________________________________________ Climatology of Global Ocean Winds (COGOW) C.M Risien and D.B. Chelton

________________________________________ Ehime Maru vs USS Greeneville 9 Feb 2001 USS Greeneville collided with a Japanese training and fishing vessel Ehime Maru Ehime Maru sank in ~ 600m of water, ~17km south of Diamond Head (Oahu, Hawaii) 26 of 35 crew members were rescued, 9 remaining crew members were assumed trapped inside the vessel After an environmental assessment & under mounting int’l pressure the US Navy agreed to attempt to recover the bodies

________________________________________ Environmental Concerns There was still concern that during relocation a release of contaminants (diesel fuel & lubricating oil) could occur –Beach Contamination –Marine Mammals, Migratory Birds, Sea Turtles, etc.

________________________________________ NOAA OR&R’s Mandate To determine, through the use of oil-plume models, the optimal sea state and wind conditions necessary to avoid beach contamination

________________________________________ Buoy Locations National Data Center Buoys (NDBC)Scripps Buoys

________________________________________ Ocean Wind Climatologies

________________________________________ Climatology of Global Ocean Winds

________________________________________ Summary Scatterometers provide valuable information in many regions of the world ocean that are sparsely sampled by ships and buoys Anticipated uses: –Oil spill mitigation –Training and emergency response planning

________________________________________ NWS Feedback “excellent potential for our regional marine workshops” “Eastern Region would very much like to have this kind of data for our marine program” “The web site is cool”