Collaborative observational and operational oceanography to improve 2015 and 2016 Loop Current forecasting in the Gulf of Mexico

Shell Exploration & Production Company is working with academic, non-profit, and federal stakeholders in the Gulf of Mexico to develop and implement long term environmental offshore monitoring programs. One such program uses autonomous underwater gliders to collect near real-time oceanographic data for enhancing the understanding of the offshore physical environment, specifically the Loop Current and its eddies, to better model and predict real-time conditions to support oil and gas operations and improve hurricane and storm models. Through a Memorandum of Agreement in 2008 between Shell and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this partnership leverages the strengths of each collaborator to build a comprehensive and sustainable data collection program to better assess environmental conditions and assure the safety of Shell's operations and people in the Gulf of Mexico. In this paper, we focus on the extreme 2015 physical environment and data collected during this year, the 2016 mission planning, and public-private partnership model benefits to expanding regional ocean observing capacity in the Gulf of Mexico.