Coastal Ocean Observing Systems

Dr. Yonggang Liu is a physical oceanographer expertized in coastal ocean circulation patterns, dynamics, and interactions, previously in the Asian Marginal Seas & the Northeast Pacific coasts, and presently in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (West Florida Shelf). He diagnoses ocean processes by integrating various types of oceanographic data obtained from coastal ocean observing systems, satellites, and numerical models, and develops and applies novel data analysis methods in meteorology and oceanography. He is also interested in applying oceanography to environmental issues of societal importance, such as modelling the trajectories of the Deep water Horizon oil spill and the red tide.

Heather Kerkering is the Director of the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS), overseeing operations of the largest region in the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Ms. Kerkering holds a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University and a B.A. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia. In 2005, she launched the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. In her decade with ocean observing systems, she has participated in numerous regional, national, and international initiatives. She has been an active Board member of the IOOS Association since 2005.

Dr. Robert H. Weisberg is a physical oceanographer engaged in ocean circulation and ocean atmosphere interaction studies in the tropics, on continental shelves, and in estuaries. His research presently emphasizes the West Florida Shelf and the interactions that occur between the shelf and the deep ocean and between the shelf and the estuaries. Through his Ocean Circulation Group he maintains a coordinated program of real-time, in-situ measurements, analyses, and numerical circulation models aimed at describing and understanding the processes that determine WFS water properties. Applications include harmful algal blooms, fisheries, hurricane storm surge, waves and other topics of societal concern, most recently the tracking of oil spilled from the Deep water Horizon well.