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From the Director:

Hello IOOS Community,

On April 2nd, NOAA and the Department of Energy (DOE) jointly announced the winners of the DISCOVER stage of the Ocean Observing Prize (part of DOE’s American-Made Challenges series). The Ocean Observing Prize is a multistage competition designed by NOAA and DOE to seek out innovative solutions to provide power for observing platforms at sea. Eleven projects were selected for awards, with the Nautilus Grand Prize going to CalWave's xNode, a self-charging lightweight power, data, and sensor node enabling buoy. The other 10 prizes were distributed to entries in categories such as unmanned vehicles and communications/underwater navigation. 

The next stage of the competition, DEVELOP, will focus on powering unmanned systems and is expected to launch later in 2020. This joint prize between the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) at the U.S. Department of Energy and the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) program at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) seeks to develop new technologies that can help fill the data gaps making it difficult to realize the full potential of the Blue Economy.

Best wishes,
Carl

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

  • The Ocean Enterprise Study 2020 is open for business!: Your business matters, help NOAA assess the Ocean Enterprise Sector! IOOS/NOAA are requesting input from businesses who provide infrastructure or products that support or conduct ocean observation and measurement by participating in the Ocean Enterprise Study 2020.  We will use the results to help inform NOAA and the U.S. Department of Commerce about the changing needs of the Ocean Enterprise sector in a report to be published in 2021. We invite any company, large and small, working in this sector, to contribute to this important study though participation in an online survey. To find out more information or to take the survey click here. The study will deliver an update to the initial study conducted in 2015.

    • Welcome Oriana Villar! Oriana has joined the IOOS team as of Monday April 13 as the new IOOS Regional Coordinator.  She has been with NOAA for 10 years and comes to IOOS most recently from Fisheries IA. Please join us in making her feel welcome to the office and the team.

    • IOOS Advisory Committee Meeting Save the Date: The next public meeting of the IOOS Advisory Committee will be held August 4-6, 2020 in Monterey, CA. Stay tuned for more information!

