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River Science: AMVER SEAS

This Voyage of Discovery marks the launch of the Half Moon participation in the AMVER and SEAS programs.

AMVER (Automated Mutual-assistance VEssel Rescue system) is a voluntary tracking system, operated cooperatively by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the U.S. Coast Guard, used to locate and rescue sea-going vessels in distress. SEAS (Shipboard Environmental data Acquisition System), also operated by NOAA, is a network of volunteer observers who report local weather patterns to form a collective, world-wide database of weather evaluation data. We on the Half Moon have now joined that network, submitting weather reports (including air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation, and cloud cover) to NOAA through their automated system.

We collect this data by incorporating it into our Deck Log reports. On this voyage, Mr. Burmester is the senior crew member ultimately in charge of collecting this data. He trains teams of students to gather data, supplements their findings with his own, and then submits regular reports using the AMVER SEAS software.

With the this program, our environmental observations on board the Half Moon now have direct, real-world results, adding to a broad and detailed weather reporting system used by thousands of ships at sea.

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