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

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From the Director:

Hello IOOS Community,

As you all know, U.S. IOOS is built on community.  The data and information we all gather, integrate, and share is tied to building and valuing that ocean observing community, our shared needs, and capabilities.  One of the foremost ways that spirit of cooperation and interoperability shows itself is in the establishment of best practices. To that end, I'd like to call your attention to a short piece below discussing the importance of the Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS) to our shared goals, and our commitment to support its continued work, which I hope you'll read and reflect on a little.

Best wishes,
Carl

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

  • U.S. IOOS® Endorses the Ocean Best Practices System: The U.S. IOOS Program has supported the growing Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS) since its inception, recognizing the critical role OBPS will play in sharing, archiving, and facilitating the use of best practices. The OBPS provides a sustained, open access, and internationally recognized repository with advanced indexing and search technology, as well as offering Digital Object Identifier document IDs. IOOS staff have served on the OPBS working group, participated in OBPS workshops and biweekly virtual meetings, submitted documents (reports, manuals, standard operating procedures, engineering notes, etc.) to the repository at https://www.oceanbestpractices.org, co-authored conference papers and posters describing the system, and are now assisting in the creation of an online best practice forum.

    The international scope of the OBPS supports all aspects of ocean best practices globally. If desired, documents may be peer-reviewed through the partnering online journal Frontiers (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/7173/best-practices-in-ocean-observing). During the past year, the repository has roughly doubled in size every six months and now holds over 700 documents.

    IOOS will continue to support the development of the OBPS. All Regional Associations and other partners engaged in ocean research, observing and data management are encouraged to submit their best practices to the repository where they will be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable; guidelines for submitting are available on the website. They should also use the repository to search for and compare practices which may be useful. For more information or questions about contributing contact obpcommunity@oceanbestpractices.org.

  • Marking 20 Years of IOOS! We will celebrate 20 years of IOOS in conjunction with the upcoming OceanObs’19 meeting in September in Honolulu, HI. In preparation for this celebration, we want to hear your memories of IOOS.  Has IOOS helped you, were you a part of building the System, or do you have photos, videos, or documents of the last 20 years that you can share with us? Please contact us at eoto@noaa.gov to share your memories or ask for more details on how to share information.

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

  • ACT Open Calls for New Technology Evaluations: The Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT) currently has two open calls for new technology evaluations.

    • 1. Accepting preliminary applications from developers and manufacturers of commercially available Total Residual Oxidant (TRO) instruments used to monitor TRO in shipboard ballast water treatment applications.

    • 2. Call for applications from individuals or teams of researchers, and/or sensor developers and manufacturers to participate in a technology demonstration aimed at improving data processing and algorithm development of hyperspectral imagery for research and management applications within shallow freshwater and marine aquatic ecosystems.

    • Applications for both calls are due by August 31, 2019.

    • For further details please see: http://www.act-us.info/rft.php

  • Surface Current Mapping: (IOOS PO POC, Derrick Snowden, Derrick.Snowden@noaa.gov):  

    • High Frequency Radar Testing in the Great Lakes: In late May, Lorelle Meadows, dean of the Pavlis Honors College at Michigan Technological University and oceanographer by training, and Guy Meadows, director of the Great Lakes Research Center, conducted the first test of a high-frequency radar system specifically tuned for use in the Great Lakes. The team, with funding from the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), temporarily installed two 14-foot CODAR SeaSonde high-frequency radar towers, one on each side of the Straits of Mackinac just west of the Mackinac Bridge. Because of its sheer size, there was the potential that the bridge would interfere with the radar signal; field testing in May proved that the bridge did not overtly interfere, a big step in moving the radar project’s viability forward.Read more about the testing here: https://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2019/june/deploying-highfrequency-radar-in-the-straits-of-mackinac.html

  • Gliders (IOOS POC LCDR Benjamin LaCour, Benjamin.Lacour@noaa.gov):

    • New NOAA Ocean Podcast Featuring LCDR Benjamin LaCour: The National Ocean Service has released a new NOAA Ocean Podcast “Ocean Gliders: How NOAA uses autonomous technology to help predict hurricane intensity” which features IOOS’ own LCDR Benjamin LaCour. This podcast uncovers the technology behind hurricane gliders and what they can do for us to prepare us for hurricanes. Listen to the podcast here: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/may19/ocean-gliders.html

 

