Eyes on the Ocean™ – IOOS Bi-weekly – 21 August 2019 - The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)

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

Email us to get it delivered to your inbox, and connect with us to keep up with the latest news!

From the Director
From the U.S. IOOS Office
Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies
DMAC Subsystem and Tools Built on IOOS data
Modeling and Analysis Subsystem
Interagency and International Collaboration/News
Delivering the Benefits
Congressional
Communications/Outreach
Upcoming Meetings

From the Director:

Hello IOOS Community,

We have less than a month to go until the OceanObs’19 conference (Sept. 16-20, 2019) and our office has been working hard in preparation for this decadal international ocean meeting. I’d like to highlight just a couple of the many events that will take place during OceanObs’19 that IOOS and NOAA are leading.

On Tuesday morning, September 17th, NOAA will host a Special Session “An Ocean of Data: NOAA’s Roles in Marine Extreme Events and Hazards” where NOAA will provide an agency overview to show the integration and interconnected contributions necessary to take observations to services that support response to extreme events and hazards. On Wednesday morning, September 18th, DOE and NOAA will participate in a Special Session focused on innovation - “Powering the Blue Economy: Energy Innovation for Ocean Observations. The session will discuss how recently announced research initiatives and energy innovation can lead to entirely new capabilities in ocean observation.

Be sure to come visit us at the NOAA booth in the OceanObs’19 Expo Hall. We will have a great line-up of lightning talks on NOAA mission and priority areas, hold hands on demonstrations of NOAA and IOOS products and services, and have lots of other great ocean information available.

There are many other IOOS related events, sessions, and panels, and we are looking forward to seeing many of you at the conference next month!

Best Wishes,
Carl

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

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.
U.S. IOOS Ocean Technology Transition Funding Opportunity: U.S. IOOS Program, in conjunction with NOPP, is seeking to fund projects, subject to the availability of funds, which advance new or existing technology-based solutions that address long standing and emerging coastal observing, product development, and data management challenges. See the bullet under “Grants & Funding Opportunities” below for more info. View the full notice here.
Nutrient Sensors in Action Challenge Announces Winners: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of a technology-accelerating water quality challenge. This year’s winners demonstrated how data from low cost water quality monitoring sensors can be used to inform local-scale nutrient management decisions. The Nutrient Sensor Action Challenge is one of a series of challenges focused on nutrient management conducted as part of multi-year collaboration between the EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Congratulations to the winners! Read the full press release here.

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):

No update.

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

GCOOS Seeks Glider Community Coordinator: Please see the job announcement for a Glider Community Coordinator in the Jobs & Internship Opportunities” section below.

Animal Telemetry Network (ATN) (National Coordinator Bill Woodward, Bill.Woodward@noaa.gov):

ATN Steering Group Meeting: Our 13 member Federal and non-federal ATN Steering Group (SG) met remotely on Aug. 6 for our fifth meeting, SG-5, where they received an update on the broad range of ongoing ATN activities, provided feedback on our operational Data Assembly Center (DAC), discussed results of our 7 ATN Stakeholder Workshops and had a chance to comment on our newly drafted ATN Data Policy. The 2-year period for SG membership had elapsed and all members present enthusiastically agreed to remain on for another 2-year term. Meeting minutes will be available soon at https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/atn/ under the meetings tab.

Covering Argos Fees through the ATN: The ATN Program will pay for Argos fees for researchers willing to display their R/T data on the ATN DAC Portal. This initiative is now supporting 23 programs and 536 tags. If you are interested in joining this program please go to: https://atn.ioos.us and click on Quick Links - Covering ARGOS Fees through the ATN

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

QARTOD (National Coordinator Mark Bushnell, mark.bushnell@noaa.gov):
- Updated currents QC manual posted: This updated manual has been posted on the QARTOD web page at https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/qartod, deposited into the NOAA repository at https://repository.library.noaa.gov, and accepted by the Ocean Best Practices System at https://www.oceanbestpractices.org. Our thanks to those who assisted with these postings, and to everyone who helped with this incremental update!
- Ocean Best Practice System update: The Ocean Best Practice Working Group invites you to join us at the OceanObs’19 Conference breakout session “Ocean Best Practices, supporting efficiency, interoperability and quality ocean services”. The session will be held Thursday afternoon (19 Sept) starting at 14:00. This session will consider ocean-observing priorities for best practices across the ocean observing value chain including their creation, their use, and approaches to improve training and adoption at local, regional and global scales consistent with the FAIR principles. The discussions will also include the benefits to you and colleagues involving sustainability, peer review and accommodating the latest technologies. The breakout will be an informal setting between expert panelists and participants on these topics to formulate recommendations for further developments of best practices making them easier to use, and identification of use cases as models for the ocean observing community.

