The Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Alabama Real-Time Coastal Observing System (ARCOS) has gotten some fresh new updates. As you prepare to head out on coastal Alabama waters, you can now check current weather conditions across Mobile Bay easily on your smart phone with the new ARCOS app. Available for free download on both iOS and Android, the app is an excellent tool for anyone who works or plays on the water to make informed and safe boating decisions.
ARCOS provides up-to-date information on wind speed and direction, air and water temperature right from your smartphone. Anglers may also enjoy the information on salinity, oxygen levels, and tides, to help pick the best spot for your favorite fish.
In 2022, DISL launched a new website with easy-to-use maps making it easier to see real-time conditions across coastal Mobile and Baldwin Counties and in Mobile Bay. Since then, the Sea Lab’s been hard at work to bring even more information, and in the palm of your hand, to keep you safe on and around the water. New updates include providing the 3-day National Weather Center forecast, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tide predictions for Dauphin Island (the home of DISL and ARCOS), a new station at the Gulf State Park Pier and even more recently wave measurements from a Sofar Spotter buoy deployed just off the coast of Dauphin Island.
The new Sofar Spotter buoy measures wave height, wave direction, surface temperature, and water pressure. In addition to providing sea-state conditions at the mouth of Mobile Bay, the data from the buoy will enhance our understanding of the wave climate, improving rip current prediction and the safety of marine operations. The Sofar Spotter buoy was made possible with support from the Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS).
“ARCOS is an excellent example of how DISL takes data collected for scientific research purposes and then repackages it for consumers’ use. In this instance, we want to help the local community make informed and safe decisions for boating. In the last year, our coastal community has faced several water-related tragedies and DISL felt sharing our scientific data in a user-friendly format could help save lives if boaters have a real-time picture of water conditions before they go out,” says DISL Executive Director John Valentine.
The Dauphin Island Sea Lab operates and maintains weather stations that support safety, research, and environmental awareness along Alabama’s coast.
Download the ARCOS app now on iOS and Android. Learn more at disl.edu/arcos
ARCOS is maintained [in part] with federal funding for the Alabama Center of Excellence at the MESC/Dauphin Island Sea Lab through the Department of the Treasury and from the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act) in cooperation with the State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources under the Center of Excellence Program.