MARCH 17, 2017--OR&R representatives visited the National Water Center on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa on March 16.

Scott Lundgren and Adam Davis of the Emergency Response Division met with National Water Center representatives to learn about the current and future role of the center, discuss changing demands for OR&R services in the inland zone associated with an increase in maritime transport of oil in the western river system, and discuss areas of common interest. OR&R oceanographers joined remotely to learn more about the National Weather Service Office of Water Prediction, the National Water Center and National Water Model. OR&R presented on the office role, the General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment (GNOME), and the latter's ingestion of water model prediction as part of the OR&R's oil and chemical transport and fate prediction role. Scott and Adam also met briefly with the three other National Ocean Service employees based at the National Water Center from the National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Services . This Tuscaloosa visit capitalized on an existing OR&R leadership meeting in Alabama at the Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center in Mobile earlier in the week. The OR&R reps also received a tour of the capable National Water Center; this globally unique facility was constructed to enable NOAA, in partnership with other federal agencies, to deliver a new generation of water information and services to the nation for floods, droughts, and other water related disasters to support decisions at the local, state, and national levels complementing existing Regional River Forecast Centers. The presentation on OR&R and spill modeling is available for download within NOAA or by request. For more information, please contact Scott.Lundgren@noaa.gov. Go back to OR&R Weekly Report.