Sea Grant Program Development Opportunities

Objectives:We aim to develop recommendations for the Sea Grant Technology Theme Team on the subject of new ocean technology and specifically the development of “Digital Oceans.” It is expected that the best target area for application of a digital ocean will be identified.Methodology:The primary activity of this project is supporting communication between experts in ocean and coastal technology. We plan to host meetings that will allow these experts to congregate and discuss the development of new Sea Grant Theme Team initiatives.Rationale:Through a coordinated interdisciplinary research effort a new forecasting framework is developing. The concept combines new sensor and autonomous platform technology with modeling and assimilation capabilities through a high-bandwith acoustic and electromagnetic communication network linked to the global Internet and controlled using new seamless and transparent distributed data management and computing software. This research effort requires significant planning so that it is directed at the best possible target opportunities. The proposed effort will provide that management.