WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate has passed legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) or S.1886.
The bill was originally approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in December of 2015.
“I am pleased that the Senate took on this proposal, working to improve weather forecasting, energy siting and production, and marine navigation safety,” said Sen. Roger Wicker. “This program not only benefits Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, but it also plays a role in our national defense, search-and-rescue operations, and marine commerce impacting efforts to conduct critical scientific studies.”
The IOOS was first written in 2009 by the “Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing Act.” The program is a partnership of 17 federal agencies and 11 regional associations. It allows for scientists to obtain critical information about the nations coastline, oceans, and even Great Lakes.
There are ocean modeling teams based at Stennis, which consists of the Navy, the GCOOS-RA, University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University, NOAA and several others. These entities develop physical and ecosystem models for the Gulf.
