The Eyes on the Ocean™ Newsletter is an informal way of keeping you up-to-date on U.S. IOOS® activities.

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From the Director:

Dear IOOS Community,

With growing demand for ocean data and information services, there’s hiring going on all around the IOOS Enterprise. The IOOS Office has recently posted an opening for a Senior Advisor for Coastal Modeling Science and Services that closes on Nov. 25. This position will further enhance our efforts to advance coastal ocean modeling across NOS, NOAA and our community of partners in other agencies, academia, tribes, NGOs and the private sector. The IOOS Association is also hiring to support new work in pan-regional collaborations and equitable service delivery. Please see below for more information on those positions and check out the Job & Internship Opportunities section for additional opportunities from across the IOOS Enterprise.

On November 11th, the Nation will observe Veterans Day - a time to reflect on the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women and to recognize the profound impact their loyalty and service have on our communities. At NOAA, we celebrate the diverse experiences and skills that veterans bring to our workforce, reinforcing our commitment to inclusivity and equity. I’d like to thank all the veterans who work in the IOOS Enterprise and recognize Becky Baltes and LCDR Aaron Colohan from the IOOS Office for their service in the U.S. Navy. Our office benefits from their leadership skills and we are grateful they have continued their careers with our program.

Finally, we have the opportunity once again to recognize people in our ocean observing community who have led us forward through leadership, friendship, and collaboration. The IOOS Association’s Caraid Award is accepting nominations through November 15. If you know someone whose work embraces those qualities, please consider submitting them for recognition this year. Nominations are due no later than November 15, and can be submitted via this form.

Thanks,

Carl

 

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

  • IOOS Office is Hiring! Senior Advisor for Coastal Modeling Science and Services position, housed within the U.S. IOOS Office. This position will further enhance our efforts to advance coastal ocean modeling across NOS, NOAA and our community of partners in other agencies, academia, tribes, NGOs and the private sector. The announcement closes November 25th. 
  • From the IOOS Association:
    • Seeking Nominations: 2025 Caraid Award: The IOOS Association created the Caraid Award in 2020 as an annual award to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to observing and understanding our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes through vision, leadership, friendship and collaboration. Candidates can be any person who has contributed to observing and understanding the oceans, coasts, and/or Great Lakes through collaboration, innovation, and/or a commitment to working with stakeholders. Nominations are due November 15th. Learn more and find the nomination form here. 

 

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

  • Surface Current Mapping
    • HFRNet Transition: IOOS’s work to transition HFRNet from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Coastal Observing Research & Development Center into the NESDIS Common Cloud Framework has reached a new milestone, with NESDIS now testing ingesting HF-radar radial velocity measurements directly into the NCCF. The IOOS Surface Currents Program will be working with operators throughout the IOOS HF-radar National Network to expand the NCCF data ingestion nationwide.
  • Gliders 
  • Buoys & Moorings
    • Backyard Buoys Spotlight in Oceanography Magazine: The Backyard Buoys team shares their story of democratizing data through co-design and co-production in a special issue of Oceanography Magazine, “On a Vision for Capacity Sharing in the Ocean Sciences.” The article describes how remote coastal Indigenous communities and IOOS Regional Ocean Observing Systems work together with a common purpose, safety at sea. 
    • Ipan Wave Buoy Redeployed: The Ipan buoy was redeployed on October 23 by Jason Miller, who provides technical support for the PacIOOS wave buoy program in Guam. Deployed approximately 1 mile offshore Ipan Beach Park on the Eastern coast of Guam, this buoy measures wave direction and energy as well as sea surface temperature observations in real-time. Mahalo Jason for a successful redeployment! 
  • Harmful Algal Blooms 
    • Ciguatera Research in American Samoa: This summer, a research team led by Dr. Eileen Nalley (UH Mānoa), Val Brown (National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa), and UH Mānoa Undergraduate Research Assistant Talofa Fe’a made significant strides in understanding ciguatera poisoning in American Samoa. Together, they gathered over 100 survey responses and conducted interviews with local fishers and seafood consumers. The findings from these community efforts have established baseline information that supported a pilot study for Gambierdiscus spp., as well as the development of resources aimed at enhancing awareness and safety among local fishing communities regarding ciguatoxic species.
  • Marine Life
    • ATN Data to NCEI: The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Animal Telemetry Network (ATN) has fully operationalized a direct pathway to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) for long-term archival and access. Data and metadata collected from tags on different types of marine animals and shared with the ATN Data Assembly Center (DAC) can now be submitted to NCEI. This archiving process ensures that valuable data collected about animal movement, behavior, and environmental conditions are appropriately archived and made available to the public following FAIR data principles to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. To date, over 15 packages, composed of satellite trajectory observations, have been transferred to NCEI for long-term archival and access. These publicly available datasets contain location data from satellite-linked tags carried by marine mammals and sharks. The current collection of ATN datasets and associated metadata archived at NCEI are accessible from https://doi.org/10.25921/wp4e-ph20. This collection will be updated as more data are made available from ATN to NCEI.
    • SoundCoop: Breakthrough for Passive Acoustic Monitoring’s Big Data: In addition to being full of life, the ocean is also full of sound. Undersea sounds from both marine life and human activity can be heard many miles away—across oceans in some cases. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is the practice of listening for sounds, often at specific frequencies, for particular purposes or analyses. PAM is a powerful observational tool to detect and characterize sounds produced by fish and marine mammals, ambient noise from physical oceanographic processes, and human-related sources that contribute to the overall ocean noise environment. Read more here.
    • Satellite and Animal Telemetry Data Training: A free virtual satellite data training course was jointly held by NOAA CoastWatch and the US Animal Telemetry Network on Friday, Oct 25. Cara Wilson (NOAA CoastWatch) and Meg McKinzie (ATN/MBARI) familiarized participants with oceanographic satellite data products (sea surface temperature, chlorophyll concentration, sea level, ocean winds, and salinity) and satellite telemetry data. Participants learned how to use the CoastWatch ERDDAP data server, the ATN data portal and other web services to find, visualize, subset and download data. Daisy Shi (NOAA CoastWatch) showed how to link CoastWatch and ATN data using scripts. Techniques to match telemetry data to satellite measurements were provided with a mix of lectures, demonstrations and materials and hands-on tutorials in R, Python and ArcGIS. 
    • CoastWatch office hours: Acting on feedback from the October ATN/CoastWatch training, the team has established a new "office hours" slot every other Thursday at 11 AM PST. This will be a time when anyone can:
      • Ask questions about satellite data
      • Request help with accessing satellite data products
      • Get troubleshooting assistance with code examples for discovering, accessing and working with satellite data 

