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**Validating coastal ocean circulation models with student-built,
fishermen-deployed, satellite-tracked drifters**

***Statement of need or rationale:***

Given the recent explosion of data gathering and monitoring efforts
around the Gulf of Maine, we propose to assimilate these observations
into numerical hindcasts. As our nations\' regional ocean observing
systems develop, there is a need to incorporate the increasingly large
volumes of data in a modeling perspective and to develop computerized
applications that can digest data for purposes of characterizing the
entire physical ecosystem.

We propose to address a variety of issues related to water mass origin
and fate with a small pilot project using a combination of observations
and model simulations. In a multi-phase implementation, we propose to 1)
develop and 2) deploy new drifter technology and 3) model the flow
fields associated with each deployment. We propose to conduct this
demonstration project by focusing our efforts on the eastern side of
Casco Bay. This area is chosen a) to follow-up on recent ECOHAB studies
in this area, b) to better understand the complex system of water
exchange between the river plumes, estuarine, and shelf systems, c) to
be pertinent to a nascent study concerning the initiation of Harmful
Algal Blooms in this area, and d), logistically, so that many students
(Southern Maine Community , Bowdoin, and St. Josephs) and lobstermen
(Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation) can assist in the project. To fully
resolve the complexities of the current field, multiple deployments and
recoveries of low-cost drifters are needed.

***Project objectives:***

Our objectives fit perfectly within NEC's mission of fostering
collaboration between academia, science and industry. We propose to
compile a set of instrumentation, data, and software that would
eventually allow managers to test various scenarios as they occur in the
coastal environment. Once this methodology is established, it will be
available for real-time response to environmental events and
disturbances, such as oil spills or improved aquaculture management in
the future.

We will involve students, fishermen and scientists from a variety of
locations in Southern Maine to develop new coastal drifter designs,
conduct field work, and write code to test and model various scenarios
as they occur in the coastal environment. Through the development and
deployment of coastal drifters, data will be collected and modeled to
answer perplexing management questions such as "What might be the
consequence of a large oil spill 5 kms outside Portland Harbor followed
by a two day northeaster?" or "How long would it take to advect
*Alexamdrium* cysts into Lumbos Hole following a period of
higher-than-normal Kennebec River discharge?" This project is designed
with portability in mind. Lobstermen will conduct several trial
deployments of these newly developed drifters to test our methods and
instrumentation in a variety of situations and locations.

***Technical approach of the research:***

Lobstermen operate daily within a localized regime and are forever
curious about interchanging water mass structures. How does the Western
Maine Coastal Current get deflected into Casco Bay, for example, and how
do these anomalous events affect the bottom temperatures? Given all the
complexities of the physics, especially the effect of offshore source
flows, conducting this project even on a limited-area basis will be a
challenge. We propose to develop new drifter technology and maintain
temperature arrays to collect data on the water exchange between the
estuarine and shelf environments. These data will then be used to test
at least one of the growing number of oceanographic models.

The project methodology includes three main steps:

1)  Develop new drifter designs:

> New coastal drifters will be developed for use in the near-shore
> environment. SMCC students will develop a variety of designs for
> deployment in clusters to address scientific questions about
> dispersion as well as test the relative performance of drifter
> configurations. Drifters will be built and deployed, for example, with
> and without drogues to test the effects of vertical stratification
> within the water column.

2)  Lobstermen and students deploy & recover drifters and temperature
    sensors:

> Four lobstermen will be identified to deploy and recover the drifter
> units on a near weekly basis in the late-spring/early-summer of 2007.
> SMCC Students will participate in this activity to help with drifter
> assembly, deployment, and tracking. With hopes of resolving the
> residual flow (ie more than a few tidal periods) and the effects of
> various wind-conditions, recoveries will be scheduled a few days after
> deployments. The exact timing of the near-weekly deployments will be
> scheduled according to the suggestions of HAB researchers from labs
> locally (see "key participants" below). The deployment locations will
> be coordinated with GoMOOS and eMOLT moorings and with past ECOHAB and
> eMOLT drifter deployments. In some cases additional probes will be
> deployed on lobster gear to provide a wider coverage on bottom and up
> in the water column (below the surface buoys) during the time of
> deployments.

3)  Conduct model simulation in multiple phases:

    -   A set of high resolution (\~50m cells) limited-area model grids
        will be generated covering the area of Casco Bay

    -   Sources and methods for harvesting local bathymetry, wind, and
        elevation (including tides & low-frequency boundary conditions)
        for specific areas will be documented and developed.

    -   Numerical simulations using existing coastal ocean model(s) for
        the periods of drifter deployments (typically one week given a
        few days of spin up time) will be executed.

    -   Modeled and observed particle tracks will be compared and model
        validity quantified.

This project seeks to develop a complete application and is not just a
modeling endeavor. Developing drifter technology, for example, is one
part of the whole objective. Rugged drifter designs are needed to
survive the near-coastal environment and withstand, for example, rocky
coastlines and frequent grounding. Efficient methods to harvest data
(bathymetry, wind, tides, etc) are needed to force a model adequately. A
set of new products that will be coming on-line in the next few years,
such as local area weather models and high frequency radar observations
will be included in the overall experiment to enhance the performance of
the models.