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

COMT Annual Meeting: The COMT Annual Meeting will be held October 22-23rd in Silver Spring, MD. More details coming soon.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

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

GOOS Report on Coordinating the Implementation of Mangrove and Seagrass Essential Observations: The report for the implementation of the seagrass and mangrove EOVs is now available through the GOOS website (GOOS Report # 236). This is one outcome of the June 10-11, 2019, workshop titled “Coordinating the Implementation of Mangrove and Seagrass Essential Observations”, which was a joint activity between the Biology and Ecosystems Panel of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS BioEco) and the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). The workshop was supported by NASA and hosted by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.

OceanObs’19 Updates and Planning:

OceanObs’19: Registration Is Open! For more information on fees, deadlines, posters, and event registration, visit here.

Last call! OceanObs'19_OceanArt: Calling all ocean-inspired artists: Today is the deadline for sign up for time slots! OceanObs’19 organizers would like to provide a platform for people who have made art that is inspired by the ocean. We know that many scientists or other OceanObs’19 conference goers and their guests may have an artistic streak that they would be willing to share. This can be any art form: poem, music, painting, sculpture, fashion, stories, comedy stand-up etc. We will have a stage in the Exhibition Hall that will be open from 5:00-5:30 on the Tuesday-Thursday of the conference for people to sign up for time slots. Please fill out this form and submit to hold your space! Deadline: August 21

