CoastWatch Tools and Data Featured in Undergraduate Courses
Updated: May 26, 2022
| Dr. Sherry Palacios from CSUMB utilizes CoastWatch ERDDAP, Data Portal, and training materials in her oceanography curricula. |
Climate and Weather
CoastWatch/OceanWatch satellite data that are utilized for monitoring and forecasting climate and weather include sea surface temperature, ocean color, sea surface winds, sea surface height and sea surface roughness.
Sea surface temperature is used in a variety weather forecasts and climate outlooks as sea surface temperature greatly impacts heat distribution and evaporation.
Ocean color the quantity of particles and phytoplankton derived from ocean color are used in weather and climate models as various particles and phytoplankton are known to absorb or reflect light, impacting ocean heat content.
Sea surface winds are an important part of marine weather reports and forecasts. Sea surface winds are also used to estimate air-sea exchanges of heat, moisture, gases and particles that impact global and regional climate and weather.
Sea surface height is used to improve forecasts of climatological events such as El Niño and La Niña. Sea surface height is also used as part of calculations of ocean heat content which is used in short an long term weather forecasts.
Sea surface roughness to identify sea ice extent and thickness for use in weather forecasting, seasonal outlooks and climate research.
Observing the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruptions
Updated: May 26, 2022
| A look at how the three recent volcanic eruptions in Tonga affected the surrounding ocean, as observed with CoastWatch satellite data. |
Predicting Winter Weather in Michigan
Updated: March 23, 2022
| Forecasters at the Grand Rapids Weather Forecast Office describe how they use CoastWatch data to predict lake effect snow, freezing spray, and more. |
Predicting Lake Ice Drifts in Cleveland
Updated: March 23, 2022
| Meteorologists at the Cleveland Weather Forecast Office tell a story exemplifying how CoastWatch data supports their mission, and how accurate predictions can save lives. |
Monitoring Sea Surface Winds and Sea Ice with Satellite Radar
Updated: September 23, 2021
| Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an active radar satellite instrument that transmits microwave pulses that bounce off the Earth’s surface. The radar signals are then processed into imagery that can be used to derive several geographic and non-geographic features including: wind speeds, oil spills, sea ice and ship detection. |
Temperature Climate Indicators of Estuaries
Updated: July 11, 2019
| The National Estuary Program identifies, protects, and conserves water quality for ecologically significant estuaries and surrounding watersheds. The National Estuary Program uses Sea Surface Temperature time series products produced by the NOAA CoastWatch East Coast Node for estuary management. |
Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential
Updated: March 20, 2019
| NOAA's Atlantic Oceanography & Meterological Laboratory produces a Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP) product represents a robust measure of how much energy is available in the ocean to sustain or modify the intensity of tropical cyclones.The NOAA CoastWatch Geo-Polar Blended surface sea temperature product and sea surface height data are used to produce global daily TCHP fields. |
Great Lakes Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook
Updated: March 20, 2019
| U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes agencies work together to document significant quarterly events, seasonal and yearly changes for the Great Lakes region and compile them into quarterly reports. NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch data used in these bulletins includes Sea Surface Temperature, Synthetic Aperture Radar and real time marine data from buoys, coastal met stations, airports, and ships. |
Improving Satellite Sea Surface Temperature Analysis
Updated: September 23, 2021
| Information about sea surface temperature is important for weather and ocean forecasting, climate monitoring, military and defense operations, ecosystem assessment, fisheries analyses and tourism operations. NOAA's Sea Surface Temperature Team is working to improve their products by reanalyzing past data with NOAA's Advanced Clear-Sky Processor for Oceans (ACSPO) using the enterprise algorithm. |
A Satellite's View of Coastal Erosion
Updated: September 23, 2021
| One expected impact of climate change is an increase in the frequency and severity of storms in the eastern United States. As such, many coastal communities and ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of coastal erosion. The CoastWatch East Coast node monitors coastal erosion by tracking in-water sediment values. |
The Tongue of the Ocean
Updated: September 23, 2021
| The Tongue of the Ocean is a deep water basin in the Bahamas that is surrounded to the east, west and south by a carbonate bank known as the Great Bahama Bank. The deep blue water of the Tongue is a stark contrast to the shallow turquoise waters of the surrounding Bank. |
Ocean acidification in the Caribbean
Updated: September 23, 2021
| In collaboration with the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory's Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division and NOAA Coral Reef Watch, the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico node of CoastWatch produces an ocean acidification product suite for the greater Caribbean region to track changes in the surface ocean that can be used as an important tool in coral reef research and management. |
The Gulf of Mexico Loop Current
Updated: September 23, 2021
| The Gulf of Mexico loop current brings warm Caribbean water northward between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba and into the Gulf. The current loops around the Gulf, flows southeastward into the Florida Strait where it serves as a parent to the Florida current and ultimately joins the Gulf Stream. |