On Coastal Ocean Systems, Coupled Model Architectures, Products and Services: Morphing from Observations to Operational Predictions or from COOS to COOPS or Rather to OPS

A case is made that the national process of special appropriations monies to establish the coastal observing component of the integrated ocean observing system (IOOS) network is not well organized and without substantive value, given the way that it has been orchestrated. Alternatively, a case is made that the special appropriations monies could and should be better spent in pursuit of the establishment of the national backbone that is needed to greatly improve atmospheric, oceanic and coastal "weather" forecasting, broadly defined, for ecosystem management and to document climate variability and change in coastal zones. Part of the problem is historical and cultural. An example of a sub-regional effort to focus on societal needs is presented by way of example to show that university partners (to federal agencies) could have an important role to play in the future of ocean and coastal observing and prediction systems and networks.
Prepared in cooperation with South Carolina University, the NOAA Coastal Services Center, Charleston, SC and the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC. Presented at the Marine Technology Society and the Inst. of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (MTS/IEEE) OCEANS 2006 Boston Conference and Exhibition, held in Boston, Massachusetts on 18-21 September 2006 and published in proceedings of the same. ISBN: 1-4244-0114-3. See also ADM002006. The original document contains color images.