Planning A Side Event At OceanObs'19? We'll be compiling and advertising a list of side events and workshops occurring during the conference. To add your event to the list, please submit any information you'd like to make public here: http://www.cvent.com/events/oceanobs-19/custom-37-ab37c0e2c6f9491a9cfe7d1ac100f1ce.aspx
NOAA Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP) Meeting - August 27-29, 2019, New Orleans, LA: The next NOAA HSRP public meeting will be held in New Orleans, LA August 27-29. For more information and to see a draft agenda, please see: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/meeting-new-orleans-2019.htm
NOAA increases chance for above-normal hurricane season: NOAA forecasters monitoring oceanic and atmospheric patterns say conditions are now more favorable for above-normal hurricane activity since El Nino has now ended. Two named storms have formed so far this year and the peak months of the hurricane season, August through October, are now underway. Read more here: https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/noaa-increases-chance-for-above-normal-hurricane-season
Unprecedented 2018 Bering Sea ice loss repeated in 2019: During winter 2018 the sea ice in the Bering Sea reached record-low levels thanks to persistent warm southerly winds. These conditions caused the ice to retreat to the northern reaches of the 800,000 square mile body of water. Scientists were amazed, “It was about half of what we usually have in winter,” said NOAA oceanographer Phyllis Stabeno, lead author of a new paper in the journal Geophysical Research Letters offsite linkanalyzing the event. “To be blunt, all of us were shocked. This isn’t how it’s supposed to work.” At the end of April, 2018 Bering Sea ice covered 61,704 square kilometers. By contrast, sea ice extent on April 29, 2013, was 679,606 square kilometers, closer to the 1981 to 2010 average. By the end of April 2018, sea ice was about 10 percent of normal. And then, much to the scientists’ surprise, 2019 just missed eclipsing the record set in 2018. Read more: https://www.noaa.gov/stories/unprecedented-2018-bering-sea-ice-loss-repeated-in-2019
New Oceanographic Forecast Models Will Aid Mariners in the Great Lakes and Cook Inlet, Alaska: Two new oceanographic models will now be operational in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan in the Great Lakes and Cook Inlet in Alaska. The model for Lake Huron and Lake Michigan was developed in partnership with the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, and combines two existing models into a single improved model. The model for Cook Inlet, Alaska was developed in partnership with the Office of Coast Survey. These models will help mariners to navigate their local waters safely and more efficiently. Specifically, the models will provide operational nowcast and forecast guidance (out to 48 hours for Cook Inlet, and 120 hours for the Great Lakes) on parameters such as water levels, water temperature, salinity, and currents. NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services has implemented forecast systems like these in critical ports, harbors, estuaries, Great Lakes and coastal waters across the United States, forming a national backbone of real-time data, tidal predictions, data management and operational modeling. https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/news/new_oceanographic_forecast_models_will_aid_mariners.html
NOAA Ship Rainier successfully field tests autonomous hydrographic survey launch: NOAA Ship Rainier field tested a new hydrographic survey platform this season. Last winter, one of the ship’s hydrographic survey launches was converted into a semi-autonomous vessel, allowing it to be operated remotely. Hydrographic surveying is, by nature, dangerous. Autonomous systems have the potential to augment traditional surveying methods, improving efficiency and decreasing (or eliminating) risk to the surveyors themselves. As such, this technology is an exciting step toward fully-autonomous hydrographic survey systems. Read more here: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/updates/noaa-ship-rainier-successfully-field-tests-autonomous-hydrographic-survey-launch/
Researchers observe coral reef damage and invasive alga in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument: NOAA and partner scientists recently completed a 22-day expedition aboard the NOAA Ship Rainier in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They were surveying and monitoring coral reefs and associated reef fish communities, and searching for new species and habitat types on deep coral reefs. Researchers documented several new species of algae as well as an entirely new form of coral reef habitat. However, while conducting research dives, they observed reef destruction from Hurricane Walaka at French Frigate Shoals, and an invasive alga overgrowing native corals and other algae at Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Monument staff are now working to understand and respond to these impacts to the monument. Read more here: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/aug19/coral-damage-invasive-alga-papahanaumokuakea.html
New NOAA Ocean Podcast: NOAA's Disaster Preparedness Program: Planning for Tomorrow, Today: In this episode, Kate Wheelock, Chief of NOAA’s Disaster Preparedness Program, explains how her team facilitates internal communication, coordination, and preparation for all types of unforeseen disasters. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/aug19/disaster-prep-program.html
State of the Climate in 2018: AMS has just released the new State of the Climate report. It confirms that 2018 was one of the hottest years on record, with global surface temperatures continuing the trend in which every year since the turn of the 21st century has been hotter than any year experienced in the 20th century. This is the 29th issuance of the annual assessment, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society since 1996. State of the Climate puts a peer-reviewed stamp on the evidence that 2018 was one of the four warmest of 137 years of recordkeeping. Only the three record-setting years of 2015–17 were warmer. Its comprehensive analysis of sources and varied means of tracking global and regional climate show that trends are consistent with a warming planet. Read more here and download the report at ametsoc.org/SOTC.
Designing the Global Observing System for Marine Life: The Working Group of the Pegasus project for ocean sustainability supported by NCEAS and Future Earth held its first workshop "Designing the observing system for the world’s ocean – from microbes to whales" in Santa Barbara, CA, from 5-7 March, 2019. The report of this workshop is now available online. The goal of this Working Group is to design a monitoring network to answer specific scientific questions on high priority global phenomena in response to calls for guidance from policy makers and managers. By mapping the current spatial extent of observations for these essential variables, from microbes to whales and coastal ecosystems to the deep sea, the group aims to capitalize on what is already being achieved and what remains to be done to develop a globally coordinated, fit for purpose, and sustained ocean observing system. The group will also develop a roadmap to ensure that products maximally support monitoring progress against the Convention on Biological Diversity 2050 Vision, Agenda 2030 and other critical international agreements including scientific platforms related to climate change, biodiversity, and ecosystem services as well as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainability. The roadmap will include where current indicators can be updated to make better use of scientific information and impact the future development of scientific priorities. A second workshop is planned for December 2019.
Call for New GOOS Steering Committee Members: GOOS is looking for six new and enthusiastic members to join its Steering Committee. This is an exciting time for the Global Ocean Observing System Programme (GOOS); The Ocean Observing community is very active for the OceanObs’19 conference and GOOS have just launched the Global Ocean Observing System 2030 Strategy. Now the real work of making this ambitious strategy come to life starts. This is an opportunity to work towards and shape the future Global Ocean Observing System. Apply by sending an email expressing interest and ideas on where you feel you could contribute to the following email address goos@unesco.org, with your CV. The call will close on 30 September 2019 and selection will be made by 31 October 2019. Please also forward to any contacts that you think would be good candidates.
Grants & Funding Opportunities

