newsminer.com

FAIRBANKS — Mark Johnson is studying Alaska’s oceans from an unusual place — Fairbanks.

Johnson, based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is the principal investigator of the Alaska Ocean Observing System. Though Fairbanks is located nearly 250 miles from the nearest ocean shore, information is sent from buoys in the water to Fairbanks in real time, allowing him and other researchers at UAF to watch developments as they happen.

The goal of the system is to improve marine forecasts through integrated ocean observation in the same way the National Weather Service does for weather forecasts. When the weather service began taking water surface temperature into account, its weather predictions became more accurate, Johnson said.

Alaska’s system is one of 11 regional associations that form the federal Integrated Ocean Observing System.

The system monitors and collects data about Alaska’s ocean and sea ice, then makes all of the data publicly available in real time online. The collected data is available at www.aoos.org for the general public, but the system also has stakeholders who request certain data for specific purposes.

The Alaska system is only one part of a national goal — to have all of the oceanic data uniformly recorded and archived for use.

There is an educational outreach component online as well. The program’s Web site has some educational activities, and system director Molly McCammon said the system is the main leader of the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence, a group that promotes collaboration between researchers and educators.

McCammon said the system works to make sure groups that depend on the water talk and work more effectively together. These groups range from subsistence fishermen and whalers to oil and gas companies that drill offshore. Recreational boaters and kayakers also can benefit from the tide and nautical information on the site.

“We provide information to anyone who wants or needs it,” Johnson said.

Many of these groups are doing their own research. McCammon said combining and organizing that research is where good communication and coordination makes a difference.

“Everyone is doing different bits and pieces, and it’s about how not to overlap,” she said.

McCammon said the system serves as a data manager, reducing duplicate studies and maximizing research dollars.

The system also prepares informational products, and can compare projections to actual data, improving future forecasts.

Johnson said the system can improve raw data by automatically applying it to existing maps for reference purposes. A computer program can do the bulk of the work, but there are spots where humans have to correct the application.

The system depends on federal grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. During the past two years, the system received $800,000 in funding.

Johnson said one of the challenges with funding the program is making people realize the size of the Alaska coastline. Alaska has 44,000 miles of coastline, more than twice the total of all coastline in the rest of the U.S.

The Alaska system is the only regional association that keeps extensive data on sea ice and coastal erosion.

McCammon said the factor that works against Alaska is its low population, which hampers funding efforts.

“Alaska is an afterthought,” Johnson said.

The system has more requests than it can handle, he said.

Other local challenges include making the Web site accessible to users with slow Internet connections in remote areas of Alaska, Johnson said. The system also has to make judgment calls about what projects can be taken on based upon the available resources.

The system is working to expand its capabilities to include extensive data archiving that could aid other scientific studies, and the ultimate goal is to help marine safety and navigation. The system is still evolving to include new services such as a browser to enable users to find specific data from multiple sources quickly.

Johnson said the system uses new technology to serve the large number of users who rely upon it.

“It’s never been done before, and it is a much-needed service,” he said.

The models and predictions created by the system will be put to the test next summer, McCammon said. A large field experiment will take place next summer at Prince William Sound, one of the areas considered most important. Prince William Sound has more equipment and monitoring than some other sites in Alaska. It also feeds current and tide information to the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue.

McCammon said the models used now are significantly better than the ones used in 2004, and field test will put those improvements into concrete terms.

The information collected by the system is relevant and helps policymakers make better decisions, McCammon said. She also said the service is an asset to Alaska and plays a part in national and international coastal information.

Contact staff writer Christi Hang at 459-7590.