Excellence in Partnering Awards

Awards for Excellence in Partnering are presented annually to research teams that best demonstrate the partnerships objectives of NOPP, recognizing the project’s commitment to partnering, the success of the partnership effort, and the impact of the partnership on oceanography.

2009: Toward a Predictive Model of Arctic Coastal Retreat in a Warming Climate, Beaufort Sea, Alaska
Lead PI: Dr. Robert Anderson, University of Colorado, Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research

The long-term goal of this project is to understand the environmental drivers of extremely rapid coastal erosion in the Arctic, so that we can predict how present and future climate change might influence coastal erosion. The project team monitored erosion processes using time-lapse photography, by collecting meteorological and oceanographic data from sites along the coast, and by analyzing climactic and geographic data from the past few decades to identify trends in coastline position through time.

2008: Multi-sensor Improved Sea Surface Temperature (MISST) for GODAE
Lead PI: Dr. Chelle Gentemann, Remote Sensing Systems, Inc.

The Multi-sensor Improved Sea Surface Temperatures (MISST) for the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) project focused on producing an improved, high-resolution, global, near-real-time (NRT), sea surface temperature analyses through the combination of satellite observations from complementary infrared (IR) and microwave (MW) sensors and then demonstrating the impact of these improved sea surface temperatures (SSTs) on operational ocean models, numerical weather prediction (NWP), and tropical cyclone intensity forecasting. SST is one of the most important variables related to the global ocean-atmosphere system. It is a key indicator for climate change and is widely applied to studies of upper ocean processes, to air-sea heat exchange, and as a boundary condition for numerical weather prediction. The importance of SST to accurate weather forecasting of both severe events and daily weather has been increasingly recognized over the past several years.

2007: U.S. GODAE: Global Ocean Prediction with HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM)
Lead PI: Dr. Eric Chassignet, University of Miami, RSMAS

A broad partnership of institutions proposes to collaborate in developing and demonstrating the performance and application of eddy-resolving, real-time global and basin-scale ocean prediction systems using the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). The systems will run efficiently on a variety of massively parallel computers and will include sophisticated, but relatively inexpensive, data assimilation techniques for assimilation of satellite altimeter sea surface height (SSH) and sea surface temperature (SST) as well as in-situ temperature, salinity, and float displacement.

2006: Archaeological and Biological Analysis of World War II Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico:  Artificial Reef Effect in Deep Water
Lead PI: Robert Church, C & C Technologies, Inc.

This multidisciplinary study focused on the biological and archaeological aspects of six World War II era shipwrecks in the north-central portion of the Gulf of Mexico, which were lost as a direct result of wartime activity between early May and late July in 1942.  All six shipwrecks were discovered during oil and gas surveys and reported to the MMS as a result of Federal regulations.  The shipwreck sites were investigated over an 18-day period using a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) to determine site boundaries, National Register potential, preservation state and stability, and the potential for man-made structures or objects to function as artificial reefs in deepwater. Also a significant educational outreach component was implemented along with the scientific and historical components of the project.

2004: Estimating the Economic Benefits of Regional Ocean Observing Systems
Lead PI: Dr. Hauke L. Kite-Powell, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

2003: An Integrated System for Real-Time CTD Profiling Float Data on Basin Scales (ARGO)

Lead PI: Dr. Dean Roemmich, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Argo is a global array of 3,000 free-drifting profiling floats that measures the temperature and salinity of the upper 2000 m of the ocean.  This allows, for the first time, continuous monitoring of the temperature, salinity, and velocity of the upper ocean, with all data being relayed and made publicly available within hours after collection.

2002: The Coastal Marine Demonstration Project (CMDP)
Lead PI: Dr. Leonard J. Walstad, Horn Point Laboratory

The Coastal Marine Demonstration Project (CMDP) was a two-year partnership effort, funded by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, which developed, improved, delivered and evaluated experimental marine forecast products for mariners of the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding coastal ocean.  The partnership was a collaboration of academic, private industry, government and private citizens. Two of the experimental models demonstrated in the CMDP are now operational, including NOS’ Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System and NWS’ Regional Ocean Forecast System.

2001: South Atlantic Bight Synoptic Offshore Observational Network
Lead PI: PI: Dr. James Nelson, SkIO (original PI: Harvey Seim, now with UNC Chapel Hill)

A real-time observational network on the U.S. Southeastern continental shelf is being developed. Eight large offshore platforms, currently operated by the U.S. Navy for flight observations, are being instrumented to provide a range of oceanographic and meteorological observations on a continuous, real-time basis. Data are used by the National Weather Service, local fisherman, various researchers, and will be utilized by a separately-funded NOPP modeling project.

2001: The Bridge
Lead PI: Ms. Frances Lee Larkin, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

The BRIDGE is a novel, web-based research center and clearinghouse that brings together marine educators, academia, the private sector, and government in support of quality ocean education. The BRIDGE provides educators with a comprehensive source of accurate and useful information on global, national, and regional marine science topics, and provides researchers with a contact point for their educational efforts. Project partners, the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA), the National Sea Grant Program (NSGP), the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS), and the proposed Central Coordinating Office (CCO) of NSF’s Centers of Ocean Science Excellence in Education (COSEE), together with a network of ocean science websites, bring to the BRIDGE a national presence and collaborative infrastructure in ocean education, a suite of complementary resources, and ready access to current scientific and educational information and to the nation’s teachers.