Year: 2020
Project(s):
Relevance
NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) wished to update and refine the Harmful Algal BloomS Observing System (HABSOS). They collaborated with the Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant Science Outreach Team to gain feedback from target audiences to understand ways the tool could be improved and identify new federal and non-federal partners to access relevant data.
Response
Sea Grant reported that individuals from the tourism industry and recreational fishing community in the northern Gulf expressed that HABSOS should include data about large areas of Sargassum identified by satellite or other means. Knowing this would help them advise both fishers and beachgoers as to whether any might be in the area. The team also researched other data tools that include this information to find potential sources of data that developers could utilize.
Results
NCEI developers are adding a layer of Sargassum data from the University of South Florida, a source identified by the team, to the HABSOS map viewer. In the previous year, NOAA developers used audience input and a data source provided by the team to begin HABSOS updates as part of the ongoing project.
Recap
Developers at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information are improving the Harmful Algal BloomS Observing System (HABSOS) data tool based on input gathered by the Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant Science Outreach Team, who informed NOAA of information requests from key target audiences and helped NOAA access relevant data to include in the update. (2020)