Ocean and Coastal Dynamics | NOAA CoastWatch & OceanWatch

CoastWatch/OceanWatch satellite data that are utilized for fisheries research and management include sea surface temperature, sea surface winds, ocean color and sea surface height.

Sea surface temperature is used to identify and evaluate habitat conditions for fisheries and aquaculture features as well as identify physical features such as fronts and upwelling zones where certain species are known to aggregate.

Ocean color is used to provide information about a variety of issues related to fisheries and aquaculture including phytoplankton biomass, harmful algal blooms and water clarity.

Ocean currents, ocean color and sea surface temperature are important for predicting the location of endangered species at risk for bycatch and fisheries relevant species.

Sea surface height is used in conjunction with sea surface temperature and chlorophyll to identify oceanographic features and processes of relevance to fisheries such as eddies and ENSO variability El Niño and La Niña.

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.

Modeling Circulation in the Gulf of Maine

Updated: February 15, 2019

Researchers at North Carolina State University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic institute tested the effectiveness of assimilating temperature and salinity data into a Gulf of Maine model. Data assimilated into the model included the NOAA CoastWatch blended sea surface temperature product and in situ temperature and salinity profiles.