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PacIOOS Instruments and Tools
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The new weather station is located at the entrance of Honolulu Harbor. Credit: J. Gilmore. |
New Weather Station at Honolulu Harbor Entrance
In collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Pilots Association (HPA) and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Harbors Division, PacIOOS installed a weather station at Pier 1 on the Diamond Head (southeastern) side of the Honolulu Harbor entrance earlier this year. The instrument measures air temperature, mean and maximum wind speed, wind direction, rainfall rate, relative humidity, and air pressure. All real-time data are available on the PacIOOS website, along with archived data that has been collected thus far. HPA provides safe, reliable, and efficient pilotage services for all commercial ports throughout the Hawaiian Islands. To guide increasingly large ships into Honolulu Harbor, PacIOOS partnered with HPA to collect wind and other atmospheric data at the harbor entrance. The weather station is owned by HPA; PacIOOS maintains the station and enables easy access to the data.
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As predicted, ocean conditions were calm enough to allow for modifications of the WEC shore cable anchor. Credit: P. Cross |
Wave Forecasting for Marine Operations at Wave Energy Test Site
The U.S. Navy Wave Energy Test Site (
WETS) off Kāneʻohe Bay, which is the first grid-connected site in the U.S., is strategically located off the east shore of Oʻahu. Year-round trade wind waves, seasonal north swells, and occasional wind swells from passing systems provide a unique environment for testing wave energy converters (WECs), yet pose a challenge for site maintenance as well as WEC installation and retrieval. The
PacIOOS wave forecast has been providing reliable prediction of wave conditions to support WEC testing and at-sea operations at WETS since 2014.
In order to modify the shore cable anchor, a major operation including 20 personnel from multiple organizations, two tugs, and a large crane barge, a weather window of acceptable sea states is needed along with sufficient lead time to mobilize all equipment and personnel. With the daily use of PacIOOS' wave forecast, a window was identified for the beginning of November, with perfectly calm conditions allowing for safe execution of the operations. The WETS team will continue to rely on this forecast as they prepare for the upcoming deployment of a large wave energy converter, the Ocean Energy (Ireland) OE35 in the coming months.
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Heads Up: PacIOOS Server Migration
PacIOOS has been working to migrate data services from the original configuration to a more modern, flexible system. With PacIOOS' steady increase of data, the new data management system will take advantage of "virtualization", building a local computing cloud. Instead of maintaining separate machines for specific purposes (e.g., models, website, Voyager), PacIOOS is configuring a series of physical machines to run a number of instances (virtual machines). This will allow for individual monitoring and dynamic allocation of resources, easier replication of services to avoid downtime, and increased speed and reliability for users. Important changes for our users: URLs to data end-points will change. Therefore, users of THREDDS and ERDDAP will have to change the data access point. All catalogs will be updated accordingly, however if users already have scripts in place these will have to be updated. The current plan is to migrate to the new system early in 2020, so keep an eye out for postings on our website.
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PacIOOS Governing Council members and staff gathered at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa campus for their annual meeting. |
PacIOOS Governing Council Meeting
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Seaglider workshop participants at the AOML facility in Miami. |
Seaglider Workshop in Miami
In an effort to advance remote sensing using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in coastal and pelagic ocean environments, PacIOOS is building up its seaglider program. Seagliders can collect chemical, physical, and biological measurements throughout the water column to a depth of 1000m. PacIOOS Operations Coordinator Chip Young, along with staff from NOAA, CIMAS, ANAMAR, University of the Virgin Islands, and CARICOOS, participated in a Seaglider Workshop hosted by NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) to gain a basic understanding of seaglider operations. Through classroom and field training sessions, participants learned about piloting and best practices, field procedures, and refurbishment fundamentals. The workshop was developed by AOML's Physical Oceanography Division, which uses a network of seagliders to monitor the heat content of the Tropical North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea to help inform hurricane intensity forecasts. Thanks to Ulises Rivero, Grant Rawson, Francis Bringas and their colleagues at AOML for an informative workshop.
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More than 40 participants gathered in Charleston to discuss regional data sharing. Credit: D. Stein
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Regional Data Sharing Network
NOAA's Office for Coastal Management (OCM) hosted a Regional Data Sharing Network Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina. Directed by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, OCM and its partner agencies are tasked to identify data needs in the regions. The goal of the meeting was to convene regional data sharing technical staff to discuss the status of regional portal activities, development of common data products, investigate current technology trends to better align systems, and discuss a shared vision for future collaboration. PacIOOS' data management lead Jim Potemra, as well as representatives from American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands participated in the meeting.
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GIS Day at University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa Campus
As part of the international GIS Day, the Government Documents and Maps Department of the University of Hawaiʻi Library invited students and faculty to celebrate GIS Day on Mānoa campus. Through a series of lightning talks by University of Hawaiʻi GIS professionals, attendees learned about the different uses and applications of GIS (Geographic Information Systems). John Maurer, PacIOOS Data Systems Engineer, presented on PacIOOS' use of Open Source GIS and GeoServer for online mapping.
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Matt Yamashita catching a clean ride at his local Molokaʻi surf spot. Credit: M. Yamashita. |
Studying Data and Comparing to Local Surf Conditions
Born and raised on Molokaʻi, Matt Yamashita is an
award winning filmmaker producing documentaries about the environment, activism, and culture. Coming from a family of fishermen, the ocean has always played a huge role in Matt's life. When he is at home on Molokaʻi in between his busy travel schedule, Matt loves to pursue his greatest passion: surfing.
Matt primarily uses the
PacIOOS wave forecast to determine when swells will arrive and to time his surf sessions accordingly.
"PacIOOS forecasts are the most accurate models I know of and the buoy data allows me to calculate swell energy arrival times to the hour for our Molokaʻi surf spots." For northwest winter surf, he usually checks the
Hanalei wave buoy readings to get a sense of general arrival time and wave energy, then uses the
Waimea buoy to help calculate the exact arrival time for his Molokaʻi surf spots. The data allows him to increase his understanding of how swell direction, wave height, and period all factor into timing, surf size, and energy at various local spots.
"It makes me a better waterman by adding measurable data to the observational data that comes from spending lots of time in and on the water. I feel safer knowing when the surf is going to get dangerous, and I feel grateful to be able to time my surf sessions so that I can take advantage of the best windows for each arriving swell."
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