NEWARK — With the goal of providing improved access to oceanographic data for maritime industries, government agencies, researchers and members of the public, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System and Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean have signed a memorandum of understanding.

The MOU formalizes a partnership between MARACOOS, which offers real-time information on ocean and meteorological conditions through its OceansMap, and MARCO, which offers map products that support long-term regional ocean planning through its Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal.

It also commits MARACOOS and MARCO to continue co-coordinating the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Acidification Network, a consortium of public and private sector scientists and industry representatives that is exploring the implications of increasing acid levels in the region’s ocean waters and estuaries and what steps communities and industries can take to prepare and adapt.

The OceansMap (oceansmap.maracoos.org) and Portal (portal.midatlanticocean.org) are free and publicly accessible geographic information system mapping tools focused on ocean areas and estuaries from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras.

Users can consult the OceansMap around the clock for the latest observations and predictions for wind speeds, wave heights, water temperatures, currents and more. The Portal contains more than 5,000 interactive maps depicting offshore wind areas, commercial fishing grounds, shipping traffic concentrations, marine life habitats and more.