Coast Survey Development Lab awarded funding to enhance storm surge forecast model

A prototype of NOAA's Global ESTOFS displayed on the Coastal Emergency Risks Assessment web mapping application.

In its third year of the Lagniappe Awards program, the Office of Response and Restoration, Disaster Preparedness Program awarded funding to OCS's Coast Survey Development Lab, Coastal Marine Modeling Branch for a collaborative project with Louisiana State University (LSU). This project will improve operational coastal-inland storm flooding and inundation decision support tools to enhance NOAA's disaster preparedness and response, specifically aiming to enhance the Coastal Emergency Risks Assessment (CERA) web mapping application. CERA is already displaying Global Extratropical Surge and Tide Operational Forecast System (Global ESTOFS) water level forecast guidance in real-time. This project will look to enhance that display interface as well as add a new three-dimensional layered component of ESTOFS for the Atlantic, designated the Surge and Tide Operational Forecast System-3D (STOFS-3D-Atlantic). This OCS-LSU collaboration will provide better decision support tools before, during, and after coastal storms for both internal NOAA/NOS users and external users such as emergency managers, decision makers, and the scientific community. For more information contact Gregory.Seroka@noaa.gov.

Marine Chart Division developing a system to update nautical charts with changes in aids to navigation

The Office of Coast Survey's Marine Chart Division is working with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on an ambitious project to develop a system for ingesting changes in aids to navigation (buoys, lights, daybeacons) into the chart production databases. Ideally, this new system will allow for simplification and standardization of encoding S-57 objects within the nautical charting system used to create nautical charts, and enable faster application of any changes in aids to navigation characteristics to the nautical chart. One of the planned outcomes from this development process will be a link between the USCG Aids to Navigation database and the Nautical Information System database which will yield several useful applications. The Marine Chart Division's Format and Distribution Systems Branch including Sean Legeer, Jim Salman, Noel Dyer, Kenia Allen, Bill Stanus, and James Moy are the current team developing this system, with extensive support from production branch personnel, John O'Hara and Chris Crognale. For more information contact Sean.Legeer@noaa.gov.

Navigation Services Division wrapping up survey activities in Antarctica

An image captured from McMurdo Station's live webcam showing the team, circled in red, surveying in the background.

The Navigation Services Division's Navigation Response Branch team – Annemeike Raymond, Michael Bloom, and LTJG Collin McMillian – that is currently surveying specific areas of McMurdo Sound, finished up its initial priority areas and is continuing to survey at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard. They are running two teams, aided by NOAA Corps officer LT Ames who is aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star as the resident science officer. LT Ames is helping augment the survey operation for eight hours a day to pick up other unsurveyed areas. They will extend beyond the initial departure date by a week and will leave for New Zealand on February 13. For more information please contact Julia.Powell@noaa.gov@noaa.gov.

Office of Coast Survey supports global empowering women in hydrography project

Coast Survey is contributing to the joint Canada-International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Empowering Women in Hydrography Project by hosting three women hydrographers aboard NOAA ships for a hands-on, at-sea experience in 2022. The official call for applications was sent out by the IHO to its Member States on February 4. Chosen candidates will spend two to three weeks underway aboard a NOAA hydrographic ship where they will gain familiarity with hydrographic operations, operating NOAA commercial hydrographic equipment and software, and become familiar with NOAA's data management processes and procedures. For more information contact Alexis.Maxwell@noaa.gov.

Hydrographic Surveys Division hosts 2022 Field Procedures Workshop

Coast Survey's Hydrographic Surveys Division recently hosted the 2022 Field Procedures Workshop from February 1 to 3. Over 180 members of the NOAA hydrographic community gathered virtually to discuss current and future field operations, development of best practices, innovations, and the future of hydrography. NOAA survey vessels and hydrographic contractors detailed their challenges, successes, and innovations from the previous field season, and the 2022 hydrographic survey plans were unveiled. The University of South Florida Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies and the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping Joint Hydrographic Center presented their ongoing research progress and highlighted previous and upcoming field activities. Additional highlights of the workshop included discussing the use of uncrewed systems and the continuation of the National Bathymetric Source build out. Plans were also revealed to overhaul the Hydrographic Surveys Specifications and Deliverables manual, which details the requirements for hydrographic surveys undertaken by NOAA field units or by organizations under contract. For more information contact ocs.hsd_fpw@noaa.gov.

Staff Updates

Dr. Saeed Moghimi now serves as the team lead of the Coast Survey Development Lab's Storm Surge Modeling Team in the Coastal Marine Modeling Branch. He is leading all related efforts concerning the operational storm surge and tide forecast system capabilities including research and development, research-to-operation, operational support, regular upgrades and maintenance, and skill assessment and dissemination. After completing his doctorate in 2005, he spent four years as an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering of Arak University. In 2009, he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship in Physical Oceanography at the Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Germany. His scientific research on model coupling, water column turbulence and mixing, wave modeling, coastal ocean circulation modeling, wave-current interaction and the use of data assimilation methods for predicting coastal ocean geophysical variables made him one of the few people with the expertise for tackling coastal modeling related problems.

The Hydrographic Surveys Division welcomes James Miller as the new permanent chief of the Pacific Hydrographic Branch in Seattle, effective January 31. James has 12 years of experience in HSD. After graduating from the College of Charleston, he began his career as a physical scientist at the Atlantic Hydrographic Branch in Norfolk. In 2018 he transitioned to the HSD Operations Branch to lead the External Source Data team and collaborated with a wide range of partners to advance Coast Survey's expanded use of external data. James is excited to join the Pacific Hydrographic Branch and honored to lead such a dedicated and passionate team. Congratulations James!

Dr. Terence Lynch has been selected as the new director for the Office of Science Support (OSS) in NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) line office. Terence has been on detail with OAR's Office of Ocean Exploration Research (OER) for the past several months, and while there, the opportunity with OSS opened. As the director, Terence will have responsibility over the Cooperative Institute Administration Office, NOAA Science Advisory Board, and NOAA Central Library, as well as provide direct support for research and development analysis and policy. Terence has been part of the Coast Survey family for over a decade and helped shape Coast Survey into the organization it is today. Congratulations Terence – we wish you all the best in this new position!

Dan Garatea is serving as the Hydrographic Surveys Division's Operations Branch acting contracting team lead through May. Dan joined the Operations Branch in 2019, after previously working as a fisheries observer in Alaska for several years and spending far too much time fishing. He holds a bachelor's degree in Marine Science, and a master's in Marine Conservation and Policy from Stony Brook University, New York. He tries to spend as much time cycling, hiking, and traveling as possible.

Lucy Hick is serving as the Hydrographic Surveys Division acting deputy chief through May. Ryan Wartick is stepping in as the Navigation Services Division's Customer Affairs Branch acting chief while Lucy is away.

The U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) is happy to welcome Dr. Quentin Stubbs, to a four month detail through NOAA's internal LANTERN (Leveraging Abilities, Needs, Talents, Energies and Resources Network) program. During his detail, Dr. Stubbs, who serves as the regional navigation manager in Texas, will be managing the development of the 2023-2028 Marine Transportation System National Strategy. This assignment provides him with the opportunity to work directly with the CMTS executive secretariat staff and CMTS member agencies to ensure their priorities are included in the strategy and to help continue to move the Marine Transportation System forward. His previous experience includes serving as a geographer and regulatory specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and as a geographer with the U.S. Geological Survey.