Tampa Bay Oceanography Project: 1990-1991

The National Ocean Service (NOS) planned and conducted the Tampa Bay Oceanography Project (TOP) in response to mariners’ observations that NOAA’s tide and current predictions did not reflect actual conditions experienced at certain locations in the Bay. The results of a preliminary project to evaluate the quality of the existing predictions confirmed that improved information was required. A detailed physical oceanographic field study was conducted in Tampa Bay and the adjacent Florida shelf from May 1990 to October 1991. The physical oceanographic and meteorological properties that were measured include: currents, water levels, water temperature, salinity, conductivity, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric pressure. These measurements were used in the calibration and validation of the 3-dimensional numerical circulation model and in revising the NOAA Tide and Tidal Current Tables. Another major component of TOP was the establishment of the Nation’s first fully integrated physical oceanographic real-time system (PORTS), which includes information on currents, water levels, bottom temperature, and winds at critical locations. 1992 NOS (National Ocean Service) Library Public Domain 1936