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

  • Surface Current Mapping: (IOOS POC, Hugh Roarty, hugh.roarty@noaa.gov): 
    • New High Frequency Radar Deployed in Marathon, Florida: Check out the “Delivering the Benefits” section below to learn more about this new HFR deployment. 
  • Gliders (IOOS POC Bill Lingsch, bill.lingsch@noaa.gov):
    • UG2 Steering Committee Call for Nominations: In collaboration with Consortium of Ocean Leadership and IOOS program office a UG2 Steering Committee charter has been drafted and the call for nominations is out to serve as members. The overarching goal of UG2 is to establish a community that facilitates sharing and cooperation of glider missions within the areas of ocean monitoring, operational reliability, and data management.  We look forward to standing the committee up to facilitate the efforts of the community. The link for nominations and draft charter is: https://mailchi.mp/f5132dcf1df5/ug2steeringcommitteecall and POC is Bill Lingsch, bill.lingsch@noaa.gov or 228-216-1716.
    • NOAA Science Seminar Series on Hurricane Glider Research (Wednesday April 29th - 2pm to 4pm EDT): Join NOAA scientists and IOOS partners on April 29th to hear talks on key results on the link of oceans and hurricane intensification using autonomous underwater hurricane gliders. See the seminar agenda for more information and a link to the join the seminar. 
    • IOOS Regional Associations Glider Operations are making a difference!
      • SCCOOS – Dr Clarissa Anderson with Partner: Scripps Institute of Oceanography – PI – Dr. Dan Rudnick
        • Background: The California Current System (CCS) is strongly affected by climate variability generated at the equator as by El Niño. The effects of El Niño are felt across the Pacific Basin, and especially in the CCS through changes in the temperature, salinity, and current.   Recreational ocean users experience the exceptionally warm water brought by El Niño. The warm water is largely a result of reduced upwelling, which suppresses the supply of nutrient-rich water to the surface. This results in changes to ocean biota, with some species moving with the water whose conditions they favor, and other species with less ability to move being adversely affected. These changes in sea life affect the livelihood of fisherman and the general public is sensitive to the exotic species washing up on beaches and the devastation to some local species.
        • Mission: The overarching goal is to sustain baseline observations of climate variability off the coast of California.  In order to monitor these phenomena the California Underwater Glider Network (CUGN) uses Spray underwater gliders making repeated dives from the surface to 500m and back, repeating the cycle every 3 hours, and travelling 3 km in the horizontal during that time.  The glider missions typically last about 100 days, and cover over 2000 km, thus providing 4-6 sections on lines extending 300-500 km offshore. Measured variables include pressure, temperature, salinity, velocity, chlorophyll fluorescence, acoustic backscatter, and dissolved oxygen.
    • MARACOOS – Dr Gerhard Kuska with Partners: – PI: Rutgers: Dr. Scott Glenn, Dr. Travis Miles, Dr. Josh Kohut, Dr Josh Kohut, Dr Grace Saba, U Delaware: Dr Matt Oliver, VIMS: Dr Donglai Gong, UMassD: Dr. Wendell Brown
      • Background: MARACOOS leverages Teledyne Webb Slocum gliders. Standard instrument payloads include Seabird CTDs, Aanderaa oxygen optodes, and EcoPuck triplets to measure dissolved oxygen concentration and chl-a, CDOM, and backscatter fluorescence.  Other sensors that will be leveraged on selected glider deployments include ADCPs, Sequoia Scientific LISST sensor, SeaBird pH sensors, ASL AZFP (Acoustic Zooplankton) sensor, and VEMCO passive acoustic trackers.
      • Mission: Currently, through core IOOS funding, there are three funded MARACOOS glider missions for the spring and summer of 2020. In the spring, an April deployment off of VA and May deployment off of New Bedford will both focus on the development of the cold pool, and the spring phytoplankton bloom. A late summer 2020 deployment will focus on tropical cyclone development and be deployed for 90 days, flying a triangle pattern which is preferred for model assimilation. These data will also be leveraged for analyzing cold pool location/dynamics. These MARACOOS gliders compliment a larger Mid-Atlantic glider effort coordinated by multiple partners throughout the region.
    • Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Telemetry Workshop Webinar: More than 90 attendees joined our two hour Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Telemetry Workshop webinar on April 3rd convened by Dr. Matt Ogburn at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), Dr. Gerhard Kuska, Executive Director of the IOOS Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS), and Bill Woodward, Network Coordinator of the U.S. Animal Telemetry Network (ATN).   The webinar was a substitute for a two-day in-person meeting originally scheduled for Hampton, VA but postponed due to COVID-19. The attendees were, i) informed of the successful transition of leadership for the ACT (Atlantic Cooperative Telemetry) Network from Dewayne Fox (Delaware State Univ.) to Matt Ogburn (SERC), ii) provided updates on the status of the east coast U.S and Canadian acoustic telemetry networks (OTN, ACT & FACT) and the very successful linking together of their individual data nodes thus establishing  a groundbreaking and fully integrated north-to-south Atlantic East Coast acoustic telemetry tracking capability, and iii) instructed by Kim Ritchie (MATOS Data Manager) on how to create a account and project in the Mid Atlantic Telemetry Observing System (MATOS) web tool , upload data to it and use the tool for managing and viewing data. Several attendees provided status updates of their telemetry projects and receiver arrays in the region. A meeting summary with recordings of webinar presentations will be available soon on the MARACOOS website.             

Data Management and Communications (DMAC) Subsystem and Tools Built on IOOS data (DMAC listserv – contact Micah Wengren, DMAC System Architect, data.ioos@noaa.gov):

  • IOOS Catalog 1.5 Released! On April 3, the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System released the newest version of their Data Catalog, version 1.5. Updates for this version focus on improving user experience with searches and filtering of IOOS data in line with FAIR Data Principles. Notable changes include:

    • enhanced Schema.org metadata: metadata now includes a dataset’s geographic bounding box, time period coverage, download formats, and dataset license in the format recommended by Google which allows for improved searchability and filtering of IOOS data by Google Dataset Search.

