NVS Tsunami Evacuation Zones: Dynamic map view shows inundation zones for communities along the coast, as well as elevation, assembly areas potential hazards.

Beginning in 2009, the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) and the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing System (NANOOS) have worked in partnership to develop the NVS Tsunami Evacuation Zones application to ensure unfettered access to critical tsunami evacuation information for the Pacific Northwest region. This app allows residents, planners, emergency responders, and others to visualize the extent of areas affected by both local and distant evacuation zones. Information contained in the overlays include access to various critical and essential facilities (e.g. bridges, evacuation structures, assembly areas, etc.), while recent additions reflect the inclusion of spot ground elevations as well as evacuation arrows that highlight key routes where available. Users can search by address and a pop-up is displayed telling the user if the location is either in or outside a tsunami zone. Other features include access to static evacuation brochures (PDFs) as well as a brochure tool that allows the user to build their own custom brochure. Periodic refinements have been included as a result of local stakeholder input.

In the last few years, progress has been made to integrate alert information provided by the. A major recent update to the NVS smartphone application enables the user to receive push notifications directly from the Tsunami Warning Center (TWC), even if the app is closed. While the focus of the web and smartphone applications are geared toward preparation, the inclusion of push notifications is an important step towards addressing distant tsunami threats and ultimately in informing and educating the public. 

NVS Tuna Fishers: 8-day mean (5-12 June 2019) MODIS SST (left) and CHLA (right) fields, which use more intuitive colormaps and dynamic ranges to help users interpret these data, provided by NOAA CoastWatch, and identify regions that may contain tuna. Overlaid vectors depict 8-day mean current velocities derived from HF Radar measurements.

Tuna Fishers

In August 2008, NANOOS received an email from a recreational albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) fisherman living in Coos Bay OR, after he was unable to download OSU ROMS model derived sea surface temperature (SST) nowcast and forecast plots. Once the plot availability issue had been resolved NANOOS was able to capitalize on this fortuitous feedback by working with the user to tailor the SST forecast fields to better suit the needs of the commercial and recreational tuna fishing fleets. In particular, the dynamic range of the data was reduced from 44-62°F to 53-63°F to highlight the 58-62°F water that tuna prefer. The color map was changed from a rainbow palette to a more culturally meaningful blue through red color palette and 56, 58, 60, and 62°F isotherms were added all of which facilitate the interpretation of SST data.

NANOOS was once again fortuitously contacted via email in July 2009 by members of Oregon’s recreational fishing community who used the OSU ROMS forecast fields, described above, and were interested in near real-time chlorophyll and SST data. Based on input from these stakeholders, NANOOS developed a tuna-oriented webpage that showed in addition to the forecast fields, 8-day composite plots of MODIS chlorophyll and AVHRR SST that were specifically tailored to meet the needs of this community. In particular, the MODIS SST plots were created to have the exact same dynamic range and color palette as the ROMS SST forecast fields described above and the chlorophyll plots explicitly highlighted the 0.4 - 0.6 mg/m³ zone where albacore tuna feed.

As a result of several NANOOS outreach and engagement efforts, which included participating in Scientist and Fishermen Exchange (SAFE) and ProjectCROOS (Collaborative Research on Oregon Ocean Salmon) meetings as well as online discussion boards such as ifish.net (e.g. http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?p=2639973), the number of first time and returning visitors to the tuna-oriented webpage increased significantly. As NVS evolved to include stakeholder specific applications the NVS Tuna Fishers application was released as part of NVS 3.0 in March 2013. This application included the static figures described above as well as figures showing 1, 3 and 8-day mean MODIS SST and chlorophyll fields. In addition, the Tuna Fishers application included SST forecast fields overlaid on a Google map thus allowing users to ability to zoom into and explore regions of interest. NANOOS regularly engages with the PNW fishing community to continually improve and enhance usability of the NVS Tuna Fish app.

Shellfish Growers

The Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve approached NANOOS in 2004 hoping to collaborate on developing a website that would serve water quality data of interest to shellfish growers. The resulting website was based on direct input from the growers regarding how to best present the data, such as temperature in degrees Fahrenheit and different temporal views (e.g., 24 hours, 3 days, 14 days) to visualize particular conditions, patterns or trends.

NVS Shellfish Growers: Aragonite saturation  near the surface as observed at the PCSGA Bay Port mooring in Willapa Bay and forecast overlay from the UW LiveOcean model.

As the Shellfish Growers website was transitioned to NVS in 2013, a meeting was held that included a small focus group of 6-8 growers, the lead NVS software developer, outreach staff, and the NANOOS director. The objective of the meeting was to hear what features and information the growers wanted included in the NVS Shellfish Growers application and to demonstrate NVS functionality. This meeting resulted in NANOOS staff learning, for example, that regional airport rainfall data is important to growers because non-point storm water runoff can carry bacteria to shorelines, which in turn can result in hatchery closures. With the increasing awareness of the impacts ocean acidification is having on shellfish growers, near real-time data from buoys and moorings from a host of partners and 3D modeling forecasts from a University of Washington developed LiveOcean ROMS model were incorporated. Adding the forecast information to the Shellfish Growers application resulted in a more complex user experience. Growers therefore requested guidance on features they may not have discovered on their own. This resulted in a slideshow guide that pops up on first use of the application and then can be consulted thereafter or turned off. Being flexible, listening to user feedback, and a willingness to change original designs resulted in an improved application that specifically meets shellfish grower needs. 

NVS Boaters: The interactive map allows users to plot, ave and download routes in NVS, and view current conditions and forecasts in the region.

In 2014, NANOOS released a new web app targeting the recreational boater community. The NVS Boaters application, designed expressly for boaters, provides access to observed data and forecasted overlays that members of regional recreational organization have identified as crucial to safe navigation. This includes data from in situ HF radar for surface currents, XTide tide predictions and NOAA Tide Tables, a suite of forecast overlays (e.g., air temperature, pressure, humidity, waves and winds), and markers depicting the locations of marinas with detailed information, and dynamic NOAA Nautical Charts. Regular engagement with local boating communities has resulted in a number of enhancements to the NVS Boaters app.

In an effort to foster ocean literacy in the Pacific Northwest, NANOOS offers a number of informative and educational resources. These include ecosystem "theme" pages on ocean acidification, harmful algal blooms, and coastal and estuarine hypoxia.

NANOOS also offers a variety of lesson plans for educators interested in utiliizing regional ocean data in the classroom.

The NANOOS Education online pages provide a number of resources for educators.