Coastal Ocean Monitoring Center, National Cheng Kung University (COMC, NCKU)
Introduction
Coastal Ocean Monitoring Center (COMC) is an independent research center established under National Cheng Kung University (NCKU). As Taiwan is an island nation surrounded by the sea, activities such as navigation safety, harbor construction, fisheries and aquaculture, coastal protection, disaster prevention, and marine recreation are all closely related to the ocean. Reliable, long-term, and high-quality oceanographic and meteorological information is essential to ensure safety in these activities. In particular, Taiwan frequently experiences typhoons during summer, and with the growing impacts of global climate change, abnormal ocean conditions occur more often. Therefore, accurate ocean observations and forecasts have become one of the most crucial tasks for Taiwan’s marine operations.
COMC assists the government in establishing a national ocean environmental monitoring network and expanding the country’s oceanographic and hydrological database to serve as a foundation for marine development and policy planning. Currently, the COMC is commissioned by agencies such as the Water Resources Agency (WRA), the Central Weather Administration (CWA), and the Tourism Administration, to conduct marine environmental monitoring. Through 24-hour observation of waves, tides, currents, and coastal meteorological conditions around Taiwan, COMC provides data that are widely applied to coastal disaster prevention, marine weather forecasting, maritime rescue operations, safety information for marine activities, and fisheries and aquaculture management.
Mission
- Establish technical research and development teams to design and enhance modern, operational oceanographic observation systems.
- Operate coastal and ocean observation networks to strengthen nearshore monitoring and expand the national oceanographic database.
- Develop marine forecasting technologies and integrate real-time observations to improve prediction accuracy.
- Provide operational oceanographic observation and forecasting services to government agencies, industries, and the public.
Development and Vision
Since its founding in 1998, the Coastal Ocean Monitoring Center has established over 40 oceanographic and meteorological stations around Taiwan’s surrounding waters, including data buoys, next-generation tide gauges, coastal meteorological stations, radar sites, and video monitoring stations-roughly half located in the Pacific Ocean and half within the Taiwan Strait. The COMC has accumulated billions of observation records, developed over 25 patented technologies, published more than 200 scientific papers, and executes over 15 research projects annually.
In recent years, the COMC has focused on continuously enhancing oceanographic and meteorological observation and forecasting technologies. The COMC is committed to further advancing observation modernization, aligning with national marine policies, and integrating the strengths of government agencies and domestic academic institutions. COMC aims to develop cutting-edge observation systems, pragmatically promote the development of automated ocean observation in Taiwan, and provide higher-quality information services. At the same time, COMC will continue to expand international cooperation, support the development of Taiwan’s marine industries and observation technologies, and align with national marine policies and industrial needs-offering comprehensive observation and research services to advance Taiwan’s overall capability in marine environmental monitoring.