A Bird’s-Eye View of the CARICOOS HF Radar Network Expansion and Sargassum Dispersal Asset

A detailed description of the Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CARICOOS) HF Radar network expansion agenda and Sargassum inundation forecasting asset is presented. These applications have become of high interest in the past couple of years and were highlighted in the last 5-year proposal submitted to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) office. Preliminary HF Radar radial data produced from two off-grid test sites along the northeast coast of Puerto Rico showed promise in terms of providing coverage for areas concerning stakeholder interest regarding sea lane activity. In addition to the radar network expansion, CARICOOS has made available Sargassum trajectory forecasts through the Sargassum Monitoring Project as a result of concerns regarding the increased frequency of Sargassum presence within the coastal waters of Puerto Rico. The current forecast model uses the output from The Naval Oceanographic Office American Seas (AMSEAS) model, however, inclusion of the regional Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) in combination with the Maximum Chlorophyll Index (MCI) provided by NOAA as sources for the CARICOOS Sargassum Tracker showed encouraging results for potential enhancing the forecast accuracy.