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

  • Planning for the IOOS DMAC 2019 Code Sprint is underway:  Details for the event: Tuesday Oct 8 - Thursday Oct 10, Ann Arbor MI.  Venue is the Cahoots (https://beincahoots.com/) coworking space in downtown Ann Arbor, and room blocks are being arranged at The Graduate hotel nearby.  Those interested in attending should watch their email for a signup form in the coming week. Costs to cover travel and lodging are available for attendees affiliated with an IOOS RA, however depending on actual event attendance, participants may have to pay a small share.   The Code Sprint host, GLOS, will work with attendees to arrange travel. Please join us in October for a great chance to sit down and solve some real-world DMAC technical problems together, learn some new skills, and see what interesting work your colleagues have been up to lately.  After-hours events are also in the works!

  • QARTOD (National Coordinator Mark Bushnell, mark.bushnell@noaa.gov):

    • pH manual status: All contributions received from the second round of reviews of the Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of pH Data Observations have been logged, addressed, and used to edit and improve the manual.  This version will now be broadly distributed internationally for the third review. Contact us if you would like to receive a copy of the draft.
    • Currents manual update: We continue to solicit suggestions for our update of the Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of In-Situ Current Observations. See the existing manual and let us know how it can be improved.

 

    • Ocean Best Practice System update: The OceanObs’19 white paper Evolving and Sustaining Ocean Best Practices and Standards for the Next Decade by Pearlman et. al. has been published in Frontiers in Marine Science. It can be seen here, or found in the OBPS repository where it joins the IODE - BPWG Best Practice Documentation collection. Congratulations and thanks to Jay Pearlman!
Modeling and Analysis Subsystem (IOOS PO and IOOS Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed (COMT) POC – Derrick Snowden, Derrick.Snowden@noaa.gov):

  • NOAA’s Earth Prediction Innovation Center Website Now Available: A new website describing the Earth Prediction Innovation Center is now available. EPIC is focused on accelerating the development of Earth system modeling with particular interest on weather forecasting. There is also a Request for Information (RFI) posted on FedBizOps requesting community opinions on NOAAs strategy and vision.

  • COMT Annual Meeting: The COMT Annual Meeting is being scheduled for late October. The final dates will be announced soon.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

