NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) is the authoritative source for accurate, reliable, and timely tides, water levels, currents, and other vital coastal oceanographic and meteorological information.

New High Tide Flooding Products Improve Coastal Predictions

NOS Priorities: Increase U.S. Coastal Resilience; Make Equity Central to Our Mission; Accelerate Growth of the Ocean Enterprise and the Blue Economy

In 2023, CO-OPS made significant enhancements to its suite of high tide flooding products, advancing NOAA’s coastal flooding predictions. In response to user feedback, CO-OPS released the new Monthly High Tide Flooding Outlook, replacing the NOS Seasonal High Tide Bulletin. Founded on research led by NOS scientists, this new outlook provides the daily likelihood of high tide flooding at locations nationwide in an interactive, geospatial format. This outlook marks a major advancement in NOAA’s ability to predict coastal flooding at the subseasonal to annual timescale, better supporting the many ways coastal communities prepare for flooding. NOAA’s Annual High Tide Flooding Outlook also received upgrades to its web map and layout, providing greater accessibility and ease of application for a range of user needs. With these enhanced outlooks, CO-OPS supports coastal communities as they plan for more frequent flooding and impacts attributed to climate change and sea level rise. Both outlooks are integrated into NOAA’s Coastal Inundation Dashboard, allowing users to access a range of tidally-driven flooding information in one location. This integration provides situational awareness about high tide flooding that may combine with impacts from other hazards such as coastal and tropical storms.

Fifty Percent of Top 175 U.S. Seaports Now Supported by NOAA PORTS®

NOS Priorities: Increase U.S. Coastal Resilience; Accelerate Growth of the Ocean Enterprise and the Blue Economy

In 2023, NOAA established the 38th Physical Oceanographic Real-time System (PORTS®) in Freeport, Texas, and expanded 10 other systems. Through these additions, the program achieved a significant operational milestone and now serves 87 (50%) of the top 175 U.S. seaports. Developed in partnership with Port Freeport, the new system delivers real-time water level, currents, and meteorological data to mariners navigating the fastest growing port in Texas. Elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, Corpus Christi PORTS® added a new water level station at Nueces Bay and Mobile Bay PORTS® added a fourth visibility sensor, advancing a community-driven initiative. Four new water level stations were installed in the Hawaiian Islands (Pearl Harbor), the Pacific Northwest (Lower Columbia River), in the Northeast (Cape Cod) and Southeast Atlantic (Kings Bay). Kings Bay and Portsmouth also received three new current meters, while three wave buoys were added to the Delaware Bay, Port Everglades, and Pearl Harbor PORTS®. In Alaska, the Port of Valdez added a new salinity sensor. Real-time information delivered by these and other NOAA PORTS® represent a critical element of the nation’s data-driven blue economy and are essential for helping mariners efficiently and safely navigate busy seaports in changeable conditions.

CO-OPS Harnesses Bipartisan Infrastructure Funding to Upgrade Observing Systems

NOS Priorities: Increase U.S. Coastal Resilience; Accelerate Growth of the Ocean Enterprise and the Blue Economy

Reliable coastal and Great Lakes observing infrastructure is essential for delivering accurate and timely water level data to the nation. The National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON), NOAA’s system for observing and assessing impacts of changing water levels, provides these foundational oceanographic datasets through more than 200 water level stations. In 2023, CO-OPS used funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to invest in critical upgrades to NWLON infrastructure, rebuilding the Charleston, South Carolina, station and installing Microwave Water Level sensor technology at an additional 15 stations. Established in 1899, Charleston’s NWLON station has contributed significantly to NOAA’s long-term water level record in the southeast Atlantic. The newly rebuilt station allows CO-OPS to continue collecting real-time data on water levels, wind speed and direction, water temperature, barometric pressure, and air temperature. A new high-resolution WebCOOS webcam co-located at the CO-OPS water level station in Charleston Harbor will support improved risk communications and coastal planning. Regular upgrades to NWLON infrastructure are critical for protecting life, property, and the environment. CO-OPS is committed to ensuring its NWLON stations withstand a range of coastal hazards and deliver valuable real-time data to local communities.

NOAA Works to Update Tidal Current Predictions Across Three U.S. Regions

NOS Priorities: Increase U.S. Coastal Resilience; Accelerate Growth of the Ocean Enterprise and the Blue Economy

NOAA delivers tidal current predictions to the United States through the National Tidal Current Observation Program. These predictions must be regularly updated to account for changing oceanographic conditions. In 2023, CO-OPS made substantial progress in updating tidal current predictions for three U.S. regions: the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southeast Atlantic. CO-OPS finished work in the Delaware Bay and Delaware River, and released updated predictions. These new datasets represent the culmination of work to deploy, retrieve, and analyze data collected at 32 current meter stations to measure tidal currents over a period of 35 to 120 days. Results of the field survey were provided to U.S. Geological Survey and Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System partners, and they will support development of National Ocean Service forecast systems for the Delaware Bay. Two additional current surveys in the Lower Columbia River and Savannah River successfully deployed 24 and 25 current meters, respectively. NOAA's updated tidal current predictions support safe and efficient navigation, search and rescue efforts, oil spill mitigation, and improved coastal modeling.

Great Lakes Operational Forecast Systems Upgraded to Higher Resolution

NOS Priorities: Increase U.S. Coastal Resilience; Accelerate Growth of the Ocean Enterprise and the Blue Economy

In 2023, NOAA upgraded the Lake Superior and Lake Ontario Operational Forecast Systems — rounding out multi-year efforts to improve model resolution for all four Great Lakes. The upgraded systems use the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model to generate more accurate forecasts for water temperature and currents out to 120 hours, four times a day. The enhancements also added ice coverage, thickness, and velocity predictions for all four Great Lakes, which will be further tested and evaluated this season, and integrated into future ice now- and forecasts issued by NOAA’s National Ice Center and regional Weather Forecast Offices. This integration is tentatively slated for fall 2024, pending successful model testing and resourcing. Optimizing the Operational Forecast Systems will help mariners more safely and efficiently navigate the lakes and provide digital support for regional coastal zone management and hazard mitigation. This project highlights what successful engagement between partners can achieve. CO-OPS successfully partnered with NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, the U.S. National Ice Center, the National Center for Environmental Predictions, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, and the University of Michigan and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to improve these models.