RIASSUNTO
A revolution in ocean observations is taking place in the world's oceans. The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), which is in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) and located on Mississippi's Gulf Coast, is deploying an increasingly sophisticated and comprehensive operational ability to “see” and report back in real time what is happening in remote locations of the open, deep ocean, such as the equatorial Pacific Ocean, as well as in more near shore areas off the coastline of the United States (U.S.). The NDBC operates and maintains a network of more than 200 moored buoys deployed in areas near the shore of the United States coastline, off the coasts of Alaska and Hawaii, and across the entire Pacific Ocean from the Americas to the far Western Pacific. The buoys, outfitted with meteorological and ocean sensors, transmit observations hourly or more frequently, if necessary, for use by NOAA and others, including the public, for marine forecasts and warnings, ocean research, and real-time information of the marine environmental conditions. Over time, human interference has caused catastrophic damage to buoys, resulting in loss of the observations and, in many cases, total loss of the equipment. For these reasons, buoy vandalism became the primary driver for the NDBC to develop and install a capability to improve awareness around the buoys and proactively counter human interference with buoys and moorings. Buoy vandalism is a significant challenge for the NDBC and other organizations who maintain operational ocean observing platforms, especially for those platforms deployed in remote areas of the ocean. Over the past two years, the NDBC has employed worldwide ship tracking tools such as the Automated Ship Identification System (AIS) that provide situational awareness of vessels operating near NOAA's operational buoys, and installed a real-time, reporting camera systems - BuoyCAMs - to provide clear, panoramic views of the environment and human activity such as fishing in remote ocean areas. Additionally, NDBC has improved the capabilities of its twenty-four-seven Mission Control Center (MCC) in monitoring, observing and recording the environment and activities around NDBC moorings. The NDBC is actively working to increase the capabilities of the BuoyCAM system beyond the initial, prototype deployments. Currently, the NDBC is integrating an AIS receiver into the BuoyCAM system and increasing the two-way communications between the BuoyCAM and shore facilities that enables remote reconfigurations of the BuoyCAM system. Additionally, power system design enhancements are being incorporated to increase image frequency and operational longevity between battery exchanges, and enhancements to the metadata associated with each image, previously a date and time stamp, now include image location, position, and view headings. These new and exciting technical capabilities are revealing unanticipated benefits and applications that provide “eyes on the ocean”. The unique ability to see images of ocean waves and surface current, fog, and sky cover, of ship traffic, and of fishing activities and wildlife, and monitor station equipment and resources in the remote, open ocean and around the coastline, to researchers, forecasters, government agencies, and the public. The result promises significant expansion in maritime domain awareness and environmental intelligence.