Which IOOS Regional Association Covers My Area?

Updated

IOOS is organized into 11 regional associations, each covering a defined stretch of U.S. ocean, coast, or Great Lakes territory. To find yours, match your location to the list below or use the IOOS Region Map on ioos.noaa.gov. Each regional association runs its own data portal, so once you identify your region, that portal is where you go for local observations.

The 11 IOOS Regional Associations

Region Association Abbreviation
Alaska Alaska Ocean Observing System AOOS
Caribbean Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System CARICOOS
Central and Northern California Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System CeNCOOS
Great Lakes Great Lakes Observing System GLOS
Gulf of America Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System GCOOS
Mid-Atlantic Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System MARACOOS
Northeast Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems NERACOOS
Pacific Islands Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System PacIOOS
Pacific Northwest Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems NANOOS
Southeast Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association SECOORA
Southern California Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System SCCOOS

How to Confirm Your Region

  1. Go to the IOOS Region Map on ioos.noaa.gov (listed under the Regions section).
  2. Locate your state or coastal area on the map.
  3. Note the regional association name shown for that area.
  4. Follow that association's link to reach its regional data portal.

If your location sits near a boundary between two regions, check both portals — coverage can overlap along coastlines, and one may carry the specific sensor or dataset you need.

What Each Regional Portal Gives You

Regional associations provide localized observing data and portals rather than a single national feed. Depending on the region, this can include buoy and glider measurements, HF radar surface currents, harmful algal bloom tracking, and coastal and ocean modeling outputs. The national IOOS Data Access page and the Environmental Sensor Map aggregate across regions, but the regional portal is typically the most direct route to area-specific observations.

Quick Reference by Location

  • Alaska → AOOS
  • Puerto Rico / U.S. Virgin Islands → CARICOOS
  • San Francisco to the Oregon border → CeNCOOS
  • Great Lakes states → GLOS
  • Gulf Coast (Texas to Florida panhandle) → GCOOS
  • New York to Virginia → MARACOOS
  • Maine to Connecticut → NERACOOS
  • Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and other Pacific islands → PacIOOS
  • Washington and Oregon coasts → NANOOS
  • North Carolina to Florida east coast → SECOORA
  • Southern California coast → SCCOOS

For current system status, the IOOS homepage notes the overall system status as NORMAL and directs users to ioos.us and the Environmental Sensor Map to check individual assets.