Real Time Observations of Oceanographic and Meteorological Parameters for Maritime Transportation: Origins and Novel Applications

摘要

data. On May 9, 1980, the 580 foot, 20,000 ton bulk carrier Summit Venture was approaching a critical turn toward the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida and was overtaken by a violent, blinding thunderstorm. The ship veered off course and crashed into a main support pier of the bridge, collapsing the southbound span. Thirty-six people in vehicles fell into the water; 35 did not survive. The main ship channel into Tampa Bay port facilities was closed for 6 weeks, causing severe disruption to supplies of fuel and other commodities to the entire central Florida region. In the wake of the disaster, the local maritime community, led by the Tampa Bay Pilots Association and the Tampa Port Authority, petitioned the US Congress for funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to improve environmental monitoring capabilities in the bay. Nearly a decade later, the Tampa Bay Oceanography Project (TOP) began in 1990 as part of NOAA's Coastal Ocean Circulation Program (COCP). This included a 15 month study of currents, water levels, water temperatures, salinity, winds, and other meteorological/oceanographic parameters. By the end of the project, TOP had collected the largest number of circulation measurements in one estuary in the 100-year history of COCP. Successful completion of TOP was followed by permanent deployment of real-time telemetered sensors measuring winds, currents, and water levels at critical locations in the bay - the first official NOAA PORTS