Eyes on the Ocean™ – IOOS Bi-weekly – 27 November 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,

With Thanksgiving upon us, I’d like to take a moment to thank our staff, Regional Associations, and partners who work so hard to produce, integrate, and communicate high quality ocean, coastal and Great Lakes information, improving lives and livelihoods every day and advancing ocean science for the Nation. I’m so appreciative of the passion each of you bring in building, developing, and promoting IOOS. IOOS is a true team effort and the work you do every day is critical to our understanding of the ocean. THANK YOU!

Instead of turkey on your plate this holiday, how about a 'turkeyfish'? That's just one of the many imaginative names people use when referring to lionfish, an invasive species in Atlantic waters. Whatever you call it, turkeyfish can be a viable dinner option. Once stripped of its venomous spines, cleaned, and filleted like any other fish, the lionfish becomes delectable seafood fare.

We're all counting down to the end of the year, but meanwhile have some fun discovering your inner observing asset with this NERACOOS quiz. What Asset Are You? (https://www.quiz-maker.com/QROGJUN) NERACOOS has built this fun quiz that will reveal your inner observing asset. Are you a glider or a high frequency radar? Find out!

Our next edition will be the annual holiday edition of the Eyes on the Ocean and then we will take a break until the new year.

Best Wishes,
Carl

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

IOOS Advisory Committee Meeting: The IOOS Advisory Committee will meet in Washington, DC, February 11 & 12, 2020. More information will be made available on the IOOS Website soon. An announcement will be published in the Federal Register Notice as well.
Save the date! 2020 IOOS Spring Meeting: March 4 - 5, 2020: The IOOS Association, IOOS Regional Associations, and the IOOS Program Office will meet for their annual spring meeting March 4-5 in Washington, D.C. Check back for more information.

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

Call for Proposals for Participation in the 2020 Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX): This year, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC) is partnering with NOAA for its annual Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX). ANTX brings together industry, academia and the Government, to test and evaluate new technologies that show the potential to increase our understanding of the ocean environment. The goal of ANTX is to better leveraging the full range of ocean based science and technology (S&T) development in the United States, for Navy and NOAA missions. ANTX provides funding opportunities for small themed "vignettes" in which teams submit proposals. Industry, Academia, and Government Organizations are encouraged to partner together to leverage each others skills and expertise. Technologies exercised at previous ANTX have included; unmanned surface and subsurface systems, maritime sensors, moorings, maritime energy systems, novel software, and swarming technologies to name a few. Proposals are due December 4th, 2019 and selections will be announced January 17, 2020. ANTX 2020 proposals are submitted here. If for some reason the link doesn't work, head to beta.sam.gov and search for N6660420RANT.
Surface Current Mapping: (IOOS PO POC, Derrick Snowden, Derrick.Snowden@noaa.gov):

No update.

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

Underwater gliders for Hurricane Research: Researchers use underwater gliders to measure ocean conditions before, during and after a hurricane hits. During a MARACOOS glider deployment in October, Nicole Waite of Rutgers University explained how scientists launch gliders, collect data, and retrieve the robots. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYQZJ_pSx4c

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

WMO-IOC, JCOMM Animal Borne Sensors Network Workshop: Bill participated in a Workshop Nov. 19-22, 2019 hosted by the Australian IMOS (Integrated Marine Observing System) in Hobart at the University of Tasmania, Institute of Marine and Antarctic Science (IMAS). The Workshop brought together 20 international biological/oceanographic scientists and observing program managers who worked to define and document the foundational steps needed to organize and advance an international network, currently named PROTEUS, that will operationally aggregate and make available global ocean data that is being collected by sensors on marine animal tags. An end of November report will reflect the initial science and data management discussions at the Workshop and will form the basis for a proposal to the WMO-IOC JCOMM Observations Coordination Group (OCG) early next year requesting formal recognition of this emerging network.

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

DMAC Tech Webinar - December 5, 2020 - 3pm: The IOOS office will host Dr. Gregory Dusek of NOS/CO-OPS for a presentation on NOAA AI Strategy and NOAA AI/ML activities. Hassan Moustahfid, IOOS lead for AI/ML, will be hosting the webinar this month. Please join us from 3 - 4 PM ET on Thursday Dec 5 for the presentation.

