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NASA's QuikSCAT Ocean-Observing Satellite Mission Team Wins Prestigious William T. Pecora Award

November 2008: On Tuesday, November 18, NASA and the U.S. Department of the Interior presented the William T. Pecora Award to NASA's Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) Mission Team. The William T. Pecora Award is presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals or groups toward understanding the Earth by means of remote sensing. QuikSCAT is an Earth-observing satellite that has provided early detection of ocean storms and advanced the scientific exploration of global ocean wind patterns.

COAPS has had a very long roll in scatterometry, dating back to the S³ report chaired by COAPS founder Jim O'Brien. Mark Bourassa, Associate Professor in Meteorology at COAPS, is currently Team Leader of NASA's Ocean Vector Wind Science Team, which is part of the QuikSCAT Mission Team.

NASA Press Release

About the William T. Pecora Award

3rd Oceanography Symposium

November 2008: The 3rd Oceanography Symposium was held on Thursday, November 13. This annual event is organized by the Thalassic Society and the Florida State University Department of Oceanography, and provides graduate students an opportunity to present their ongoing research in oceanography and related disciplines. COAPS PhD student and Thalassic Society officer Flavien Gouillon co-organized the Symposium, and several COAPS students gave presentations. For a complete list of presentation titles and abstracts, please visit the link below.

3rd Oceanography Symposium Webpage

Florida CoCoRaHS November Newsletter

November 2008: The latest issue of the Florida Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) newsletter is now available. This newsletter is created by Melissa Griffin, Assistant State Climatologist at COAPS. For more information about how you can help gather valuable precipitation data for CoCoRaHS, please visit http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=involved.

Download the November Florida CoCoRaHS Newsletter (PDF, 200 KB).

COAPS Hosts Research Vessel Technical Enhancement Committee Meeting

October 2008: COAPS, in partnership with the Department of Oceanography and the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory, hosted the annual Research Vessel Technical Enhancement Committee (RVTEC) meeting from October 28-30. RVTEC is part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), and promotes the scientific productivity of research programs that make use of research vessels and oceanographic facilities while fostering activities that enhance technical support for sea-going scientific programs. Shawn Smith, Research Associate at COAPS, co-organized the meeting, and gave a presentation on the Shipboard Automated Meteorological and Oceanographic System (SAMOS). Jeremy Rolph, Assistant in Research at COAPS, provided a show and tell on the SAMOS metadata interface. On Wednesday, 29 October, participants were treated to a tour of the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory prior to a workshop dinner at Angelo's.

Meeting Agenda, Participants, and Minutes

Florida CoCoRaHS October Newsletter

October 2008: Melissa Griffin, Assistant State Climatologist at COAPS, has put together another great newsletter for the Florida division of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS).

Download the October Florida CoCoRaHS Newsletter (PDF, 2.6 MB).

Dr. O'Brien Honored at CICESE Celebration

October 2008: Dr. James J. O'Brien, Emeritus Robert O. Lawton Professor of Meteorology and Oceanography, was honored this past September at the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education (CICESE) 35th anniversary celebration in Ensenada, B.C. Mexico. Professor O'Brien also presented the only external lecture at the occasion. The citation on the plaque reads: To Professor James J. O'Brien, for his outstanding, dedicated and generous commitment to the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. The award was presented by Dr. Federico Graef Ziehl, the Director General of CICESE.

COAPS Staff Receive Exemplary Service Awards

September 2008: Patty Boutelle, Departmental Accounting Associate at COAPS, and Melissa Griffin, Assistant State Climatologist at COAPS, were selected to receive FSU's Exemplary Service Award. This award is given annually to only seven employees in the entire University system, and COAPS is honored and proud to have two staff members recognized this year. Ms. Boutelle received the award in the Budget and Financial Services category, and Ms. Griffin received the award in the Scientific and Research Services category. The awards were presented at the Second Annual Employee Recognition Awards Ceremony on September 17.

Almanac Goes Digital

September 2008: COAPS Professor Emeritus James O'Brien was recently featured in a story on FSU Headlines Radio titled "Almanac Goes Digital". In the story, Dr. O'Brien explains how AgroClimate, a service of the Southeast Climate Consortium (SECC), allows farmers and other agricultural decision makers to assess resource management options with respect to their probable outcomes under forecast climate conditions.

(MP3, 3:29)

Florida CoCoRaHS Tropical Storm Fay Newsletter

September 2008: Melissa Griffin, Assistant State Climatologist at COAPS, created a Tropical Storm Fay Newsletter for the Florida division of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). The newsletter provides a historical perspective on tropical cyclone tracks and rainfall totals in Florida, as well as detailed rainfall measurements for TS Fay. Also included are photos and stories about Fay sent in by CoCoRaHS observers around the state.

Download the Tropical Storm Fay Newsletter (PDF).

AgClimate is Now AgroClimate

September 2008: AgClimate, an interactive website with climate, agriculture, and forestry information, is now called AgroClimate. AgroClimate is a service of the Southeast Climate Consortium (SECC), which is a coalition of seven member institutions, including FSU COAPS and the Florida Climate Center.

(more on this story)

COAPS Director Receives Excellence in Partnering Award

August 2008: COAPS director Eric Chassignet has been recognized for his efforts to expand understanding of the world's oceans while collaborating with a broad range of major players in the oceanographic community.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, presented Dr. Chassignet with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program's Excellence in Partnering Award for his coordination of the U.S. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment: Global Ocean Prediction with the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (U.S. GODAE HYCOM). The project brought together more than 25 universities, government agencies and representatives from the private sector to create real-time, three-dimensional depictions and predictions of ocean conditions. The award presentation took place during this year's Capitol Hill Oceans Week in June.

