Progress of SEACOOS as a prototype U.S. regional coastal ocean observing system

The Development Plan for the coastal component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) calls for the "national backbone" to be augmented by regional coastal ocean observing systems (RCOOS). SEACOOS is an academically based pilot RCOOS for a four-state region in the Southeastern U.S. (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida). An interdisciplinary, science-based approach integrates functional subsystems within SEACOOS (observing, modeling, information management, education/extension). A phased implementation plan links key user applications to the coastal ocean processes that are addressed as the regional and national systems mature. In addition, SEACOOS provides a test bed for pre-operational evaluation of COOS components in each of the functional subsystem areas. The initial phases of implementation emphasize coastal ocean circulation and related applications (including fisheries/ecosystems and search/rescue) and applications related to surface waves and storm surge. We summarize the development of SEACOOS, noting in particular accomplishments in aggregating information from diverse sources and the variety of mechanisms to support this function. We also discuss challenges faced in coordinating a distributed observing system.