    • improved keyword functionality: the Catalog now parses keywords from CF Standard Names and NASA Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) as distinct from general keywords, allowing presentation in distinct UI elements and improved filtering ability for users.

    • centralized WAF: the Catalog now provides a centralized WAF of all IOOS metadata records, enabling easier harvest into NOAA metadata management systems.

Modeling and Analysis Subsystem (IOOS PO and IOOS Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed (COMT) POC – Derrick Snowden, Derrick.Snowden@noaa.gov):   

  • Modeling and Prediction Workshop - June 2020: A Workshop on Modeling, Prediction, and Sensor Networks for Coastal Flooding in the US East Coast will be held at George Mason University in Washington, D.C. June 8-9, 2020. The goal of the workshop is to bring together several groups that are working on quantitative frameworks for monitoring and predicting coastal flooding along the coasts of the US East Coast and draft a strategy for advancing an integrated modeling system for coastal flooding that includes the ocean, atmosphere, land, and urban infrastructure components. Our ultimate goal is to map the synergies for co-designing a US East Coast Flooding Monitoring and Prediction Knowledge to Action Network (Coastal-FMAP-KAN). Please register to the workshop mailing list: https://forms.gle/hAuK6NTyvqTMArvb7

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

  • Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) (IOOS PO POC Gabrielle Canonico, Gabrielle.Canonico@noaa.gov):

    • Puerto Rico long-term corals data now available in global repositories.  Congratulations to Miguel Figuerola and the CariCOOS team on getting the Puerto Rico long-term Coral Reef Monitoring Program data aligned to the Darwin Core standard - USGS and US IOOS are happy to announce that the data are now published to the IOC/Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) (https://obis.org/dataset/52f99f08-fc90-4684-aea8-a015150968ea) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) global repositories. The compilation includes raw biological data (by transect) from reef locations around the Puerto Rican archipelago. Substrate cover by sessile-benthic categories and fish, and motile megabenthic invertebrate taxonomic composition and densities have been characterized in these stations, with variable sampling event frequencies between 1999 to 2019. 

    • IOC Ocean Best Practices: Defining Decadal Recommendations for Marine Ecosystems & Biodiversity Understanding life in the sea, including our own, is a core objective of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. It is a focal element of all the Decade’s visionary outcomes: a clean ocean, a healthy and resilient ocean, a predicted ocean, a safe ocean, a productive and sustainably harvested ocean, a transparent and accessible ocean. We are also starting the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and the post-2020 framework for the Convention of Biological Diversity is likely to include restoration. But how do we ensure that we achieve our desired outcomes? We need to plan for measurements and guide investments for observations that are consistent, scalable, comparable, and repeatable. Consistent monitoring is the lingua franca of integrated management.  Core observations focused on at least a few multidisciplinary Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) and complementary Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) will need to follow sets of best practices. This also requires active and well-coordinated capacity building efforts that link formal, informal, and professional education groups. The IOC’s Ocean Best Practices team is encouraging our community to participate in identifying these core multidisciplinary EOVs and EBVs as a critical contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science. IOOS can lead by example and provide suggestions to the IOC’s Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) through Bio-Eco panel, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), the IOC’s Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS), and the Ocean Teacher Global Academy (OTGA). IOOS is helping define a plan for archiving and curating such community best practices working through the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). Some available technologies for biological observing can be implemented now, as outlined by the SCOR Working Group 154 (https://scor-int.org/group/154/). To join this discussion contact Maury Estes (NASA,maury.estes@nsstc.uah.edu) or Frank Muller-Karger (USF/MBON,carib@usf.edu) [POC:Gabrielle.Canonico@noaa.gov]

  • NASA Launches Coral Reef Mapping Game: NASA has created a game that lets you help map the ocean's coral reefs. A new iOS game from NASA asks players to identify the coral in 3D images of the ocean floor. Doing so will help train AI to do it automatically. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Fishery Science Center (NMFS/PIFSC) is partnering with NASA's NemoNet effort, which will include sharing images from CRCP's National Coral Reef Monitoring program. Read more about this on CNET: https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-wants-gamers-to-help-it-map-the-oceans-coral-reefs/#ftag=CAD-09-10aai5b

  • NOAA HSRP virtual public meeting (April 28th 1pm EDT - webinar): The NOAA Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP) Federal Advisory Committee will have a virtual public meeting via webinar on April 28, 2020, 1pm EDT, to focus on NOAA's navigation services. The meeting agenda and additional information is available on the HSRP website (https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/hsrp.html).

