Gulf of Mexico
Horizon Marine’s EddyWatch® program is a unique monitoring and forecasting service for offshore operators in the Gulf of Mexico. The program concentrates on the location and migration of strong ocean currents that are characteristic of the Loop Current and associated eddies, particularly in deepwater lease blocks across the northern Gulf. This service, which has been successfully conducted for over 22 years, provides the most accurate and extensive real-time information available regarding velocities and extent of currents affecting offshore operations. Improved forecasting methods enable more accurate predictions of Loop Current/eddy interaction with offshore operations.
Such information is vital to planning, safety, and efficiency. The effects of strong ocean currents can include damage to equipment and the inability to conduct operations resulting in costly downtime. With accurate forecasts, operators are able to conduct sensitive operations during low current windows. EddyWatch® subscribers can be confident that their decisions are made based on a knowledge of on-site and impending environmental factors.
EddyWatch® data is compiled from a variety of sources to provide real-time monitoring of significant Loop Current and eddy activity. The primary source of information for EddyWatch® is our own extensive array of oceanographic satellite-tracked drifting buoys. Drogued to drift with the upper ocean currents, they are deployed in locations where they best serve the needs of our subscribers. Analysis of drifter tracks for current speed and direction assists in mapping major ocean phenomena such as the Loop Current, warm and cold eddies, and fronts. Drifters in eddies provide valuable information on configuration, orientation of axes, rotation, migration, speed and direction, and current velocities.
Weekly analyses are comprised of the following:
- Charts showing the present position of the Loop Current, anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies, drift buoy tracks, and subscribers’ drilling sites; a brief executive summary
- Detailed narrative of conditions and current velocities
- Brief summaries of activity in each lease area
- Forecast model defining eddy boundaries, rate of rotation, swirl velocity, and eddy translation
- Tables summarizing weekly buoy activity
- Satellite-derived sea surface temperature and height charts
- Loop Current and/or eddy progression figures
- Public domain data (i.e., other buoys, ADCP measurements, oceanographic surveys)
- Ship survey data.
Reports are emailed every Thursday to participating companies. Updates are also sent on Mondays or daily during significant eddy events. Reports and updates posted on Horizon’s website can be accessed with an assigned username and password. Subscribers are also advised by email or telephone any time important events threaten their sites.
Mapper
Horizon’s EddyWatch® Mapper provides interactive online access to numerous EddyWatch® data streams including Far Horizon Drifters (FHDs), AVHRR imagery, ADCP data, and the Eddy Forecast model. The mapper, which runs within a web browser, does not require any plug-ins or downloads, is accessible from any networked PC, and provides easy real-time tracking of offshore assets.
EddyWatch® data is compiled from a variety of sources to provide real-time monitoring of significant Loop Current and eddy activity. The primary source of information for EddyWatch® is our own extensive array of oceanographic satellite-tracked drifting buoys. Drogued to drift with the upper ocean currents, they are deployed in locations where they best serve the needs of our subscribers. Analysis of drifter tracks for current speed and direction assists in mapping major ocean phenomena such as the Loop Current, warm and cold eddies, and fronts. Drifters in eddies provide valuable information on configuration, orientation of axes, rotation, migration, speed and direction, and current velocities.
EddyNet
Horizon operates EddyNet, a data assembly center which supports the network providing real-time ocean current profiles collected from drilling rigs, oceanographic survey vessels, and production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Satellite Imagery
Satellite imagery has been an integral monitoring component of EddyWatch® since the inception of the program in 1984. Infrared sensors aboard NOAA polar orbiting satellites detect variations in thermal radiation from both land and ocean masses during periods of clear weather. These are viewed as either black and white or color-enhanced images. Analysis of satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) images aids in detecting and monitoring the Loop Current and associated eddies. Horizon makes extensive use of SST imagery derived from data collected by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). An advantage of the GOES data is that we can “see through” many of the clouds by compositing all the images collected in a single night. We also examine thermal and color imagery from all NOAA polar orbiters including AVHRR and MODIS.
