Expanding Alabama’s Real-time Coastal Observing System for coastal management applications

OneNOAA Science Seminar Series

Title: Expanding Alabama’s Real-time Coastal Observing System for coastal management applications
Seminar 8 of 13 in NOAA's RESTORE Science Program Seminar Series:
Actionable Science in the Gulf of Mexico

Speaker: BrianDzwonkowski,Associate Professor, University of South Alabama

Sponsor(s): NOAA RESTORE Science Program and NOAA's National Ocean Service Science Seminar Series. Points of contact are Andrew.Lade@noaa.gov and Tracy.GIll@noaa.gov .

Remote Access: Register at: 
https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/dzwonkowski/event/registration.html
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Abstract:
One of the many challenges in the management of coastal regions is their ever-changing environmental conditions. Being at the interface of terrestrial and marine regions, coastal and estuarine systems can experience dramatic variability in their physical and biogeochemical properties which have significant ramifications for water quality and the associated ecosystem. In order to support various Alabama stakeholders in their use and management of the coastal zone, Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) developed a network of monitoring stations (Alabama’s Real-time Coastal Observing System, ARCOS) beginning in 2003 that provide continuous real-time hydrographic and meteorological observations across coastal Alabama. To improve the quality of data as well as broaden the user community, DISL has been in the process of upgrading and expanding the network capacity. In 2017, supported by NOAA RESTORE program, DISL has been modernizing the station infrastructure and data delivery platform as well as expanding the measurement parameters and spatial extent of the network. This work has also involved actively engaging with our existing users as well as developing additional uses of the network to attract new users and interest groups that could benefit from this decision support tool. In particular, we will highlight a new understanding of regional hypoxia as well as guidance on the intensification potential for approaching hurricanes that has been provided by this network. This effort demonstrates the benefits that long-term monitoring of coastal and estuarine environments can provide to decision-making in coastal regions.

Bio:
Brian Dzwonkowski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of South Alabama where he has been a faculty member since 2014. His research interests lie in coastal physical oceanography (i.e. things related to the structure and flow of water such as currents, tides, stratification) as well as how physical processes impact biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem function. He spends much of his time trying to understand the dynamics of Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Bight and how physical insights can inform our understanding and management of this region.

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(Brian Dzwonkowski, Associate Professor, University of South Alabama)