Why Knowing the Currents Matters, From Docking Ships to Oil Spills

Every ship that docks in a busy harbor is working against water that is moving. Knowing the speed and direction of that movement — now, and in the hours ahead — is what lets the job be done safely. Current data is critical to safe and efficient shipping, and it reaches well beyond it.

Oceanographers use a variety of tools, including buoys, to measure the speed and direction of currents. Credit: NOAA.

Moving ships safely

With predicted, real-time and forecast currents, crews can dock and undock ships, maneuver them through confined waterways and navigate coastal waters safely. Good current information helps prevent collisions — and the delays in getting goods where they are going.

Beyond shipping

• Search and rescue. Knowing how fast and in which direction the water is moving helps searchers narrow the area where they look.
• Environmental disasters. Current predictions help scientists follow the direction and movement of spilled oil, and clean it up.
• Engineering. Engineers use current information to build marine structures such as bridges, docks and piers.

Feeding the forecasts

Current observations are also used to develop and test the coastal nowcast and forecast models that NOAA provides online — so each measurement improves the predictions everyone else relies on.

Sources

Based on "Why is data on currents important?" from NOAA's National Ocean Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.