Coastal Marine Demonstration of Forecast Information to Mariners for the U.S. East Coast

Our long-term goal is to estimate and predict the coastal and estuarine environment. Relevant atmospheric variables include wind, temperature, humidity, precipitation, and visibility. Oceanic variables of interest include waves, currents, temperature, salinity, and water level. This collaboration will (1) demonstrate our current capability to estimate and predict the marine environment of Chesapeake Bay and the coastal ocean of the Mid-Atlantic Bight (Figure 1), (2) develop and apply new techniques for delivering marine information to users, and (3) continue to improve our ability to estimate the marine environment. Chesapeake Bay and the neighboring coastal ocean are heavily used for military, commercial, and recreational purposes. Marine environmental information is needed for safe and efficient operation in these waters. This is also a region for which there have been efforts to develop estimation and prediction capabilities. The Coastal Ocean Forecast System (COFS) (Aikman et al., 1996) has been applied to the East Coast of the United States for several years. The Chesapeake Area Forecast Experiment (CAFE) (Bosley and Hess, 1997) has been developed and evaluated as well. Other tools are now available including the Local Analysis and Prediction System (LAPS) (Albers, 1996) and the mesoscale ETA model (Black, 1994). At the same time, regional real-time observational systems are expanding and providing the data necessary for mesoscale forecasts. See also ADM002252. Prepared in collaboration with Princeton Univ., the Univ. of Rhode Island, Litton-TASC (Chantilly, VA), Weather Services International (Billerica, MA), and NOAA. The original document contains color images.