NOAA's Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Systems (PORTS®)

Abstract

NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) has developed the Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) to meet the specific needs of the local maritime community by measuring, integrating, and disseminating observations of water levels, currents, salinity, wind, and bridge clearance, all of which help mariners successfully guide ships into and out of the Nation's seaports. In several locations, PORTS® also provides forecast model guidance which supports informed decision-making in advance of transit scheduling and loading operations. There are twenty PORTS® supporting 50 seaports nationally; eight of these PORTS® are in the Gulf of Mexico. Using PORTS® information in conjunction with NOAA Nautical Charts and US Coast Guard (USCG) Navigational Aids has proven to reduce groundings by as much as 50 percent (%). Future enhancements include integrating PORTS® data with other operational data disseminated via the USCG Automated Identification System (AIS), the integration of wave information, as well as a customizable PORTS® display system that creates personalized and preferred views of data products on the web.