U.S. IOOS Ocean Technology Transition Funding Opportunity: The U.S. IOOS Program, in conjunction with NOPP, is seeking to fund projects, subject to the availability of funds, which advance new or existing technology-based solutions that address long standing and emerging coastal observing, product development, and data management challenges. The projects will be focused on those technologies for which there are demonstrated operators who commit to integrated, long term use of those technologies and open data sharing. A Transition Manager for the project should be identified and a Transition Plan will be a Year One deliverable. View the full notice here.

Notice of Funding Opportunity: NOAA’s Climate Program Office FY2020: NOAA’s CPO supports competitive research through three major program areas: Earth System Science and Modeling (ESSM); Climate and Societal Interactions (CSI); and Communication, Education and Engagement (CEE). Through this announcement, CPO is seeking applications for 10 individual competitions in FY20. Read the full funding announcement here: https://cpo.noaa.gov/Funding-Opportunities/FY-2020-Notice-of-Funding-Opportunity

DARPA BAA: This new 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.

Delivering the Benefits:

GLBottom Mapping.GLOS.us is live: The Great Lakes Bottom Mapping Workgroup’s website is fully launched and stuffed with information to get those working in bathymetric and benthic data up to speed. The group’s exists to “harmonize the collection, sharing, and use of lake floor data for the great lakes and connecting channels.” Check them out here.
GCOOS is now hosting meteorological data from BOEM: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) Air Quality Modeling in the Gulf of Mexico Region study (M14PC00007) [https://marinecadastre.gov/] prepared offshore meteorological files for use in the American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD) and California Puff Model (CALPUFF). The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, generated a five-year meteorological dataset for the Gulf of Mexico region for years 2010-2014. The data was processed with the Mesoscale Model Interface (MMIF) program for formatting. These datasets support air dispersion modeling efforts to report modeled air quality impacts. Access the data here.
GCOOS Director Appointed to Governor’s Red Tide Task Force: GCOOS Executive Director Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick has been named to the reorganized Red Tide Task Force, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis announced Aug. 2. The Red Tide Task Force will complement the Blue Green Algae Task Force and the Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative, which were implemented following Florida’s double whammy hit of toxic red tide and blue-green blooms on the state’s east and west coasts. Kirkpatrick joins a distinguished panel of Florida and national HAB researchers. Learn more here.
SECOORA debuts new Hurricane Monitoring portal: Use SECOORA's new Eyes on the Storm portal to access data - such as wind speed and wave heights - from monitoring stations located along the path of named hurricanes in the southeast and western Gulf of Mexico.
NVS Tsunami App improved: NANOOS recently worked with the US Tsunami Warning Center to refresh links in the NVS Tsunami portal that is used to alert the public of an earthquake generated in the Pacific basin and a potentially destructive tsunami. This revision to the web portal's alerting capabilities will eventually enable similar information to be pushed directly to a user’s smartphone, providing users with needed information about a distant tsunami event.
New Ecosystem Mooring in Gulf of Alaska: AOOS’ long-term buildout plan calls for deploying ecosystem moorings in each of the four Large Marine Ecosystems in Alaska oceans: Chukchi, Beaufort and Bering Seas, and the Gulf of Alaska, to provide sustained, year-round observations and track changes over time. The Chukchi Ecosystem Observatory (CEO) is now fully built out and operating. The Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Observatory (GEO) began collecting data July 11 with three moorings deployed off the R/V Sikuliaq. Read the full field report (and more AOOS news) in their Summer 2019 newsletter.
Paper: Monitoring mosaic biotopes in a marine conservation zone by autonomous underwater vehicle: This recent paper, published in Conservation Biology, illustrates the potential for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to photographically survey Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). AUVs offer a solution to monitoring challenges posed by mixed habitat types such as mosaics of rock and sand, as well as the growing spatial extent of marine protected areas globally.
Paper: Improving Surface Current Resolution Using Direction Finding Algorithms for Multi-Antenna High Frequency Radars: While land-based High Frequency (HF) radars are the only instruments capable of resolving both the temporal and spatial variability of surface currents in the coastal ocean, recent high resolution views suggest that the coastal ocean is more complex than presently deployed radar systems are able to reveal. This work uses a hybrid system, having elements of both phased arrays and direction finding radars, to improve the azimuthal resolution of HF radars. Data from two radars deployed along the U.S. East Coast and configured as 8-antenna grid arrays were used to evaluate potential direction finding and signal, or emitter, detection methods.

