The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a grant totaling $1,218,248 to the University of South Florida to finance a Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

With support from this grant, new elements of the USF COMPS observing array will be added to complement existing USF and NOAA assets on the West Florida continental shelf. New coastal and offshore stations with meteorological and oceanographic sensors, a new coastal ocean surface current radar site, a directional wave buoy and an autonomous glider will be added to the COMPS observational suite to fill critical voids and extend coverage of the observing system. All COMPS water level observations will be brought up to National Ocean Service standards to permit integration of these water level measurements into the National Water Level Program, the national backbone program operated by the NOS Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services.

“The dissemination of this data will lend itself to immediate applications such as the study of harmful algal blooms, emergency preparedness, and search and rescue missions,” 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 initiatives like the Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System for West Florida.”

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.