The PORTS® program, managed by NOAA's National Ocean Service, provides mariners with direct access to real-time water level, current and wind speed/direction data at locations specifically requested by mariners. For example, most conventional tide and tidal current predictions are based solely on astronomical models, which do not take into account the impacts of local weather conditions—which may be substantial. PORTS®, however, provides "actual" tidal and current observations, which often differ significantly from "predicted" values. Specifically, actual tidal water levels often exceed predicted levels by as much as several feet and actual currents may impair safe vessel movements, while predicted current conditions may have indicated otherwise.
Other hazards commonly encountered by ships in seaports include narrow and often difficult to maneuver channels, shallow waters, low bridge underpasses and other nearby moving vessels. Having real-time water level, current, and prevailing wind information allows the mariner to better plan their trip taking into account actual conditions, or even to make a "no-go" decision when actual (water levels, currents, and/or meteorological) conditions are worse than predicted. Collisions are avoided, damage prevented and lives are saved. Fortunately, real-time observations from any PORTS® installation is accessible to the public through the PORTS® Internet sites—with data displayed both graphically and in text—and by toll-free phone calls. Professional mariners make use of both methods.
Operational models relying on real-time information from PORTS® stations are a recent and major addition to PORTS®. While under development in several locations, an operational model predicting actual water levels 24 hours in advance is already operating and being used by ships in the Chesapeake Bay. This operational model allows ships to accommodate maximum cargo loads and better plan the loading and unloading of cargo—a process that takes many hours—or to avoid a transit when unusually low water levels are forecast. These operational models provide both economic benefits and improvements in safe navigation. The next operational model being brought online will provide forecasts of both water levels and currents for New York Harbor —36 hours in advance.
While real-time observations of water levels, currents and winds are the heart of PORTS®, another component of the program is charged with testing and evaluating other "sensors" to meet new needs expressed by mariners. NOAA must stand firmly behind any data provided by PORTS®, so before any sensor is certified for PORTS® use it must meet rigorous standards for data accuracy and reliability, demonstrate suitability for operational use in a harsh environment and be deemed "practical" for use at a given site. For example, salinity sensors have been tested, modified and hardened for continuous use and are now being deployed for use by mariners and environmental scientists. Air-gap sensors, which give actual clearance under bridges, and side-looking current meters are in the final stages of certification with buoy mounted current meters, visibility sensors, and wave buoys well into the evaluation and certification process.
Although PORTS® is first intended to support safe navigation and efficient maritime commerce, its benefits have far exceeded NOAA's expectations and is now being used to support oil spill response, water quality and ecosystem monitoring, and coastal ocean observations. Specifically, PORTS® information can be used to mitigate the effects of a hazardous material spill and help predict the spill's movement, thus making its cleanup more efficient. In March 1996, for example, the Galveston Bay PORTS® system successfully provided critical real-time currents, water levels, and wind information to the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA HAZMAT during a major oil spill.
NOAA HAZMAT and the Coast Guard are always provided with priority access to the real-time observations in the event of a spill. PORTS® data can also be used to calibrate, verify, and drive numerical models in support of water quality and ecosystem modeling and other related research being conducted by academic institutions and state and federal agencies. Specifically, PORTS® provides data for long-term physical trends to go along with long-term biological and chemical trends (e.g., NOAA and EPA data) and thus provide a context in which to interpret the latter. PORTS® data is available online for the most recent 31 days, and by contacting NOAA's Centers for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) directly for older data. Lastly, PORTS® will provide NOAA's developing Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) with an established coastal ocean measurement component.
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May 3, 2002 — As ships become larger and the number of ships transiting our seaports increases, the two constant requirements of safe navigation and efficient vessel movement become increasingly important. Specifically, the coupled use of GPS and computer technology has revolutionized the ability of mariners to precisely determine their position, track their transit in a harbor, and even determine unique maneuvering characteristics of their vessel. Now, NOAA's PORTS® (Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System) provides critical information to further enhance the ability of mariners to navigate safely, while taking advantage of actual channel depths, favorable current and wind conditions.
In addition to enhancing navigation safety, PORTS® can enhance the efficiency of marine commerce within any given seaport. Specifically, PORTS® allows mariners to take into account (and use to their advantage) actual (rather than predicted) available water depth (as well as prevailing favorable current and meteorological conditions) when planning their transit routes and docking times upon arrival into (or departure from) a given seaport. Pilots in Tampa Bay, for example, recently credited the Tampa Bay PORTS® with shaving as much as five to six hours off their transit times and allowing for additional draft on a regular basis. Depending on the cargo and vessel size, even one extra foot of draft can translate into tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars of extra cargo carried by the vessel. As maritime commerce continually strives to enhance its efficiency, PORTS® is increasingly becoming an "industry standard," according to one port official. Furthermore, economic benefits and navigation safety go hand-in-hand. Just one grounding can easily block a major channel and shut down a seaport—thus resulting in the loss of millions of dollars each day. (Click on the NOAA image to for a larger view of ship going under Tampa bay and the associated PORTS® data display. Click here to see high resolution version of this photo. Note that this is a large file.Please credit "NOAA.")
Two unique aspects of this NOAA program ensure the value of PORTS® to the mariners. First, PORTS® installations are custom designed by a team of NOAA scientists and engineers to meet the specific needs of the user. The local maritime community provides funding to NOAA to purchase and install the instruments and data systems, as well as for the ongoing operation of the PORTS®. Secondly, NOAA guarantees the accuracy of the data through a rigorous quality control/quality assurance program. The data are monitored continuously at NOAA facilities in Silver Spring, Md., through automated checks and by trained technicians, who provide continuous, 24 x 7, oversight and manual checks. If the technicians identify a problem with the accuracy of PORTS® observations, data dissemination is halted immediately until on-call oceanographers and engineers are able to fix the problem and restart the system. This quality assurance/quality control operation is funded entirely by NOAA.
The PORTS® program started in 1991 with the first PORTS® installation in Tampa Bay, Fla., but has since then grown to a total of nine installations. Besides Tampa Bay, PORTS® installations are operating in the following locations: Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island); New York/New Jersey Harbor; Delaware River and Bay; Chesapeake Bay (Md.); Houston/Galveston (Texas); Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Francisco Bay (Calif.), and Soo Locks in the Great Lakes. The Delaware River and Bay, and Chesapeake Bay PORTS® do not yet have all of their stations operational, but installation is underway and observations are being provided from nearby stations, which are fully operational. Agreements are also being established with the Port of Anchorage in Alaska and the Port of Tacoma in Wash. for small PORTS® installations and the PORTS® Development Team will be in Louisiana to initiate PORTS® requirements for three additional seaports.
PORTS® (Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System)