    • PUBLIC COMMENTS: Public comments on the HSRP meeting topics are encouraged. Due to the condensed nature of the meeting and the limits of the webinar, you are asked to sign up in advance as possible. All comments will be shared in writing during the webinar. Comments can also be submitted in advance via letter or email. Public comments will be made into a slide, read into the public record, transcribed into the meeting transcripts, and you will be recognized during the public comment period in the agenda. Please submit comments to: hydroservices.panel@noaa.gov, Lynne.Mersfelder@noaa.gov and Virginia.Dentler@noaa.gov   

    • WEBINAR: Please register in advance now for the HSRP Public Meeting webinar below as the webinar is limited to 100 spots. Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1862145392808727819. We ask all to register in advance so we can track and make a change in advance if necessary.  

  • How to Access Data from OOI's Coastal Arrays - Easy-to-use MATLAB Data Tools: Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) data team members have developed a new toolbox for downloading data from the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) interface using MATLAB, making data access as easy as 1, 2, 3. The work expands on the existing tools available on OOI. This new toolbox covers data from moorings, gliders, and profilers in the OOI Coastal Arrays and can easily be extended to other research platforms. A video tutorial on how to use this new tool is available here: https://oceanobservatories.org/2020/04/easy-to-use-matlab-data-tools/

  • USACE Team Successfully Tests New Unmanned Autonomous Surface Vessel: A team from the U.S. Army Engineer and Development Center’s Environmental Lab visited Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, for five days in February to demonstrate a new unmanned autonomous surface vessel, or USV. In this demonstration, the team used the vessel to monitor munitions constituents such as TNT and RDX from unexploded underwater ordnance, a problem at various sites around the world. The three-meter-tall, one-and-a-half meter-long USV used was a G6 from SubSeaSail, LLC, a sailing vessel powered by the wind and solar energy. The sail is controlled without any lines, pulleys or electronics, with the servo-managed rudder constituting the only electro-mechanical component required for the USV to sail. That means the vessel requires less than one Watt of power. Read more about the demonstration here: https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/2151198/team-successfully-tests-new-unmanned-autonomous-surface-vessel/

  • New Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing (GOMO) Program Website Now Live: On April 2, 2020, NOAA Research officially announced the reorganization of NOAA labs and programs, including the elevation of the division formerly known as Ocean Observing and Monitoring (OOMD) to the new Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing (GOMO) Program! The GOMO Program website is now live: https://globalocean.noaa.gov/Please share it with your colleagues and communities.

  • National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series: Understanding the Marine Heatwaves in the Pacific Northwest with NANOOS Executive Director Jan Newton (April 24th - 3 pm Pacific / 6 pm Eastern): Join Dr. Jan Newton as she explains how marine heatwaves are influencing life in the waters off the Washington coast in the Pacific Northwest. This webinar is part of a speaker series in partnership with Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Feiro Marine Life Center, and the Peninsula College STEM Club. Register for the webinar here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5704851671004668942. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. The Webinar ID is 278-203-411.

  • NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey (OCS) Enhances Navigation Charts for Oregon Inlet, North Carolina: Aids to navigation and bathymetry have been added to the band 5 electronic navigational charts (ENCs) for Oregon Inlet in North Carolina. The inlet is the third busiest waterway in the state and is an important location for U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) search and rescue efforts, both because of its location on the outer banks, and because of a treacherous bar crossing at its entrance. Before now, OCS’s chart updates cycle did not allow for the inclusion of critical information like the bathymetry data collected routinely by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the aids to navigation maintained by the USCG. ENCs will now include these important aids for mariners.