  • OceanObs’19 Updates and Planning:
    • OceanObs’19: Registration Is Open! For more information on fees, deadlines, posters, and event registration, visit here
    • Submit an OceanObs’19 Poster: OceanObs’19 poster submissions are available through the registration process until June 27. To make any edits to your submission, log into the registration site before the new deadline. More info:
  • Save the date: Ocean Obs RCN Annual Meeting - February 16, 2020, San Diego, CA: The Ocean Obs Research Coordination Network (RCN) will host an OceanObs’19 Conference follow-up meeting on February 16, 2020, in San Diego, CA, immediately preceding the AGU/TOS Ocean Sciences Meeting (https://www2.agu.org/ocean-sciences-meeting/). The OceanObs’19 Conference (Hawaii 16-21 September, 2019; https://council.science/events/oceanobs-19/) will be the third conference of this series, held once every ten years. The Ocean Obs RCN annual meeting on 16 February 2020 will be dedicated to the synthesis of threads and recommendations emerging from the OceanObs’19 Conference. Of particular interest will be focusing the community on the planning for the implementation of initiatives emerging from OceanObs’19. The meeting will advance links between observation networks and operational users to facilitate the delivery of critical information to stakeholders, and to address critical policy issues that require multidisciplinary ocean observing systems.
  • World Ocean Day and National Ocean Month: World Ocean Day was June 8th and we are now nearly halfway through National Ocean Month. The National Ocean Service is celebrating the ocean all month with their #30DaysOfOcean campaign. Learn about our world ocean and some amazing facts here https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/30days/.
  • 2019 NOAA Emerging Technologies Workshop: NOAA will hold its third Emerging Technologies Workshop on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 25-26 at the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) in College Park, Maryland. Sponsored by the NOAA Observing Systems Council, NOAA Ocean and Coastal Council, NOAA Research Council, and the Weather Water and Climate Board, NOAA’s 2019 Emerging Technologies Workshop is a public showcase for innovative technologies designed to optimize NOAA’s observing capabilities and data synthesis. The workshop engages presenters from within NOAA as well as external researchers, analysts, and practitioners representing academia, private businesses, and other government agencies with technologies that have the potential to expand NOAA’s ability to observe the environment, improve efficiency, or reduce costs. Like previous workshops, this year’s event will focus on new and evolving technologies that are already being explored by users in NOAA, and in development by our partners and by industry. The report from the most recent workshop can be found here. We invite you to join us for this exciting opportunity to learn more about the emerging technologies that could be used to make NOAA’s observation enterprise more agile, effective, and efficient.
  • US Ocean Economy Satellite Account: A Request for Information (RFI) for the first US Ocean Economy Satellite Account (OESA) has now been published on the Federal Register. The OESA is produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in partnership with NOAA to measure the contribution of ocean-based industries to the US GDP. The purpose of the RFI is to solicit input on the approach and definitions used. The general public and industry members can provide input by July 7. This information will be used to improve our  measurements. Any questions or comments regarding the RFI can be directed to OceanEconomy@noaa.gov.
  • Live UAS Imagery Maps Historic Flooding: During historic flooding in Mississippi, drones provided NWS with mapped aerial imagery showing vast swaths of flooded terrain in near-real-time. Vegetation data pinpointed flooded areas, enabling rapid warning and forecast updates, critical evacuation information, and validation of flood models. Supported by NOAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program, the Northern Gulf Institute, a NOAA Cooperative Institute at Mississippi State University, successfully executed the operational demos.
  • NOAA Summer 2019 High Tide Bulletin: The rising and falling of the sea is a phenomenon upon which we can always depend. Tides are the regular rise and fall of the sea surface caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun and their position relative to the earth.There are some factors that cause the tides to be higher than what is "normally" seen from day to day. This bulletin tells you when you may experience higher than normal high tides for the period of time between June and August 2019. Read more here: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/high-tide-bulletin/summer-2019/
  • NGS Presents at Floodplain Managers’ Conference: Christine Gallagher and Dave Hatcher attended the Association of State Floodplain Managers annual conference in Cleveland, OH. Christine presented an overview of NSRS Modernization and shared information about the floodplain mapping program. Other NOAA attendees and presenters included Marc Osler, Senior Advisor for Coastal Inundation and Resilience, and others from the Office of Coast Survey, Office of Coastal Management, the National Weather Service, and Office of Atmospheric Research. For more information, contact christine.gallagher@noaa.gov, 240-533-9544
  • Register for NOAA Nav-cast webinar – S-100 for System Implementers: Join us for our first NOAA Nav-cast, a quarterly webinar series that highlights the tools and trends of NOAA navigation services. Learn about the S-100 Universal Hydrographic Data Model and what navigation system developers need to know in order to implement various S-100 based product specifications. Also, gain insight into NOAA’s work in the S-100 product development space for S-111 surface currents. Date and time: Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 11 a.m. (EDT) How to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7354579801420345345
  • North Pacific Research Board Seeks Nominations for Advisory & Science Panels: The NPRB is seeking nominations to fill one seat representing the Arctic region on its Advisory Panel and three seats on its Science Panel, beginning October 1, 2019. The deadline for receipt of nomination materials is 4:00 pm AK, Thursday, June 20, 2019.

Delivering the Benefits:

  • New Weather Stations on St. Lawrence Island: Earlier this month the Marine Exchange of Alaska team traveled to St. Lawrence Island where they installed two new weather stations and Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmitters in the villages of Savoonga and Gambell. The new weather stations transmit real-time weather data to mariners via AIS. These sites, as with many of MXAK’s weather and transmitting sites, were sponsored by Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS). Check out the real-time conditions on Saint Lawrence Island at the AOOS Ocean Data Explorer.

  • Typhoon Yutu Breakaway Wave Buoy Back on Station: PacIOOS' wave buoy off Tanapag, Saipan, is now back online to provide valuable wave and ocean information. The buoy broke free from its mooring during Super Typhoon Yutu in October 2018, and was adrift for more than 6 weeks. Approximately 800 nautical miles into the Philippine Sea, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sequoia, stationed in Guam, recovered the buoy in challenging ocean conditions while patrolling the high seas. Access information from this buoy (and any other in the PacIOOS family) here: https://www.pacioos.hawaii.edu/voyager/

  • April CA HAB Bulletin now available: Major contributors to the bulletin content are Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, CeNCOOS, HABMAP, NOAA CoastWatch, California Department of Public Health, The Marine Mammal Center, California Wildlife Center, Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, and SeaWorld San Diego. http://sccoos.org/california-hab-bulletin/california-hab-bulletin-april-2019/