Congressional:

No update.

Communications/Outreach/Education:

OceanObs'19 Break Out Session Seeks Community Input: The OceanObs'19 break out session on Ecosystem Health and Biodiversity has released a pre-conference document of draft recommendations and proposed outcomes for community feedback. The session will take place Tuesday, 17 September, 2-4pm HT. This represents a significant effort from a diverse team and synthesizes recommendations from many Community White Papers. We encourage you to look this over and provide any level of input for which you are able.
New kiosk at Ohio's Maumee State Park Lodge offers vistors water & beach info: Vacationers at the Maumee Bay State Park Lodge in Ohio now have a way to tell, in real-time, the condition of the waters they came to see, right from the lobby. In mid July, The University of Toledo Lake Erie Center and the HABs Collaboratory installed a lobby kiosk that features five resources to educate guests about harmful algae and current conditions in the bay, an area typically hit hard by algal blooms. Resources include the NOAA/CIGLR HAB Tracker, the NOAA HAB bulletin, MODIS Satellite imagery, and live buoy data courtesy of the GLOS HABs Portal.
Thursday 8/22 is Shell Day in the U.S. Northeast: Building a community by connecting water monitoring programs in the Northeast with carbon chemists for a one-day sampling blitz, Shell Day aims to capture a snapshot of our region’s changing coastal chemistry.
SECOORA Campaign: Support a Graduate Student Scholarship Opportunity: SECOORA and partner, The FACT Network, received a $15,000 grant from the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation to support fisheries research in South Florida. SECOORA is working on a campaign to match funds to complete their grant challenge. Visit the SECOORA site and see how you can get involved.
Citizen Scientists sought for Beluga Whale Monitoring in Alaska: The Alaska Beluga Monitoring Partnership is offering residents the opportunity to help scientists understand more about Cook Inlet beluga whales. The partnership — a collaboration of several organizations, including Beluga Whale Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife and the Alaska Wildlife Alliance — seeks to help facilitate beluga monitoring from citizen scientists. From Aug. 14 to Nov. 15, monitoring events will take place in sites at the mouth of Twentymile River and at Bird Point near Girdwood, at Ship Creek in Anchorage and at the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers. Read more and how to apply here.
Webinar: Integrated Modeling of Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia: Supporting Ecosystem Prediction & Environmental Management in the California Current, September 3, 2019, 10:00am – 12:00pm (PST): The purpose of this webinar is to share an update on a 6-year effort to build an integrated model of the California Current System and apply it to investigations of ocean acidification and hypoxia, including local anthropogenic inputs and climate change. Learn more and register here.
Workshop: Drones in the Coastal Zone Workshop 3/31 – 4/2, 2020, Beaufort, North Carolina: NOAA, US IOOS, SECOORA, CariCOOS and Duke University are hosting a regional workshop on applications of drones for coastal management, conservation and research. To help us target workshop topics to the needs of the community, please consider completing the short survey, even if you are unable to attend the workshop in person. Deadline to complete is 8/31.
OceanObs’19: An Ocean of OpportunitySeries - Community White Papers published in Frontiers in Marine Science:

IOOS in the News:

Research cruise off California finds life lacking in parts of the ocean (NOAA, Scripps), San Diego Union-Tribune, 8/4/19
Hurricanes that threaten SC will be watched by robot submarines (SECOORA), The Post and Courier, 8/7/2019
What makes Lake Erie algae toxic? ‘HAB Grab’ hopes to find answers (GLOS), Michigan Live, 8/8/19
Gliders improve hurricane intensity forecast (SECOORA), Bluffton Today, 8/12/2019
Gliders Showed Forecasting Progress During Hurricane Florence (SECOORA), Government Technology, 8/12/2019
Skidaway gliders improve hurricane forecast (SECOORA), Savannah Now, 8/11/2019

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation:

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/

Save the Date: GCOOS Fall Meeting, 9 October 2019, Galveston, TX: GCOOS will hold the public portion of our fall meeting from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary facility. Details & the agenda to follow.

