June 14, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:
Every few weeks for the next few months, a pair of ocean drifters, one surface and one deeper, will be deployed from a ferry north of Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy. Both will be tracked as part of a project to monitor the flow of water in and out of the bay and perhaps into the Gulf of Maine, providing insight into harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine.
Northeast Fisheries Science Center oceanographer Jim Manning is deploying and tracking the drifters for a two-year joint project with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as part of its NOAA-funded Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms research program. Researchers have developed models to forecast the annual severity of the blooms and provide weekly forecasts of bloom location and magnitude. These models are becoming operational and will be refined using data collected from a variety of instruments, including Manning’s drifters.The first pair of drifters was deployed May 25, the second pair June 7.
To learn more, check out the full story on the NEFSC’s website.
Questions? Contact Shelley Dawicki at 508-495-2378 or shelley.dawicki@noaa.gov.