  • NOAA Works With Partners to Expand Tampa Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System: Each year 95% of goods arrive at our door via some form of maritime transport. PORTS® is NOAA’s Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System; a collaborative program providing oceanographic and meteorological observations for mariners to safely navigate increasingly congested shipping lanes. Tampa Bay PORTS® was NOAA’s first system of this kind, established in 1991. It was built in partnership with the Greater Tampa Bay Marine Advisory Council Ports, Inc., and the University of South Florida after gail force winds caused a bridge collision and the loss of 58 lives, a decade prior. Recently, NOAA launched Tampa Bay PORTS enhancements to aid these efforts: a buoy-mounted current meter at the Tampa Bay shipping channel entrance, wind sensors at a crucial ship-docking junction, and a microwave radar air gap sensor on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The currents meter will collect and transmit real-time currents observations in a waterway with frequent dredging and adverse cross-currents. Observations from reconstructed winds sensors will fine-tune forecasts critical to safe docking in high shipping traffic or storms. The air gap sensor will gather precision measurements of distance from the water’s surface to the bridge’s lowest point, ensuring safe passage of even the largest vessels. Read more here: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/news_posts/article.html?post=955

  • NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) Hosts Virtual Field Trip for Students: ONMS hosted a live, virtual field trip with Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants (EBSYP). EBSYP is a free platform that inspires the next generation of scientists, explorers, and conservationists through virtual field trips and live connections with experts across the globe. The event, titled Exploring the Blue with National Marine Sanctuaries, offered an overview of the sanctuary system as well as an introduction to the Sanctuaries 360° collection. More than 200 participants tuned in live, and there have been more than 600 additional views of the recording. This event with EBSYP provides an opportunity for ONMS to connect with students, teachers, and parents searching for virtual education resources while some schools are closed. You can watch the recording on the Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants YouTube Channel. Contact: Hannah.Macdonald@noaa.gov

  • Sea Tech Week - Call for Abstracts - Due April 28th: Sea Tech Week has issued an opportunity to submit abstracts for presentation by researchers, PhD students, businesses and all organizations wanting to present works in research & innovation. Sea Tech Week is scheduled to occur in Brest, France October 12-16, 2020. The conference theme is “Marine Observation from Seabed to Space”. If accepted, presentations can be made orally or by poster.  Submission deadline is April 28, 2020. Please see the link for more information on how to submit your abstract. https://www.seatechweek.eu/Submit-an-abstract-835-0-0-0.html   

  • Grants & Funding Opportunities:

    • STUDENTS: Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars open for submissions: Apply today for the Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars award! Do not miss the opportunity to receive $2500 in travel support to present your research at a conference. Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!). Click here for more info and how to apply. 

    • STUDENTS: Examine How Temperature Affects Fish Movement Patterns in South Florida: SECOORA and the FACT Network are partnering to sponsor a graduate student to examine how temperature affects fish movement patterns in south Florida marine ecosystems. Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!) and the award value is $12,800.  Click here for more info and how to apply. 

    • SECOORA 2020 Data Challenge: Using High Frequency Radar to Meet User Needs: SECOORA is asking students and early career professionals to explain the importance of high frequency radar (HFR) and create tools that use archived SECOORA HFR data. There are two $3500 prizes.  Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!). Click here for more info and how to apply.

    • DARPA BAA: This BAA invites proposers to submit innovative basic or applied research concepts in the following technical domains: Frontiers in Math, Computation & Design; Limits of Sensing & Sensors; Complex Social Systems; Anticipating Surprise. The research topics of interest within each domain are described in the BAA. Closes June 12, 2020.

Delivering the Benefits:

  • New High Frequency Radar in Marathon Florida Deployed by University of South Florida: A new High Frequency Radar (HFR) was installed near Marathon, Florida to study the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current System by the University of South Florida’s Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System (USF COMPS), in cooperation with Rutgers University and the University of Miami. Read more here! 

  • Pacific NW HABs:  NANOOS is pleased to announce an update to their Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) page.  Here you will find information about HAB forecasting, including access to the PNW HAB Bulletins produced through the ORHAB Partnership, of which NANOOS is a partner.  NANOOS-funded HF radar data and Live-Ocean modeling output are part of the Bulletin.  These PNW HAB Bulletins allow coastal managers to better protect marine mammal health and shellfish safety by assessing HAB risk in the Pacific Northwest. Specific actions resulting from the PNW HAB Bulletin risk assessments include marine mammal testing for toxin exposure and collection of additional shellfish samples (Dungeness crab, clams, and mussels) to protect human and marine animal health.  This capability is critical to the region.