  • CSI: Death on a Coral Reef: An update on research into the 2016 Flower Garden Banks coral mortality event and link to the February 2018 meeting report. https://gcoos.org/csi-death-on-a-coral-reef/

  • La Parguera OA Buoy Back on Station Following Refurbishment: During the last two weeks this ocean acidification buoy was at the dock of the Department of Marine Sciences on Isla Magueyes, where it was given maintenance to all its sensors. The buoy reports every 3 hours the atmospheric concentration of CO2, and the seawater CO2, temperature, salinity, pH (acidity), turbidity, chlorophyll, and oxygen.  Read more and link to buoy information here: https://news.caricoos.org/2019/06/06/la-parguera-ocean-acidification-buoy-is-back-on-station-after-its-yearly-refurbishment/

  • Summer data live on NVS Explorer: Lots of new and seasonal datasets have joined (or rejoined!) NANOOS' data portal, NVS Explorer.  This includes the The Washington State Department of Health Pickering Passage sensor, CMOP's seasonal SATURN-09 station, CDIP Humboldt Bay buoy, and the ChaBa buoy and NEMO subsurface mooring, including the CTD depth profiler and fixed subsurface sensors.

  • Penobscot Bay Buoys Back Online: Last week, NERACOOS system operators at University of Maine Physical Oceanography Group headed out to re-deploy buoy F in Penobscot Bay, I on the Eastern Maine Shelf, and M down in Jordon Basin. The NERACOOS buoy map shows real-time ocean conditions for the entire array--check it out! http://www.neracoos.org/realtime_map

  • Marine Mammal Stranding Level A Data Available Through AOOS Ocean Data Explorer: Data has been collected over the past 100 years by members of the U.S. National Marine Mammal Stranding Network on all stranded cetaceans and pinnipeds (excluding walrus) along U.S. coasts under the oversight of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. Data are gathered using a series of forms that collect valuable stranding information through a process known as Level A data collection. Stranding network responders use these forms to collect basic information on stranding events, as well as morphology, life history, biology, and general health. Scientists and natural resource managers use the information in these forms to help promote the conservation of marine mammal species, as well as to respond to and mitigate threats to marine mammal populations. In partnership with the NOAA Fisheries, Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program and IOOS, a prototype version of the National Stranding Database subset is now available through the AOOS Ocean Data Explorer. Data related to the location, species, morphology, and condition of Level A strandings along the Alaska and U.S. coastlines can be accessed at this link.

Congressional:

  • No update.

Communications/Outreach/Education:

  • GCOOS Accepting Applications for First Howard Scholarship Fund Award: The awardee will receive registration and travel support (a maximum of $1,500) to give an ocean data-related presentation at either the American Geophysical Union Meeting or 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting. For details and application, click here.

  • New paper HAB paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science: A new paper, led by U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Regional Associations and HAB experts, on Scaling Up From Regional Case Studies to a Global Harmful Algal Bloom Observing System has been published in Frontiers in Marine Science. Read the article for a list of recommendations for scaling up to a global observing system for HABs: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00250/full

  • IOOS Association now on Twitter: Check out the IOOS Association’s new twitter account and give them a follow to keep up with all the IOOS enterprise news, activities, and events fit to tweet!  https://twitter.com/IOOSAssociation

  • CARICOOS General Assembly Recap: Every year, the Caribbean Ocean Observing System (CARICOOS) celebrates its General Assembly to inform their stakeholders about the progress of their projects, announce new tools available for the public and collect feedback from current users in order to improve them in the near future. The 2019 General Assembly was held on Friday May 24, 2019 at San Juan Yacht Club. More than 140 people attended the event.  Read more about the proceedings here. https://news.caricoos.org/2019/05/31/caricoos-2019-annual-meeting-recap/

  • MARACOOS 2019 Annual Meeting Highlights: The 2019 MARACOOS Annual Meeting took place May 14 in Baltimore, Maryland. Participants heard a panel discussion on offshore wind development in the Mid-Atlantic, a special session on improving hurricane intensity forecasting, and updates on the IOOS network. Read more about the meeting and the proceedings here: http://maracoos.org/annual-meeting-2019.shtml

