A NOPP funded programme to develop a real–time observational network on the continental shelf offshore of South Carolina and Georgia. The network consists of eight large offshore platforms – currently operated by the U.S. Navy for flight training – being instrumented to provide a range of oceanographic and meteorological observations on a continuous, real–time basis. The grid covers an area of 155 km by 50 km and a depth range from 25 to 45 m, with an existing communcations system allowing high bandwidth, real–time data transmission to shore.