MTS/IEEE OCEANS 2019, 27 – 31 October 2019, Seattle, WA: OCEANS is the bi-annual event for global marine technologists, engineers, students, government officials, lawyers, and advocates. These industry thought leaders gather for four days to highlight relevant topics and current trends, while creating a community of learners and influencers who consistently advance research, practices, and policies for the marine field. The Marine Technology Society and the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society partner to present OCEANS, and this prestigious conference and exhibition draws an audience of more than 2,000 attendees. For more info: https://seattle19.oceansconference.org/
OCEANS 2019 Seattle - Marine Debris Town Hall - Tuesday, October 29, 6-8 pm: Panel session from 6 to 7 p.m. focused on: information needs for marine plastics and other debris: SDG 14.1 indicators; current knowledge of plastic debris in the oceans (water column, seabed, washed/deposited on shorelines); challenges to monitoring plastics in the oceans: coupling observation technologies and circulation models; and bringing the knowledge to society: existing and developing global platforms. The panel session will be followed by a breakout session from 7 to 8 p.m. where the audience will be able to participate in a more detailed discussion of the issues and next steps for one of the 4 points above. These discussions will be followed by a brief summary of the discussions by each of the breakout session leads and the session will end with a wrap-up by the moderator presenting a plan for action and future progress meetings. http://ieeeoes.org/conferences/oceans-2019-seattle-marine-debris-town-hall/

Integrated Ocean Observing for a Changing California Coastline, 19 November 2019, Sacramento, CA: This one-day, public event will showcase California’s Ocean Observing System capabilities, communicate the value of our products and tools to the state, and guide the development of a vision for future collaboration between the State of California and the California Ocean Observing Systems. Click here for registration and more information.

Save the Date! NERACOOS Annual Meeting, 6 December 2019, Portsmouth, NH: More information coming soon.

AGU Fall Meeting, 9-13 December 2019, San Francisco, CA: Please consider submitting an abstract to the following sessions:

"Standards for the Benefit of Science and Society" (Session IN043). With the introductions of FAIR and the need for improved interoperability, standards and best practices are playing an ever-increasing role in our research. Your submission in this area is an important contribution to the community dialogue. The deadline for submission is July 31, 2019, and the link to submit is: https://www.agu.org/

Session description: Standards can help to ensure the F.A.I.R.ness of data, reduce the barriers to adoption of new technologies within local and regional cultures, and help close the digital divide between less economically developed countries and advanced societies. But the development of de jure standards takes time and effort, and adoption of the end product is not guaranteed. The codification and promotion of community or recommended practices (aka “best practices”) is a less formal avenue for achieving many of these same goals. This session consists of presentations highlighting the practical aspects, including sociological factors, involved in development and adoption of standards and best practices. Presentations describing specific use cases and outcomes involving standardization efforts are also being solicited.

“Tracks Across the Ocean, Sky, and Land” (Session IN047). Call for Abstracts: AGU Track Data Session. On behalf of the organizers, we welcome your submissions to a session looking at how we manage, use, and visualize "track" data, such as that collected by sensors on airplanes, drones, ships, and vehicles. Abstract Submission Deadline: 31 July, 11:59 P.M. ET https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm19/prelim.cgi/Session/76137

Session Description: Many different types of projects collect track data, which describes the time and location where Earth science measurements were made along the path traversed by a ship, airplane, drone, vehicle, or hiker. The users and managers of this data tend to be associated with particular domains (such as ocean sciences, terrestrial ecology, or atmospheric sciences), which can limit the exchange of ideas and methods for working with this type of data. This session is an opportunity to explore and share approaches for storing, discovering, visualizing, and analyzing track data, in an effort to identify recommended practices and opportunities for further collaboration across science domains.

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. The OceanObs’19 conference (Hawaii 16-21 September, 2019) 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.

