CIT awarded subcontract to support ocean research

The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced a $50,000 subcontract with Rutgers University to provide site support for six high frequency (HF) radar systems along the Virginia-Maryland coast, as part of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) project. With this award, CIT begins its eighth year supporting a mid-Atlantic partnership of academia, industry and government to advance coastal ocean observing, data management and forecasting capacities.

Funded by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant and as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), MARACOOS’ mission is to seek, discover and apply new knowledge and understanding of the coastal ocean, ranging from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The project supports educational activities across five regional themes: 1) Maritime Safety, 2) Ecosystem Based Management, 3) Water Quality, 4) Coastal Inundation and 5) Energy.

CIT is one of the regional institutions supporting this work, providing site maintenance for five CIT-owned HF radars and one NOAA-owned HF radar located along the coast from Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland to Virginia Beach. The radars are used by ocean researchers to measure surface current velocity fields near the coast.

CIT President & CEO Pete Jobse said, “We are honored to support this important project. This contract allows us to demonstrate how this technology is being transitioned to advance additional research in new areas, including the impact of rising tides to our coastal cities and towns.”

Between 2011 and 2016, MARACOOS plans to maintain and expand the existing observing, data management and forecasting systems focused on the transition from observation to forecasts and to expand the suite of information products that target multiple users across all five regional themes.

Scott Glenn, Rutgers University Professor of Marine and Coastal Science, and Managing Director and Principal Investigator for MARACOOS, said, “We look forward to continuing to work with CIT and all our partners to build a system that greatly contributes to improving our management and use of this precious resource.”

The contract’s new period of performance is from June 1, 2014 through May 31, 2015.