NOAA Launches PORTS® at Gulfport, Mississippi 

On June 21, NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) celebrated the installation in Gulfport, Miss., of its 16th Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System® (PORTS®).  Gulfport is the third-busiest U.S. container port in the Gulf of Mexico.  In 2006, it handled more than 1.6 million tons of cargo and shipped 198,000 containers. 

A dedication ceremony was held for the local user community with the Mississippi State Port Authority in downtown Gulfport, Miss., followed by a reception and tug boat tour to demonstrate PORTS® capabilities.  Senator Thad Cochran and NOAA Deputy Under Secretary Mary Glackin were among the dignitaries in attendance.

Senator Cochran spoke highly of the real-time aspect of PORTS®.  He said, “The real-time oceanographic and meteorological information provided by PORTS® will not only provide commercial and recreational mariners with reliable navigational information for safe and efficient travel, but will also enhance local weather and coastal marine forecasting. I am proud to have this important technology located in the Port of Gulfport.”

PORTS® are near-shore ocean observing systems that provide accurate oceanographic and meteorological data to mariners, significantly reducing the risk of vessel groundings and increasing the amount of cargo that can move safely through a port.  An additional four U.S. PORTS® locations are planned to be operational by 2009, for a total of 20 PORTS® installations nationwide.  PORTS® measures, integrates, and disseminates real-time observations of currents, water and air temperature, barometric pressure, and wind speed, direction, and gusts.  PORTS® data are available online at http://www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ports.

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