Abstract
The Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science (CBI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi operates the
Texas Coastal Ocean Observation Network (TCOON.) The network collects near real-time physical oceanographic data
at 31 coastal stations along the Texas coast. The data includes water level, wind speed & direction, barometric pressure,
water temperature, and air temperature from stations placed in bays and estuaries along the Texas coast. TCOON
provides this critical data to many users, including those in the commercial shipping industry, marine construction, legal
water-land boundaries, recreational boaters, and those responsible for marine safety and emergency evacuation in the
event of a hurricane. Data sets are available in near real time via the Internet and some sets are accessible via voice over
the telephone. All data collected since 1991 is available online along with data search tools. TCOON sponsors and
developers believe that the more users and uses the system supports, the more valuable the data becomes. The highest
scientific standards are used in collection the data as the data often ends up in litigation in the courts. Database software
and the online tools used for data downloads are also open source.