***Identification and brief descriptions of key participants:***

There will be at least six groups of \"participants\" involved in our
effort:

-   The Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF) will coordinate all
    aspects of the project

-   The GOMLF will work with the Maine Lobstermen's Associations to
    identify a total of four lobstermen to deploy the drifters, assist
    with outreach and maintain temperature probe monitoring.

-   Southern Maine Community College Marine Science Department\'s
    students and faculty will be responsible for helping to design
    drifters, build prototypes, and participate in both deployment and
    recovery of the drifters.

-   PIs of the Bowdoin Buoy facility, a GoMOOS style buoy with extensive
    optical oceanography instrumentation in coastal embayment (Lumbos
    Hole in Harpswell Sound) subject to harmful algal blooms, are
    beginning a study to shed light on the three prevailing models for
    initiation of HABs. Based on the 24/7 time series from their buoy
    and other buoys in the Gulf of Maine, they will suggest times when
    deployment of drifters in Casco Bay will be pertinent to their
    studies. These PIs include Collin Roesler of Bigelow laboratories,
    Gregory Teegarden of Saint Joseph's College, and Edward Laine of
    Bowdoin College.

-   National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist, Jim
    Manning, will serve as PI responsible for coordinating drifter
    design, processing and archiving drifter tracks, website design, and
    coordinating with the numerical modeler.

-   A numerical modeler from Dartmouth College, Keston Smith, will be
    responsible for building the finite element grid of Casco Bay and
    making simulations associated with each of the deployments,
    including the effect of realistic topography, real time winds, river
    input, and best available estimate of offshore tidal forcing.

***Identification of end users:***

We make all data accessible in a variety of ways via the web. We
envision managers and the public alike visiting our website to view both
observed and modeled products in an interactive environment. We have
successfully implemented an internet mapping utility (MapServer) that
allows users to select various GIS layers and to zoom-in to areas of
interest. Our objective has been to archive as many drifters tracks as
possible from both historical studies and our own so that users can
select various times and places to see all available trajectories.

The US Coast Guard Research and Development Lab in Groton, Ct. (Dr. Art
Allen) has expressed interest in our work for both search and rescue
operations and oil spill response. While it is not our intent to be
operational over the course of this study, we believe we can eventually,
with the help of local fishermen, have drifters ready for deployment
within the first few tidal periods (6-24 hours) following an event or
spill.

On the industry side of things, aquaculture interests will benefit from
the data collected through this project. We hope to develop protocols
for both measurement and modeling the effective site-specific
dispersion.

There are also a number of research communities that have benefited from
deploying our drifters and would certainly be interested in the added
benefit of local model simulations. A total of 59 of our drifters have
been deployed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in the past two
years at various locations from the Bay of Fundy to Mass Bay to study
the advection of harmful algal blooms. In July 2005, more than a dozen
of the prototype drogued drifters were deployed by USM\'s Dr. Lew Incze
off the mouth of Penobscot Bay for purposes of documenting the
bi-furcation of the potential pathways of lobster larvae drift in that
area. In the spring of 2005, several drifters were deployed in the Great
South Channel by NOAA scientist interested the distribution and
dispersion of zooplankton in that area. Several more drifters have
recently been prepared for similar studies in 2006. The objective of
this proposal is to supplement the information obtained from drifter
observations with modeled simulations in an attempt to better understand
the underlying physical processes.

Budget Justification:

+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Item                      | To  | Justification                     |
|                           | tal |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Administration            | \$  | 1/3 salary with fringe            |
|                           | 15k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Equipment (drifters &     | \$  | new instruments including design  |
| temp probes)              | 20k | cost                              |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Satellite Fees            | \   | Hrly fixes; 6 units x 80 days &   |
|                           | $2k | initiation fees                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Navigation Software       | \   | Assist in deployments             |
|                           | $1k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Travel                    | \   | 12 day trips, 10 ME overnights, 1 |
|                           | $5k | national conf                     |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Subcontractors            |     |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| > NOAA Oceanographer      | \$  | 1.5 months w/NOAA overhead        |
|                           | 25k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| > Numerical Modeler       | \$  | 2 months                          |
|                           | 30k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| > Lobstermen              | \$  | 2 days work & fuel each           |
|                           | 12k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| > SMCC Faculty Advisor    | \   | \~2 week                          |
|                           | $4k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| > SMCC Students           | \   | 2 weeks each including 50% in the |
|                           | $6k | field                             |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| > Outreach                | \$  | Based on specific tasks           |
|                           | 10k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Indirect on Direct \@20%  | 8   |                                   |
|                           | .6k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| Indirect on Subcontracts  | 1   |                                   |
| \@2%                      | .7k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+
| TOTAL                     | \$  |                                   |
|                           | 140 |                                   |
|                           | .3k |                                   |
+---------------------------+-----+-----------------------------------+

***Anticipated Permit Requirements:*** none