For more on this story, see the August 4, 2008, issue of FSU's STATE (p. 11).

COAPS Scientist Gives Timely Talk on Hurricanes

July 2008: COAPS scientist Tim LaRow spoke about "Hurricanes: Past, Present and Future" at a seminar for the general public on Thursday, July 10, from 7 to 9 p.m. at FSU's Coastal and Marine Laboratory on Highway 98 in St. Teresa.

Visit the Tallahassee Democrat for more on this story.

Checking the Pulse of the Big Bend Gulf

May 2008: If all goes well, a brand-new array of sensing devices deployed off the shores of Franklin County soon will be firing back a solid stream of information that researchers, students and the public have never before had access to.

Scientists from COAPS, as well as FSU's Oceanography and Meteorology departments, are currently participating in a 5-year project to install an array of instruments in the Big Bend Gulf. These instruments will monitor the speed and direction of wind and currents, turbidity, salinity, water temperature, humidity and wave heights, and continually transmit data back to FSU's Coastal and Marine Laboratory. This project is part of a larger $6.3 million grant from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric administration to the Northern Gulf Institute, and will fill in long-standing gaps in the scientific knowledge of the Gulf of Mexico's northernmost perimeters.
(more on this story)

FSU Climate Office Seeks Volunteers for Statewide Rain Gauge Network

January 2008: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Florida Climate Center at Florida State University is looking for volunteers to help collect rainfall data across the state as part of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, better known as CoCoRaHS.

The CoCoRaHS program started in Colorado in 1998 and has expanded to 27 states where more than 7,500 observers take daily measurements of rain, hail and snow, according to Melissa Griffin, coordinator of research programs and services at the Florida Climate Center and assistant state climatologist. She and Pat Welsh of the University of North Florida serve as CoCoRaHS co-coordinators for Florida. The non-profit organization stresses training and education and welcomes volunteers from all walks of life to take part in monitoring precipitation.

"This is a great chance for weather enthusiasts and average citizens to be part of a project that collects vital rainfall data," Griffin said. "The data is readily available to the general public and other organizations."

Volunteers use low-cost equipment and an interactive Web site to provide the highest quality data for natural resources, education and research applications. Climatologists, hydrologists, water resource managers and the National Weather Service are just some of the users of the high-density rainfall reports.

The Florida Climate Center, with support from the University of North Florida, has registered more than 500 volunteers since Oct. 1, but more observers are needed, according to Griffin.

"Official measuring stations across the state are sparse, and we often will miss rainfall due to the localized nature of our rains," she said. "With trained volunteers, CoCoRaHS helps fill these gaps and supply users with a better picture of the state's rainfall patterns."

For example, at the end of October 2007, a heavy rain hit parts of the Western Panhandle. CoCoRaHS observers in the area were able to submit their rainfall reports -- some of which were more than 12 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.

"The rainfall reports were extremely helpful in verifying radar rainfall estimates across the Pensacola area during the event," said Jack Cullen, a forecaster with the Mobile National Weather Service office and a CoCoRaHS coordinator for the area. "This allowed us to better target the flash flood warnings."

Julie Terrell, director of the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA), is excited about the opportunity to add additional rainfall reports to the long-term data that CBA volunteers are currently collecting.

"With the help of CoCoRaHS and its volunteers, CBA hopes to acquire valuable information that can help us better manage and protect water resources for years to come," Terrell said.

Other organizations use the data for flood control, agricultural needs, mosquito control and monitoring drought conditions.

"We are extremely pleased with the level of interest, enthusiasm and dedication from all of the CoCoRAHS volunteers across central and southwest Florida," said Colleen Rhea, data acquisition program manager at the National Weather Service Tampa Bay Office. "It's truly a grassroots effort that benefits anyone with a viable interest in weather data."

To volunteer as a CoCoRaHS observer or for more information, visit www.cocorahs.org or email Griffin at griffin@coaps.fsu.edu.

CoCoRaHS is nationally funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation. Partners in Florida include the Office of the State Climatologist and the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies at FSU and the Advanced Weather Information Systems Lab at UNF.

For more stories about FSU, visit our news site at www.fsu.com

FSU joins alliance studying northern Gulf Coast

December 2006: Florida State University has joined a new cooperative institute that will work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study the physics and ecosystem dynamics of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

The new Northern Gulf Institute will study coastal hazards, climate change, water quality, ecosystem management, coastal wetlands and pollution. Besides FSU, the consortium includes Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana State University and Alabama's Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
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FSU, NOAA scientists: 'Trapped wave' caused unexpected Dennis surge

October 2006: When Hurricane Dennis passed North Florida on July 10, 2005, it caused a 10-foot storm surge in some areas - about 3 to 6 feet more than forecasters had predicted - that couldn't be explained only by the local winds that conventionally drive storm surge.

Now, scientists at Florida State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have found that the surge in Apalachee Bay was amplified by a "trapped wave" that originated off the South Florida coast. The discovery of this previously undocumented storm surge phenomenon has changed how NOAA's National Hurricane Center prepares storm surge models for the Gulf of Mexico. The new modeling technique will improve the accuracy of storm surge forecasts for the entire Gulf coast from Florida to Texas.
more on this story

FSU Gets $6.2 Million Grant to Build Hurricane Prediction Model

July 2006: Florida State University does not have a crystal ball, but it is developing a new tool that could possibly see the strength of future hurricane seasons.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded the FSU Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) a $6.2 million, five-year grant to support the development of a model that may more accurately predict the number of hurricanes in an upcoming season, according to COAPS director emeritus James O'Brien, the Robert O. Lawton Professor of Meteorology and Oceanography and state climatologist... more on this story