Virgin Islands mariners - both commercial and recreational
- are invited to familiarize themselves with the tools and services
of the Caribbean Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing System
(CarICOOS) at a training workshop at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March
10, at the MacLean Marine Science Center on the St. Thomas campus
of the University of the Virgin Islands.
The workshop is designed to provide training in the skilled use
of ocean observing tools offered by CariCOOS to local users -
including navigators, pilots, and persons involved in search and
rescue or in marine enforcement. Services and tools offered by
CarICOOS include web displays of marine data, databases, links to
satellite-derived data, and wind and current models of the Virgin
Islands region. Other data and information sources will also be
covered at the session. The presenters are Dr. Jorge Corredor and
Prof. Julio Morell, CarICOOS co-principal investigators from the
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez.
CarICOOS is the the observing arm of the Caribbean Regional
Association for Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing (CaRA). It is
funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) which is designed to provide the nation with an improved
understanding of climate and ecosystems. Overall goals of the
system include sustaining living marine resources, improving public
health and safety by reducing the impact of natural hazards and
environmental change, and supporting marine commerce and
transportation. Visit the CaRA web site at http://cara.uprm.edu.
For more information on the local training, contact Dr. Nasseer
Idrisi, acting director UVI's Center for Marine and Environmental
Studies at nidris@uvi.edu or call (340) 693-1380.
Individuals who would like to participate are asked to register by
calling Charmaine Joseph at (340) 693-1380 or sending a email to
Roy Watlington at rwatlington@caricoos.org.