About Us

The U.S. is developing its component of a global Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). The overall system will coordinate the acquisition and dissemination of data and information on the past, present and future states of the ocean on many spatial scales. The coastal component of the U.S. IOOS is composed of an integrated network of Regional Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (RCOOS); each designed to address the particular needs of local users. The development of each RCOOS will be the responsibility of its Regional Association.
The Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (MACOORA), led by Dr. Carolyn Thoroughgood (University of Delaware), has been established, identifying a diverse set of potential users in the process. The MACOORA RCOOS (called MARCOOS), will span the coastal ocean region between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras. But the region is complex and thus, for practical reasons, has been subdivided into five overlapping sub-regions, including ours - the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Bays and Shelf (MARIBS). MARIBS - a confederation of interested ocean observing system builders and users - has begun to define itself through an initial pair of workshops (click on Meetings, Workshops and Reports to view the workshop-related information).