The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted $2.4 million to the University of South Carolina Research Foundation to continue funding the Carolinas Coastal Ocean Observing and Prediction System, or Caro-COOPS. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant will support the Caro-COOPS program, which is a partnership among the University of South Carolina’s Belle W. Baruch Institute, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Caro-COOPS monitors, models and forecasts estuarine and coastal ocean conditions off the coast of the Carolinas. This will enhance real-time forecasts of natural hazards, support management of living marine resources and facilitate safe and efficient marine transportation. Caro-COOPS focuses on using real-time observations to predict and analyze storm surge and flooding before and during the landfall of coastal storms. These analyses will improve warnings and provide local officials with the information needed to focus on preparedness and prevention measures.

“Funding from this NOAA grant will provide coastal managers in the Carolinas with the tools that they need to make accurate and informed decisions about storm safety,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA and the Bush Administration are working to improve the understanding of our environment and to strengthen regional coastal observing initiatives like Caro-COOPS.”

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA’s goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 years.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.