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GoMOOS: A Virtual Link to the Gulf of Maine By Anne Donovan, CZM El Nino. Before the historically weird weather patterns of 1997-98, and the tremendous press coverage they generated, most people had never heard of it. Today, this weather phenomenon, which is periodically generated when an unusually warm ocean current appears in the Southern Pacific around Christmastime, is well known by those who could not escape the effects (and the press coverage) of the worst El Nino event in over a century. For us in Massachusetts, it meant a mild winter. For many others it meant drought or flood, causing death and destruction with estimates of more than 2,100 fatalities and $33 billion in property damage. A similar event that occurs in our own backyard, however, is largely unknown. A climate cousin of El Nino, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), is based on the pressure difference between air over Iceland and air over the Azores in the middle Atlantic. These differences are measured through an NAO Index. During a positive index period (when pressure is high over the Azores and low over Iceland), the Northeastern United States tends to see mild, wet winters. This flip-flops during negative index periods, when cold air and resulting snowy periods occur. Although the NAO is the dominant influence on New England's weather, relatively little is known about this phenomenon and how to forecast it and its effects. That's where GoMOOS comes in. GoMOOS, or the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System, is a national pilot program designed to collect and disseminate data from above and below the ocean surface. GoMOOS has deployed 10 buoys throughout the Gulf of Maine, from Massachusetts Bay to the Bay of Fundy. Every hour, these buoys measure winds, waves, temperature, and fog (at the surface) and currents, temperature, salinity, color, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and other parameters (below the surface). This information can be used by mariners, coastal managers, scientists, and others who need reliable and frequent data on ocean and weather systems. The GoMOOS website includes hourly data from each of these buoys; wave, current circulation, and weather forecasts; data maps depicting currents, waves, water temperatures, wind speeds, and about a dozen other water and atmospheric parameters; detailed information about the Gulf of Maine and NAO; and much more about the project. Check it out at http://www.gomoos.org/. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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