With support from the NOAA Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaboration Team, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) partnered for a collaborative response exercise with the Real-Time Currents and Meteorological Buoys (affectionately known as CURBY). The buoys are a NOAA scientific asset that can be used to support planning and operational decision-making during scientific research and emergency response. Held on July 25-26, 2022, it was a hybrid functional exercise held at the Office of Response and Restoration’s Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center in Mobile, Alabama.

Over 30 participants representing NOS and NWS, United States Coast Guard, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Alabama State Port Authority, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and APM Terminals gathered for the exercise. It included a series of informative sessions that featured the tools and data available from NOAA CO-OPS, an introduction to the CURBY system, and steps necessary for deployment, including expert guidance for environmental compliance activities. Prior to the exercise, NOAA staff with the assistance of the United States Coast Guard Sector Mobile deployed the buoy using a Coast Guard vessel. Buoy location was predetermined in partnership with APM terminals, Alabama State Port Authority, the Coast Guard, and NOAA. Following the exercise, there was also an informational session on the new Mobile Bay Marine Channels Forecast with the Mobile Bay Bar Pilots and other interested parties.