  • WEBINAR: Algal Blooms in the St. John's River: Interested in learning more about algal blooms in St. Johns River? Watch Melinda Simmons (Marine Science Research Institute and SECOORA Education and Outreach Committee Member) travel with the St. Johns Riverkeeper to explore the April & May 2019 (very) early algal blooms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWMmsxJRAe4&feature=youtu.be

  • MARACOOS has a new look!: MARACOOS is proud to announce their new website.  The newest features include detailed information about MARACOOS data products and focus areas, regions of interest throughout the Mid-Atlantic, and MARACOOS partners in academic, industrial, governmental, and non-governmental sectors. Visitors to the site will now be able to access data within the OceansMap data visualization tool with greater ease by selecting from a range of regional tools.  Check it out here: https://www.maracoos.org/

  • IOOS Enterprise in the News:

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation:

  • Save the Date! SECOORA 2019 Annual Meeting, 18–20 June 2019, Wilmington, NC: Please save the date for the SECOORA's 2019 Annual Meeting in Wilmington, NC. Participate in the ocean observing conversation and network with coastal ocean scientists from around the Southeast. Link: https://secoora.org/2019-annual-meeting/

  • NANOOS Annual Meeting, August 2019, Vancouver, WA: Details forthcoming.

 

  • OceanObs’19, 16–20 September 2019, Honolulu, HI: The OceanObs19 conference planning is well underway! The conference will take place September 16-20 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Check out the conference website for more details: https://council.science/events/oceanobs-19/

Other Upcoming Meetings:

 

  • First International Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium, 18–19 June 2019, Washington, DC: The First Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium will take place from 18 to 19 June 2019 in the Washington, DC area. The symposium aims to enable the understanding the barriers (perceived or actual) and facilitate the widespread incorporation of satellite ocean observations into the value chain from data to useful information across the range of operational applications. In this symposium, an international community of satellite operators, information producers and users will exchange facts and ideas to 1) understand user needs and expectations, and 2) develop interoperability standards and establish best practices that will lead to more universal use of ocean satellite data. For further information see the meeting website for announcement flyer and return again later for further details: https://coastwatch.noaa.gov/OSOSymposium Email: veronica.lance@noaa.gov

  • 2019 NOAA Environmental Data Management Workshop, September 4-5, 2019

Seattle, WA:  The NOAA Environmental Data Management Committee (EDMC) is pleased to announce the 9th annual NOAA Environmental Data Management Workshop (EDMW) that will be held September 4-5, 2019 in Seattle, WA. The theme for this year’s workshop is “Unleashing NOAA's Data as a Strategic Asset for Science, Service, Stewardship and Innovation.” The workshop will be hosted at the Motif Hotel in downtown Seattle. Please forward this announcement to NOAA colleagues that may be interested in attending or presenting. The 2019 NOAA EDM Workshop will include presentations and working sessions that focus on efforts to improve the collection, stewardship, interpretation, and delivery of NOAA data that enable the agency to carry out its mission and programs effectively. Attendees are primarily NOAA personnel, but we expect to have a few slots for external people. The formal approval process including the NOAA Group Travel Request will begin soon, as will other workshop planning activities including calls for sessions, papers, and registration. To receive future announcements on the 2019 EDM Workshop, please sign up for the 2019 EDMW Mailing List. https://goo.gl/forms/VNmMEyRsDyT3SVAF2

  • Save the Date! Pecora 21 & ISRSE 38, October 2019, Baltimore, MD: A joint symposium of the 21st William T. Pecora Memorial Remote Sensing Symposium and the 38th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment will convene in Baltimore, Maryland, USA from October 6 – 11, 2019. The organizers have released a call for special sessions and are inviting proposals for sessions that deal with issues and advances in the broader field of Earth observation.

  • Save the date: November 5-7, 2019 for the Esri Ocean and Atmospheric GIS Forum, Esri Conference Center, Redlands, CA: Registrations, as well as calls for papers, lightning talks, posters, and story maps and apps will be available soon at http://www.esri.com/events/ocean. Join us at the Esri Ocean and Atmospheric GIS Forum to share new data collection methods and research. Discuss ways multi-dimensional data and web apps can help people put scientific information to work in your organization. Consider the potential of sharing knowledge across disciplines and collaborating with multiple stakeholders. Work with the ocean, weather, and climate communities as they forge new and better concepts in GIS analytics and applications.

Job & Internship Opportunities:

 

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? Talk to us: eoto@noaa.gov!