In a Press Release on August 19, NOAA announced its new Southeast U.S. Marine Weather website.  It reads:

NOAA has launched a one-stop Southeast Marine Weather Internet portal offering marine weather forecasts and real-time coastal wind and water condition information for the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

The portal is the result of a two-year, $579,546 NOAA-funded project implemented within the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association, through the University of North Carolina/Wilmington. The portal is an experimental product developed in cooperation with NOAA’s National Weather Service and the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).

“The goal is to supply people with everything they might need to know to make the smartest decisions,” said Zdenka Willis, NOAA IOOS Program director. “Easier access to timely and useful water, weather and climate information will save lives, property and resources.”

The portal is part of IOOS, a tool for tracking, predicting, managing and adapting to changes in the marine environment. IOOS delivers data and information needed to increase understanding of the nation’s waters to improve safety, enhance the economy and protect the environment.

”The Southeast Marine Weather Portal has been developed with the end user – the mariner, sailor, surfer, beachgoer – in mind,” said Jennifer Dorton, program coordinator with the Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program at UNC Wilmington. “The portal provides the information they need to make safe and informed decisions before going out on the water or to the beach.”

For more real time weather charts and forecasts, check out gCaptain’s weather portal in our Tools page HERE.

]]> http://gcaptain.com/new-from-noaa-southeast-us-marine-weather-website/?2077/feed/ 0 http://gcaptain.com/arctic-map-shows-potential-hotspots-for-dispute/?1917 http://gcaptain.com/arctic-map-shows-potential-hotspots-for-dispute/?1917#comments Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:01:23 +0000 Mike Schuler http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/?p=1917

UK’s International Boundary Research Unit from the University of Durham has released a detailed map showing maritime jurisdiction and boundaries for the Arctic Region’s surrounding nations.  The map details all known claims and agreed boundaries, plus potential hotspots that could spark disputes over oil and gas deposits in the future.

This all comes following the uproar caused one year ago when a Russian sub planted its national flag on the seabed of the North Pole.

The arctic region is estimated to hold nearly 1/5th of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves and with warmer climates and the melting of polar ice, scientists are able to further explore the region.  This region is now considered a potential area for development, not a hypothetical one, for the oil and gas industry.

Check out Durham’s University website and download the PDF HERE.

Also check out this article from BBC News HERE