  • Underwater Glider Collects Data to Study Red Tide Bloom Dynamics off Gulf Coast of Florida: An autonomous underwater glider named Stella has been diligently collecting water property data off the coast of Palm Harbor, FL, for 12 days.  Data collected by Stella will be incorporated in model simulations to better understand red tide bloom occurrence. Read more about Stella and here mission here. 

  • Coastal Mapping Strategy for Alaska: The November 2019 presidential Memorandum on Ocean and Coastal Mapping called for NOAA, the State of Alaska, and AMEC to draft a coastal mapping strategy for Alaska. With AOOS assistance, the draft is complete and is currently under review by the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Document release is anticipated in June of this year. 

Congressional:

  • ICOOS Act Update: No update.

Communications/Outreach/Education:

  • PAPER "Seasonal and interannual variability of phytoplankton abundance and community composition on the Central Coast of California": This study provides the first characterization of the seasonal and interannual variability of phytoplankton abundance and composition in San Luis Obispo (SLO) Bay within the California Current System. Read more here.
  • GLOS Data Providers Webinar online: GLOS held a webinar on April 8 with a group of 70 current and potential future data providers from across borders and sectors: industry, research, management, water treatment, and more.  Catch up on what happened here.
  • IOOS in the News:

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation (Please check links as we move forward as things may change quickly for planned events):

  • Smart Great Lakes, 21 April 2020, Virtual: An afternoon of exploring ways we can advance technological applications that can improve our understanding, management, and use of the Great Lakes. After a successful workshop in Toronto, Canada last year, the Great Lakes Observing System, Cleveland Water Alliance and the Council of the Great Lakes Region are excited to partner with Current to host a US-focused Smart Great Lakes Initiative workshop on Zoom (link to be sent to attendees prior to 4/21/20). Click here for more info & to register. 

  • Hurricane Glider Virtual Meeting, 29 April 2020, 2 – 4pm EDT, VIRTUAL: This virtual meeting will focus primarily on the Improving Forecasting and Assimilation (IFAA) supplemental operations portion of the original agenda. Anyone interested is welcome to listen in, presentations and discussions are limited to the IFAA group in order to keep it to a half day. You can read the agenda here. 

  • SECOORA Annual Meeting, 18 – 19 May 2020, Virtual: From the comfort of your couch – join SECOORA for our 2020 Annual (Virtual) Meeting! Everyone will be able to tune in remotely for updates on SECOORA, IOOS and more. It will be not the same format as years prior, as it will be condensed into three or four webinar sessions. Click here for meeting materials, registration, and more info. 

  • 2020 DMAC Meeting, 16 – 19 June 2020, Silver Spring, MD: IOOS is pleased to announce that the 2020 DMAC Meeting will take place Tuesday, June 16 to Friday, June 19, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Further details forthcoming.

  • SAVE THE DATE: IOOS/ESIP Biological Data Standards Workshop, July 13, 2020, Burlington, VT:  This Biological Data Standards workshop, sponsored by the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (US IOOS) in partnership with ESIP, OBIS and BCO-DMO, invites participation from data providers and data managers across the marine community. The workshop will be designed to alternate between working sessions with all participants and hands-on sessions on topics including: 

    • Data Standard and Stewardship Best practices 

    • Vocabularies and ontologies 

    • Shared technology, shared knowledge and knowledge transfer 

    • Development of methodologies 

    • More about the workshop: Hands-on work around data transformation and management processes Scientific observations of marine biodiversity and biology are essential for effective conservation of ocean species. These observations are collected at great cost, and are fundamental to advance scientific understanding of life in the sea. Marine ecological data are complex and heterogeneous, and there are unique methods and approaches to their collection, curation, sharing and distribution. To allow these observations to be reused for scientific, pedagogical and policy purposes, they need to be managed and well-described using standardized methods and formats. There is a pressing need in the marine community for standardized approaches to integrate biological data at local, regional, and global scales. This applies to observations spanning genetic to population data types, and across space and time. Major global databases such as OBIS and GBIF rely on Darwin Core, Ecological Metadata Language, and the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to help manage taxonomic information. The observing community, focused on abiotic data collections, evolved to leverage netCDF and climate and forecast conventions, while the biological research and applications communities have traditionally operated outside of common standards; this landscape makes it difficult to assess the status and trends of critical indicators of living marine resources and ecosystem services. 

