Celebrating Years of OCEAN OBSERVING IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FROM THE DIRECTOR Aloha PacIOOS Friends, I am incredibly thankful for the partnerships and collaborations that have made such a positive impact Over the past 10 years, for those who live, work, and play in the Pacific Islands. PacIOOS has grown from a small With your continuous support, trust, and guidance, we pilot project along the south are able to sustain and expand our observing network shore of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, to a to address stakeholder needs. comprehensive coastal and ocean observing system that spans across While not an exhaustive list, we are pleased to take this the U.S. Pacific Islands. opportunity to reflect on milestones that have shaped PacIOOS throughout the past 10 years. Please explore Making ocean data accessible as a trusted data the progress we have made together, and help us provider has always been the foundation of our celebrate our joint efforts and successes in the region. I operations. Thanks to the dedication and foresight of am honored to be part of this program, and I am thrilled our notable Governing Council members and PacIOOS to see what the next 10 years hold for our region. partners, researchers, and staff, we have had a decade filled with strong synergistic relationships, robust science, collaborative data sharing, and innovative tools and visualizations. With sincere gratitude and appreciation, PacIOOS has evolved into an effective observing system that crosses political and geographical boundaries to work with organizations that, like us, Melissa M. Iwamoto believe that coastal and ocean data and information Director, PacIOOS help save lives and protect livelihoods and resources. U.S. MainlandMainland JJapanapan Commonwealth of the NortNorthernhern Mariana IsIslandslands Hawai‘iHawai‘i WWakeake IslandIsland Johnston Atoll GGuamuam PalauPalau RRepublicepublic of the Marshall IslandIslandss PPalmyraalmyra Island & KKingmaningman Reef FederatedtddS StatesSt t of Micronesia EquatorEquator JJarvisarvis Island HHowlandowland & BaBakerker American SSamoaamoa AustraliaAustralia PacIOOS MILESTONES - A DECADE IN REVIEW The PacIOOS Governing PacIOOS successively Planning and development A new Mobile-Friendly Council is formed to guide Wave and Atmospheric releases Wave Run-up of the Pacific Islands Website is launched to the development and Model capacities expand Forecasts for the low- Ocean Observing System provide easy access to all direction of the program. beyond Hawai‘i as model lying atolls of Majuro and (PacIOOS) begins at the of PacIOOS’ observation 18 Council members grids become available Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. University of Hawai‘i in and forecast information, represent various sectors for areas in Guam, the Similar forecasts already AT A GLANCE concert with the build- including dynamic graphs and different geographical Northern Mariana Islands, exist for Waikīkī and the out of the Hawai‘i Ocean and interactive map jurisdictions in the PacIOOS and the Samoan Islands. North Shore of O‘ahu, Observing System. viewers. region. Hawai‘i. A 10-year build-out plan PacIOOS is certified as the A first set ofTiger Shark and the firstStrategic firstRegional Information Tracks from Maui, Hawai‘i, Plan are developed to Coordination Entity (RICE), is accessible to the public 200K outline PacIOOS’ goals recognizing maturity of through PacIOOS Voyager. and activities. Strategic PacIOOS’ system reliability, Users can now find more Users explore PacIOOS’ frameworks continue to best management than 35 tiger shark tracks website at pacioos.org be an essential part of practices, and stakeholder online. managing the system. engagement. annually. Based on the initial Data The Regional Ocean PacIOOS deploys its first The Water Quality Sensor Map Viewer for Hawai‘i, a Modeling System (ROMS) Water Quality Monitoring instruments in the insular Partnership Program is dynamic and interactive offers ocean circulation becomes part of PacIOOS’ Pacific. Nearshore Sensors initiated, offering the use data portal is launched. modeling data for Guam, the 88 portfolio by supporting are installed in the Marshall of “loaner” water quality PacIOOS Voyager allows Northern Mariana Islands, three water quality buoys Islands, Federated States sensors to support projects easy access to ocean Western North Pacific, and PacIOOS ocean observing assets and five nearshore sensors of Micronesia, Guam, Palau, that require water quality information for the entire Samoan Islands in addition in Hawai‘i. Northern Mariana Islands, monitoring over a set are located throughout the Pacific Islands region and to the established ROMS and American Samoa. amount of time. Pacific Islands Region. beyond. models for Hawai‘i. PacIOOS inherits three Efforts begin to measure The Ala Wai Turbidity PacIOOS’ Data Wave Buoys, and the first Sea Surface Currents in High Sea Level Forecasts Plume Model combines the Management has evolved PacIOOS funded wave buoy real-time on the South PacIOOS launches a new are offered for various Regional Ocean Modeling into a comprehensive is deployed in Hawai‘i. The Shore of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Website to provide access locations in Hawai‘i, 20 mil System with water quality and nationally recognized network of wave buoys has The system continuously to the growing amount American Samoa, and the observations to forecast system, meeting highest grown to a total of 14 buoys evolves, and coverage of ocean observations, Marshall Islands. Forecasts Data requests are recorded potential “brown water” standards of data delivery, in Hawai‘i, Guam, Saipan, now spans 7,000 mi2 off models, and information. for Palau and Guam now for PacIOOS assets and plumes exiting the Ala Wai archiving, quality control American Samoa, and the the islands of O‘ahu and complement the set. Canal after heavy rain. procedures, and user utility. services annually. Marshall Islands. Hawai‘i. The Harbor Surge Oceanographic data sets Forecast for Hale‘iwa 48 are made available to the Harbor, O‘ahu, provides public through a Google PacIOOS model grids provide advance notice of Maps-based Hawai‘i Data potentially dangerous coastal, ocean, and atmospheric Map Viewer. surges within the harbor. forecasts for the Pacific Islands region in a variety of scales. Photo Credits - Cover: Edmund Garman; Inside fold: Kimball Millikan, Bill Rathfon, USCG, Karl Fellenius, Bob Linsdell, Kelley Anderson Tagarino, Mark Royer, Kevin Rhodes. VISION We believe that coastal and ocean data and information help save lives and protect livelihoods and resources. MISSION To empower ocean users and stakeholders throughout the Pacific Islands, by providing accurate and reliable coastal and ocean information, tools, and services that are easy to access and use. pacioos.org The Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) is based within the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. It is one of 11 regional associations of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®), a national-regional partnership of data providers. .