The first session is today, Thursday, Nov 7. The other dates in 2024 will be Nov 21, Dec 5, Dec 19. As a reminder, all satellite lectures and code tutorials are available online: CoastWatch Lectures | CoastWatch Tutorials.

 

Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure (DMAC) Subsystem and Tools Built on IOOS Data:

  • Google Summer of Code Mentor Summit 2024: Micah Wengren attended the Google Summer of Code Mentor Summit 2024 in Sunnyvale, CA, on Oct 5 - 6. Sessions for the 2024 meeting focused on a variety of topics including those related to the mechanics of running a GSoC organization such as managing communications with prospective mentees, criteria used by organizations for selecting contributors/mentees, how to decide whether to pass or fail a student, and general GSoC organization administration topics, to more general technology-related topics such as the emergence of AI in educational settings, assessing code quality, and others.  The 2024 GSoC program was IOOS’ third year participating and resulted in six successful contributor projects being completed! 
  • Artificial Intelligence
    • No update.

 

Modeling and Analysis:   

  • No update.

 

Around the Regions:

  • The Caribbean Coastal Acidification Network (CariCAN), sponsored by CARICOOS, invites you to participate in our ocean acidification workshop on November 13th, 2024. This hybrid event brings together scientists, coastal managers, coral reef practitioners, educators, and other key stakeholders from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to discuss ocean acidification, its challenges, and mitigation strategies. Access the agenda here.
  • SECOORA Hosts the First National WebCOOS Technical Workshop: The workshop brought together the WebCOOS science team and contractors, representatives from multiple IOOS Regional Associations, federal partners, and local community partners. Participants learned about webcam installations, products, and standards, along with how to support future installations and streamline data ingestion. The meeting included traveling to local WebCOOS camera locations, hearing from a panel of community partners, participating in breakout sessions with WebCOOS science team members, and learning from technical sessions and demonstrations. Read more here.
  • Intra-American Seas Pan-Regional Initiative: The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS), the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing System (SECOORA) and the Caribbean Ocean Observing System (CARICOOS) are developing the “Intra-American Seas Pan-Regional Ocean Observing Initiative.” It builds on existing joint projects and will serve as a platform to launch even more joint projects in support of coastal communities. The group is already collaborating on projects around marine heatwaves and sargassum inundation. Read more here.
  • New GLOS User Group Outreach Video: Last month, GLOS met with Dean Jessup of the Pentwater Sportfishing Association (PSA) in Pentwater, MI. He told us how he uses real-time Great Lakes data to improve his fishing outings and how he enhances his recreational use of Lake Michigan with Seagull. Learn more about Dean, PSA, and users using Seagull in the new Data at Work video!

