Federal grant funds ocean monitoring system, WABI reports
WABI (Channel 5) reported the University of Maine recently was awarded a $795,000 grant from the federal government for a buoy and high frequency radar operation to add to their ocean monitoring and studying programs. UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences has been working on a real-time ocean observing system in the Gulf of Maine, WABI reported. Sea condition data collected with the buoy is used by many workers in the state, including lobstermen and aquaculture farmers, mariners, and the U.S. Coast Guard, according to the report. UMaine, which partnered with the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems, is constantly innovating new ways to use the system and incorporate more data. U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin joined more than a dozen officials for a tour by sea of the buoy system after announcing the grant in a news release. The Ellsworth American covered the tour.