Ocean Sciences 2020 Meeting, 16 – 21 February 2020, San Diego, CA: The Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM) is the flagship conference for the ocean sciences and the larger ocean-connected community. As we approach the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, beginning in 2021, it is increasingly important to gather as a scientific community to raise awareness of the truly global dimension of the ocean, address environmental challenges, and set forth on a path towards a resilient planet. More info here: https://www.agu.org We will post more info about sessions and side events/meetings below:

Session "New technologies and methods in fisheries science" (IS012) seeking abstract submissions. This session aims to bring together an interdisciplinary group of researchers to share innovative methods and technologies used to study fisheries. Abstracts must be submitted no later than September 11, 2019 through the conference website. The session description and instructions for abstract submission can be found here.
Session “Plankton on the move: variable and changing biogeography in the past, present, and future” (OB023) seeking abstract submission. This session aims to bring together a diverse group of observationalists and modelers to share recent work on topics associated with plankton variability and change on intra-seasonal to interglacial timescales, including but not limited to changes in geographic distribution, diversity, and response to climate forcing. Abstracts must be submitted no later than September 11, 2019 through the conference website. The session description and instructions for abstract submission can be found here.

Other Upcoming Meetings:

2019 NOAA Environmental Data Management Workshop, 4 – 5 September 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

EPOC 2019, 29 September – 1 October 2019, Fallen Leaf Lake, CA: Eastern Pacific Ocean Conference will be held at the Stanford Sierra Center. Full session descriptions are available at the Scientific Sessions link on the EPOC website, and include contact information for the session co-chairs, should you have questions about a particular session.
Pecora 21 & ISRSE 38, 6 – 11 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. 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. Learn more & register online.
Ocean Waves Workshop, 17 October 2019, New Orleans, LA: The Ocean Waves Workshop brings together scientists, engineers and managers to present results and ideas related to the use of wave buoys, models and information to support at-sea operations. Workshop organizers are soliciting papers, case studies and participation from researchers, engineers, military officers and managers. More details and registration here.
The Gulf of Maine 2050 symposium, 4 – 8 November, 2019, Portland, ME: Dedicated to increasing our collective understanding of how the region's coastline is expected to change in the next 30 years. It's open all sectors--industry, science, students, citizens--so consider joining in. Early bird registration through August 5, and there are scholarships available for people who may not have conference or hotel budgets. Learn more & register online.
Save the date: Esri Ocean and Atmospheric GIS Forum, 5 – 7 November 2019, Redlands, CA: Registrations, as well as calls for papers, lightning talks, posters, and story maps and apps is available 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.
WOC 7th Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS), Paris, 20-22 Nov, 2019: The World Ocean Council (WOC) Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS) is the annual gathering of the global Ocean Business Community dedicated to advancing private sector action on responsible use of the seas. With the theme of “Investing in Ocean Futures: Finance and Innovation for the Blue Economy”, the SOS 2019 will be the foremost international business conference dedicated to investment and innovation for ocean sustainable development. More information available here: www.sustainableoceansummit.org

Job & Internship Opportunities:

SCCOOS/CASG Postdoctoral Researcher: The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) and California Sea Grant (CASG) are seeking a postdoctoral researcher with a Ph.D. in marine science, oceanography, geography, or quantitative (marine) ecology to investigate the dynamics of habitat availability and disturbance in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Applications are due September 18, 2019. Click here to read more about the position and how to apply.
NOAA’s Office of Coastal Management is Hiring: The Office of Coastal Management (OCM) is hiring a Data Manager. The MAP and DE announcements for one Physical Scientist, ZP-1301-3/4 position have been posted. The announcements will open for 7 days; they are set to open on 8/20/2019 and close on 8/26/2019.

Job Announcement # (MAP): NOS-OCM-2019-0009 https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/543001400
Job Announcement # (DE/CR): NOS-OCM-2019-0010 https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/543001500

GCOOS Seeks Glider Community Coordinator: GCOOS is pleased to announce that an opening for a newly funded position: Coordinator for the U.S. Underwater Glider User Group (UG2). The Glider Community Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating and further developing UG2, facilitating the exchange of information and expertise among glider users throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the broader U.S., including sharing best practices. Learn more and apply here.

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!

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