  • National Coastal and Estuarine Summit, Providence RI on Oct 4-8, 2020 - Call for Proposals Open: Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) and the Coastal States Organization (CSO) proudly present the 2020 National Coastal and Estuarine Summit, which will bring together the coastal restoration and management communities for an integrated discussion exploring issues, solutions, and lessons learned in their work. The Summit will provide timely and much needed attention to the challenges and opportunities for coastal and estuarine restoration and management. It will bring together a unique blend of people who are involved in policy, science, strategy, business, and on-the-ground restoration and management.Call for Proposals: Presentations, Sessions, and Posters - Oral Presentation Submittal Deadline: April 3, 2020, Poster Submittal Deadline: July 17, 2020. More info: https://estuaries.org/summit/

 

Other Upcoming Meetings: 

  • NOAA Hydrographic Services Review Panel, 28 April 2020, 1pm EDT, Virtual Public Meeting (webinar): The NOAA Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP) Federal Advisory Committee will have a virtual public meetingvia webinar on April 28, 2020, 1pm EDT, to focus on NOAA's navigation services. The agenda will be updated and meeting materials will be added prior to the meeting and can be found here. Please register in advance for the HSRP Public Meeting webinar below as the webinar is limited to 100 spots. 

  • Capitol Hill Ocean Week, 9 June 2020, VIRTUAL: CHOW 2020 will focus on the global issue of protecting biodiversity. The breadth of life in our ocean and Great Lakes is astounding. Building a sustainable global economy that protects nature is critical to people’s health and well-being.  The meeting will offer a full day of virtual activities, including plenaries and concurrent breakout sessions on how science and technology are advancing our understanding of the marine environment, the role of protected areas in conserving biodiversity, and how to engage people as stewards. CHOW will also showcase the amazing work of ocean and Great Lakes partners through a virtual exhibit hall, and are planning a social gathering through a virtual closing happy hour.  Learn more and register at CapitolHillOceanWeek.org

  • EMODnet 2nd Open Conference and Jamboree - Save-the-date: 22-25 September 2020: Five years after the first edition, we are delighted to announce the organisation of the second EMODnet Open Conference (22-23 September 2020) and Jamboree (23-25 September 2020). During the event, EMODnet partners, communicators and data providers and users will take stock of EMODnet achievements over the past 10 years, connect across stakeholder communities and set goals for the future. To start the week, the EMODnet Open Conference will focus on use cases and requirements for developing essential open marine data services for blue economy actors, the public sector, civil society and the research community. More details will follow soon.

 

Job & Internship Opportunities:

  • STUDENTS: Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars open for submissions: Apply today for the Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars award! Do not miss the opportunity to receive $2500 in travel support to present your research at a conference. Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!). Click here for more info and how to apply. 

  • STUDENTS: Examine How Temperature Affects Fish Movement Patterns in South Florida: SECOORA and the FACT Network are partnering to sponsor a graduate student to examine how temperature affects fish movement patterns in south Florida marine ecosystems. Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!) and the award value is $12,800.  Click here for more info and how to apply. 

  • Vacancy Notice: Chief, Tsunami Unit, IOC/UNESCO: A vacancy notice is available through the UNESCO careers portal for Chief of Tsunami Unit, IOC/UNESCO. Duty station: Paris. Deadline for application is 26 April 2020

Click here to view the IOOS Association Calendar

Do you have suggestions for new things you would like to see in the Eyes on the Ocean IOOS Bi-Weekly? Contact us at: eoto@noaa.gov.

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