Ocean Monitoring and Prediction Network for the Sustainable Development of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean

Abstract

The need to understand and forecast disasters driven by anthropogenic and natural forces in the Gulf of Mexico and to support management responses to hazardous events led policymakers, scientists, and industry representatives in Mexico to launch an ocean observation and modeling project (2015–2023) aimed at collecting multi-layered baseline information and continuous monitoring of the ocean environment across the southern Gulf of Mexico. The observational network and modeling efforts, led by the Consorcio de Investigación del Golfo de México (Research Consortium for the Gulf of Mexico, CIGoM), include developing a marine hazard warning system to investigate multiple stressors that are altering the state and health of this large marine ecosystem and its coastal communities. This warning system is intended to aid in the establishment of national contingency plans and mitigate the impacts of extreme events and long-term ocean trends. Stressors include hydrocarbon spills, tropical cyclones, marine heatwaves, long-term ocean surface warming, harmful algal blooms, and massive Sargassum landings.