CCBOM ~ The Center for
Chesapeake Bay Observation and Modeling

The Center for Chesapeake Bay Observation and Modeling (CCBOM) is a multidisciplinary education and research center being formed at the U.S. Naval Academy by faculty members in four academic departments: Oceanography, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering.

This new center has two main objectives:

Objective 1: to unite the capabilities of the Naval Academy faculty, students, staff, and facilities to support the Chesapeake Bay Observing System (CBOS), a NOAA-funded initiative to better understand oceanographic conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. The CBOS program presently has three institutional participants, including the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, and old Dominion University. With the creation of the CCBOM, the Naval Academy seeks to be a fourth contributing institution in this regional research effort.

Objective 2: to enhance the research opportunities for Naval Academy Midshipmen and faculty interested in oceanographic research. Faculty members in each of the above academic departments have expertise in oceanographic research, yet they have not previously joined resources in multidisciplinary research efforts. Likewise, each department offers research opportunities to their brightest students, yet Midshipmen have not worked collaboratively across the disciplines.

With the formation of the CCBOM, we hope to develop a focused research capability at the Naval Academy that can combine both experimental and simulation capabilities to enhance the education of Midshipmen and the understanding of the Chesapeake Bay marine environment.