‍‍The Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) sit in one of the most cyclone-exposed regions on the planet. For decades, coastal management on Saipan has been shaped by limited nearshore data, and offshore government buoys couldn't capture what was happening along the island's leeward coast.

Watch Sofar Ocean and Robbie Greene, Associate Director at Pacific Coastal Research & Planning (PCRP), to learn how his team deployed Spotter buoys from traditional Chamorro Proas and Carolinian canoes, captured the direct passage of Super Typhoon Sinlaku at 922 mb, and what that data means for coastal resilience in the region.

What we covered:

• How a small island community built one of the first locally stewarded ocean observing networks in CNMI and what it took to get there
• The  partners who made the deployment possible
• What the data the Spotter captured during Super Typhoon Sinlaku revealed that no other instrument on the island could
• Why community ownership of data infrastructure matters more than most programs acknowledge
• What comes next for coastal resilience in the Northern Mariana Islands

Curious about deploying Spotter in your region? Explore the Spotter Configurator or connect with our team.