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PacIOOS Tools and Instruments
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Staff and volunteers at the water quality sensor deployment site off Kahala. Credit: P. Weiant. |
Water Quality Sensor in Maunalua Bay
Mālama Maunalua, a community-based, non-profit organization, and PacIOOS jointly deployed a nearshore sensor off Waiʻalae Beach Park, at the west side of Maunalua Bay, Oʻahu. The water quality sensor is part of PacIOOS' Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program (WQSPP) and will support Mālama Maunalua's ongoing water quality monitoring efforts for one year. The sensor is located at the stream mouth and stormwater outlet at the beach park, which will provide insights into sediment loads and water input. The deployed instrument remotely and accurately measures temperature, salinity, depth, turbidity, and chlorophyll. To promote technical capacity building, PacIOOS trained Mālama Maunalua staff and volunteers before and during the deployment, and provided hands-on training for the maintenance of the sensor. Collected data will be downloaded periodically and made available through PacIOOS' data services.
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The Ritidian wave buoy broke free and rotated in a local eddy north of Guam after the Typhoon Mangkhut had passed. |
Storm Season in the Pacific
It has been a turbulent season for the Pacific Islands region. This month, Typhoon Mangkhut approached the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam as a category 2-equivalent, closely tracking by Rota island. Typhoon Mangkhut continued its destructive path, intensified, and made landfall as a Category 5-equivalent in the Philippines and subsequently in China.
The Ritidian wave buoy, approx. 3.5 miles off Guam's northern coast (moored in a depth of 515m), recorded 22 feet in significant wave height and a maximum wave height of 36ft -- a record in the buoy's 6-year history. The buoy was held under water for extended periods of time during the chaotic sea state and later broke free from its mooring. A few days after the storm, ocean conditions allowed for a safe recovery of the buoy, which --thanks to a local eddy-- spun in a circle and came back relatively close to shore. Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained wind speed of 74 miles per hour (or greater) are called typhoons in the Western North Pacific, hurricanes in the central and eastern North Pacific, and tropical cyclones in the South Pacific.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Olivia made landfall on the islands of Maui and Lanaʻi in Hawaiʻi. The storm resulted in wind, heavy rainfall, and extreme ocean conditions, specifically in Maui County. The
Pauwela wave buoy, located approximately 9 miles off Maui's North Shore (moored in a depth of 200m), recorded up to 17ft of significant wave height.
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Glassy conditions for the Mokapu wave buoy swap off Oʻahu's windward side. Credit: K. Millikan. |
Hanalei Wave Buoy Redeployed, Mokapu Swapped
The Hanalei wave buoy off the North Shore of Kauaʻi was redeployed this month. The buoy now continues to provide valuable data on wave height, direction, and period, as well as sea surface temperature. Recreational and commercial boat and ocean users, agency partners, and the interested public can access all real-time wave data online.
PacIOOS' wave buoy team also swapped the Mokapu wave buoy to refresh its set of batteries. PacIOOS' network of 15 wave buoys requires regular maintenance to ensure continuous data flow. Data management for the PacIOOS wave buoys is made possible through long-term partnerships with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP).
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Data plots of collected water quality samples are now available on PacIOOS Voyager. |
Hui O Ka Wai Ola Water Quality Data
PacIOOS Voyager now includes coastal water quality measurements from the island of Maui, sampled by the Hui O Ka Wai Ola (Association of the Living Waters). Data from 25 locations are made available, spanning from 2016 to present. Measurements include water temperature, salinity, turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia, and others). Samples are collected and analyzed roughly every 2-3 weeks, and results are disseminated quarterly.
Maui Nui Marine Resource Council, The Nature Conservancy, and West Maui Ridge to Reef are partners in the Hui, which includes community member volunteers, scientists, funders, and supporters who aim to increase the capacity for monitoring coastal water quality in Maui by generating reliable data to assess long-term water quality conditions and detect temporal trends. The Hui went through a rigorous process to establish a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) and align sampling procedures with the standards of the Department of Health Clean Water Branch and the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Oceanography students at the American Samoa Community College. Credit: M. Curtis. |
Modeling Outreach in American Samoa
Professor Kwok Fai Cheung, from the Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) changed scenery and provided a guest lecture to the Intro to Oceanography class at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) along with Meteorologist In Charge, Elinor Lutu-McMoore, from the NOAA National Weather Service Office Pago Pago. The presentation focused on atmospheric and wave modeling efforts. Through a grant from the Office of Insular Affairs, PacIOOS is improving and validating the existing atmospheric forecasts for American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Funding also supports the development of new, high-resolution wave forecasts for the Manu'a Islands in American Samoa, as well as for Saipan, Tinian, and Rota in the CNMI.
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Hawaiʻi Pilot Association vessel at Pier 19, Honolulu Harbor. |
Aloha to New MOA Partner
PacIOOS is excited to welcome the Hawaiʻi Pilots Association (HPA) as a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) partner. HPA provides safe, reliable, and efficient pilotage services for all commercial ports throughout the Hawaiian Islands. HPA's pool of nine pilots are responsible for safely navigating ships in and out of Hawaiʻi's seven commercial deep draft harbors, 24/7. With an increase in ship sizes, availability of environmental data is becoming more crucial to navigate through the narrow harbor entrances. PacIOOS is looking forward to partnering with HPA on observational and forecasting data that enhances maritime safety.
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More than 30 "IOOSians" participated in the Fall Meeting. Credit: K. Culpepper. |
Bringing Together the IOOS Cohort
The IOOS Program Office, representatives from all 11 Regional Associations (RAs), and the IOOS Association came together for the annual IOOS Fall meeting, hosted by MARACOOS and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis, Maryland. This year's meeting focused on biological observation data, including discussions on regional stakeholder needs, new emerging trends and technologies, as well as required data infrastructure and tools. The IOOS Program Office addressed the implementation of its strategic plan and provided updates on federal requirements and budgets. RA Directors also leveraged this in-person meeting to talk about regional opportunities and challenges.
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May the Data Force Be with Us
Welcome to Owen Wilcox, our latest addition to the PacIOOS Data Management Team! Owen is a joint hire between PacIOOS and the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) under the supervision of Professor Jim Potemra. As a Scientific Web and Data Specialist, Owen is configuring a new, virtual data server for PacIOOS and helping with the migration of data and scripts to operationalize the new infrastructure. He is also translating conversion programs into Python, a commonly used programming language, to enhance performance of PacIOOS' data services and to facilitate future development. For the IPRC, Owen assists with updating and maintaining data servers and supports web related work.
Owen received his Bachelor in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Connecticut and spent a year studying abroad at the University of Stuttgart in Germany. He has gained experience in different parts of the IT field, including desktop support, software development, and education in the use of new software. Owen is looking forward to broadening his knowledge in this new capacity and excited to help prepare both PacIOOS and the IPRC for future IT needs. Since Owen is new to the islands, he enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors while hiking and checking out the diverse cuisine that Hawaiʻi has to offer. He also likes to play the guitar and piano, as well as tennis.
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