IOOS - Search and Rescue

IOOS has deployed state-of-the-art technology that aids search and rescue crews in mapping the probable path of people lost at sea. The technology is called High Frequency (HF) radar. These radar systems can track ocean current speed and direction in near real time. Knowing how currents will move objects in the water is literally saving lives, taxpayer dollars, and reducing environmental impacts.

Tracking how objects will travel means search and rescue crews can better predict where people or survivor craft may be. Combing less area reduces search time and increases the chance of getting to a victim sooner. Ship pilots then use data from other IOOS sources -- such as water levels, winds, and currents -- to safely transport those rescued.

The IOOS Mid-Atlantic region has installed 41 high frequency radar systems between Massachusetts and North Carolina. The region then became the first IOOS entity to officially transmit surface current data into a 24-hour forecast of tides and currents, produced by the Northeast region of IOOS at the University of Connecticut. The U.S. Coast Guard uses this forecast system and the agency concluded it could save 50 extra lives per year if other regions did the same. Since this pilot effort in the Mid-Atlantic, the Coast Guard has incorporated IOOS HF radar data and forecasts into search and rescue systems everywhere within the IOOS HF radar coverage area.