| Measurement | Rationale/Comments | Responsible Party | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane severity model improvement | Two factors control damage: severity and proximity. The latter have improved substantially but the former has not. | National Hurricane Center (NHC) | H |
| Operational satellite altimeters, near real-time | An essential input into most deepwater current models. Several altimeters must be kept operational indefinitely . | NOAA | H |
| Operational satellite radiometers, near real-time | An essential input into current models and other analysis tools. Would like to see resolution of TRMM improved. | NOAA | H |
| Operational satellite wind (QuikSat), near real-time | An essential input into current, wind, and wave models and other valuable analyzed products. | NOAA | H |
| 2 Hz wave data, not real-time | Measure for possible rogue waves during storm events | NDBC | H |
| Measurements to improve hurricane severity forecasting, real-time | GCOOS needs to dialogue with NHC to determine best ways to contribute, e.g. humidity sensors and/or Doppler radars installed on offshore platforms? | NHCGCOOS | H |
| Offshore meteorology measurements (V, P, T, H), real-time | Needed for current model, improvement in wind forecasts, etc. | GCOOS | H |
| Upper-column current & temperature/salinity profiles, real-time | Needed for current model assimilation and validation, and to provide direct measurements. Present network is sparse in the west and east. | GCOOS | H |
| 3-D Ocean current model forecasts, real-time | Needed for offshore operations & environmental issues (hypoxia, oil spills, etc.) | GCOOS | H |
| Marine mammals and sea turtle sightings, not real-time | To avoid environmental damage due to necessary oil-related activity, i.e. seismic surveys | GCOOS, BOEM, NMFS, Industry | H |
| High resolution coastal bathymetry, topography, & subsidence rates | Input for current and wave models and for subsidence, mud slides. Should include long term sea level measurements | NOS, USGS, GCOOS | H |
| Turbidity current, not real-time | Unclear how you would measure. Pilot project? | BOEM, GCOOS | H- |
| Water quality parameters (DO, PH, nutrients, COD, etc.) | High priority in specific coastal regions & for riverine inflow. | EPA, USGS, BOEM, NOAA, DOA, DOE, Industry, GCOOS | M-H |
| Offshore HF radar, real-time | Provide real-time surface current maps for model assimilation, Loop current tracking, oil spill tracking, etc. | GCOOS | M+ |
| Caribbean inflow (Yucatán or Florida Straits), real-time | Key input into current model. Also provides long-term record of interest to climatologist. Pilot project for tomography?? | GCOOS | M |
| Identification of hydrocarbon seeps | Could be derived from several different methods including targeted AUV surveys, SAR, etc? | BOEM, GCOOS | M |
| Identification of chemosyn. & arch. sites | BOEM, GCOOS | L |