 

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility:

  • Interview with the new Network Coordinator of the Indigenous Great Lakes Network initiative (IGLNi): The Indigenous Great Lakes Network initiative (IGLNi) came from a concept designed within the Indigenous Environmental Institute (IEI) at Trent University, identifying the need and desire for diversity in Great Lakes research and policy. With collaboration between the GLOS staff, Smart Great Lakes initiative members, and IEI faculty, phases for network establishment were designed and put into action. With network operations currently housed in IEI, the goal of the network as a Hub is to be facilitators and a referral system for collaboration between Indigenous communities, researchers, and Great Lakes organizations.
  • Tribal Students Dig into Guts of a Glider!  NANOOS PI Jack Barth and Jace Marquardt (OSU) visited the Quinault Indian Nation's Taholah School on September 30, 2024, the day before successfully recovering an underwater glider off Westport, WA. Jace and Jack brought an underwater glider for interested Taholah high schoolers to take apart, examine all the internal electronics and mechanical features that make the glider work, and then put it back together. The students were eager to get their hands on the equipment and caught on quickly about how we use o-rings to keep out sea water and about the many other technological innovations in underwater gliders.
  • GLOS at Maritime Career Day: GLOS’ Strategic Initiatives Manager, Katie Rousseau, participated in the first Maritime Career Day at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, on Wednesday, October 30th. The educational day may become an annual event to showcase maritime focused agencies, nonprofits, and trade organizations to local high school students in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. At the GLOS station, students were able to see and touch a spotter buoy, hear how data collected from these types of observing instruments are shown on Seagull, and learn about the different types of roles and expertise within our organization.

 

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

  • UN Decade of Ocean Science For Sustainable Development Updates: 
    • New Report: Ambition, Action, Impact: the Ocean Decade Pathway to 2030: consolidated Outcomes of the Vision 2030 Process: What action areas must the ocean community focus on to ensure a thriving ocean? What knowledge, capacity, and resources will drive the success of the Ocean Decade? The new report "Ambition, Action, Impact: the Ocean Decade Pathway to 2030 - Consolidated Outcomes of the Vision 2030 Process" identifies key priorities and transformative actions to achieve a successful Decade. Read the report here.
    • Call for Decade Actions No. 08/2024 Now Open: Spotlight on coastal resilience, society-ocean connections, and ocean-human health. Rooted in the outcomes of its Vision 2030 process, the new Call for Decade Actions No. 08/2024 by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (‘Ocean Decade’) welcomes initiatives to bridge science and knowledge gaps in coastal resilience, society’s relationship with the ocean, and the ocean-human health nexus. Learn more here.
  • Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) News:
    • Call for Co-Chair of the GOOS Expert Panel on Biology and Ecosystems: The GOOS Expert Panel on Biology and Ecosystems (BioEco Panel) provides scientific advice and expertise to GOOS on sustained ocean observations focused on establishing the current and future state of marine life. The BioEco Panel is now seeking a new co-chair to help progress and contribute to GOOS 2030 Strategy and goals of the Panel roadmap. Applications are due no later than 29 November 2024. Learn more here.
  • Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) News:
    • Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Science User Group for Research (SUGR) Meeting - December 8th: OOI will host a Scientific User Group for Research (SUGR) meeting on Sunday, December 8th ahead of the AGU conference in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the SUGR meeting is to hear from our current and potential user community who are using OOI and other data sets to improve our understanding of the Carbon Cycle. Read more here.
    • ZOOI-CGSN Team Completes First Standalone AUV Cruise at Pioneer MAB Array: The Ocean Observatories Initiative’s (OOI) Coastal and Global Scale Nodes (CGSN) team recently conducted their first standalone small vessel Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) cruise at the Pioneer Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) Array. Aboard the R/V Virginia, team members Andy Robinson, Collin Dobson, and Dan Bogorff successfully completed dock testing of their launch and recovery systems before heading offshore to carry out AUV transects through the array. Read more here.
  • New Ocean Heat Webpage! Check out GOMO's new webpage dedicated to Ocean Heat. This timely resource shares information about the impacts of a warming ocean and the numerous observing platforms, technologies, and programs that GOMO supports, such as the Argo Program, that help us measure heat in the ocean.
  • CO-OPS recovers CURBY from bridge collapse site: CO-OPS recovered its currents real-time buoy, or CURBY, and temporary meteorological station from the site of the Francis Scott Key, or FSK, Bridge collapse. CO-OPS deployed the sensors last spring to support response operations. The recovery marked a successful conclusion to the approximately six-month period of real-time, continuous observations from the emergency response systems. After the buoy was disassembled and secured to its trailer for transport, the Maryland Department of Transportation escorted the team to recover the meteorological station that was installed atop the remaining span of the bridge. The FSK incident marked the first time a CURBY was used in an incident response situation and showcased the value of its powerful technology. CO-OPS actively maintains and operates eight CURBYs to enhance and support monitoring, response, and navigation missions across the nation. Real-time measurements from the CURBY can be retrieved through the CO-OPS API Database.
  • Moving Mountains: Updating the National Spatial Reference System: The latest episode of the NOAA Ocean Podcast delves into the process of modernizing the system for measuring horizontal positions and vertical elevations of the United States and U.S. territories. Listen now.

Click here for upcoming meetings, webinars, funding opportunities, and job postings!

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