Eyes on the Hurricane

2019 RESEARCH VESSEL STUDENT ACTIVITIES

HEIDI LYNN SCULTHORPE

196 total students aboard 43 class/research/ contract work days

LITTLE HAWK

64 total students aboard 20 class/research/ contract work days

SEAHAWK

20 total students aboard 38 class/research/ contract work days

EYES ON THE HURRICANE On a late summer morning, Monmouth student Bryce McCall (in American flag helmet) hauled what looked like a 5-foot yellow torpedo aboard the research vessel Heidi Lynn Sculthorpe. The equipment was the property of the U.S. Navy and it had a mission: cruise the New York Bight throughout the hurricane season, gathering data that provided clues on how water conditions impacted the storms. The data will ultimately help improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and the safety of millions of residents living in coastal communities along the Mid-Atlantic. McCall and scientists from the UCI and Rutgers University deployed two of the remotely controlled drones 20 miles outside of New York Harbor. The apparatus soon began transmitting real-time data to researchers all over the world. Additional project partners included the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System, the Integrated Ocean Observing System, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.