, and detailed measurements of coastal environmental variables. Just as the winds in the atmosphere influence where and when weather systems occur, ocean currents determine the movement of oceanic events. Presently, ocean current measurements are not as readily available as winds, in large part due to the expense and difficulty of measuring ocean currents at many locations.
Ocean currents determine the movement of surface waters, so the ability to collect data on their direction and speed provides critical information to support pollutant tracking, search and rescue, harmful algal bloom monitoring, navigation, and ecosystem assessment. Many oceanographic monitoring systems are insufficient to provide the level of detail required by scientists and forecasters to measure surface current speed and direction.  In order for coastal managers, emergency responders, and marine scientists to perform most effectively, they require access to near-realtime surface current measurements that cover a large area continuously over time.

 

 

National Plan