New Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System wave buoy deployed in Maui

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Melissa M. Iwamoto, (808) 956-6556
PacIOOS Outreach and Program Coordinator, SOEST
Posted: Dec 8, 2011

Wave buoy in Hawaiian waters
Wave buoy in Hawaiian waters
On December 3, 2011, the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) deployed a new Datawell Mark II Waverider Buoy in 700 feet of Maui’s coastal waters just north of Kahului.  Dr. Mark Merrifield, UH Mānoa Professor of Oceanography and PacIOOS lead for wave and water level measurements, and his team organized the buoy deployment.  PacIOOS is a program led by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.
 
According to PacIOOS Director Chris Ostrander, this location was chosen in response to multiple stakeholder requests and aims “primarily to provide information to recreational and commercial mariners who use Kahului harbor and transit the waters north of Maui.  Also, it is so close to the well-known Peahi surf break that the information will be helpful in refining forecasts of wave height for big wave surf events.” 
 
The buoy in the Pauwela ahupua’a joins PacIOOS’ existing network of six real-time wave buoys in Hawaiʻi, Guam, and the Marshall Islands to provide streaming data on wave height, direction, period, and water temperature to the PacIOOS website (www.pacioos.org), to the Coastal Data Information Program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (http://cdip.ucsd.edu) and via Twitter @buoy51205.  
 
This buoy will help to inform safe transit entering and exiting Kahului Harbor, provide real-time data to recreational ocean users (e.g., surfers, sailors, paddlers), and provide critical information for coastal hazard and low-lying inundation forecasts for north-facing shores. 
 
PacIOOS is the Pacific Islands regional component of the United States Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). The mission of PacIOOS is to provide timely, reliable, and accurate information on the open and coastal ocean waters of the Pacific Islands to ensure a healthy, clean, productive ocean and resilient coastal zone.  
 
For more information on PacIOOS or to become a partner, visit www.pacioos.org or contact Chris Ostrander at chriso@hawaii.edu.

For more information, visit: www.pacioos.org