Webinar connection info: https://mmancusa.webex.com/mmancusa/j.php?MTID=mcaee00d6cb5d37627b91afacbbf5c618
Meeting number: 743 552 415 Password: vS3Eset@
Audio connection:

1-866-759-4289 (US) Call-in toll-free number (Verizon)
1-210-406-8964 (US) Call-in number (Verizon)

Attendee access code: 143 876 9

Quality Control Flag Proposals: The ERDDAP project team recently submitted two proposals to the CF (Climate and Forecast Metadata) governance body regarding standard approaches to encode QARTOD or other quality control flags into CF discrete sampling datasets. The two proposals (#216 and #205) are alternate approaches to accomplish the same goal: standardize how to identify a particular QC test within the attribution of a dataset. This is necessary for IOOS to pursue in situ data ingest into the GTS via ERDDAP harvest by NDBC. Both proposals are currently being debated on GitHub and anyone that would like to contribute to the discussion is encouraged to weigh in.
QARTOD (National Coordinator Mark Bushnell, mark.bushnell@noaa.gov):

QARTOD at ONC workshop: Ocean Networks Canada hosted a workshop November 19-20, titled Developing Standards for Annotating and Storing Marine Passive Acoustic Data, Ancillary Data, and Metadata. Mark Bushnell participated remotely, providing a presentation which reviewed the QC tests and data flagging guidance found in the QARTOD Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of Passive Acoustics Data: A Guide to Quality Control and Quality Assurance for Passive Acoustics Observations. For further information about this ONC workshop, contact Kristen Kanes at ksjkanes@uvic.ca.

Ocean Best Practice System update: The OBPS WG hosted a panel at the Oceans 2019 in Seattle on best practices. Participants were Eugene Burger (PMEL), Rene Garello (IMT Atlantique), Kim Juniper (ONC), Craig Lee (UW) and Jan Newton (UW), moderated by Jay Pearlman (IEEE). There was dynamic discussion between the audience and the panel. Key messages were: transparency is essential in the dynamics of BP creation; BP are necessary due to expanding observations and turnover of marine technicians; if two similar BPs exist, then we need to have insights on which to use; and more life cycle co-design is necessary. A more detailed discussion of the panel will be available in the next BP newsletter.

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

No update.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

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

December 2-3 CalCOFI Symposium - Streamlining Ecosystem Assessments and New Tools to Quickly Generate Management Information from Ocean Monitoring Data: On-going collaborations between west coast sanctuaries, the California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Program (CCIEA), MBON, and US IOOS are resulting in substantial progress towards streamlining the generation of condition reports and delivering more timely assessment information. The Sanctuaries produce standard condition reports as a tool to periodically assess a sanctuary’s “state,” specifically as the current status and recent trends of driving forces, human pressures, water quality, habitats, and living resources. Completion of a full assessment for a site involves compilation of monitoring data and synthetic data products from a wide variety of monitoring programs that overlap geographically with a sanctuary. Compiling this information is time consuming and has resulted in infrequent updates to condition reports roughly every decade. At the upcoming CalCOFI Symposium, Jennifer Brown (ECOS Consulting and the Monterey Bay and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuaries) will share examples of these improvements including: an inventory of priority datasets such as those provided by the CalCOFI surveys,cross-walked with sanctuary habitats and management targets; improved data accessibility for near real-time status reporting; upscaled/downscaled data products for better alignment with the scale of the management unit; and suites of data products (e.g., interactive infographics, curated data views) to facilitate use by different stakeholders.

Ocean Sciences 2020 Town Hall: Data Archaeology for Marine Biodiversity Observations: MBON, NOAA/OAR, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), and partners will lead a Town Hall at Ocean Sciences 2020 to organize and gain insight from the community on implementation of a global-scale data archaeology process to speed up data rescue, sharing and curation for marine biodiversity information. The approach would be to create an online methodology and tools to digitize data and upload it to OBIS via ‘hack-a-thon’ and ‘bio-blitz’ events. If you’d like to be involved please reach out to Gabrielle.Canonico@noaa.gov or erica.h.ombres@noaa.gov. If you plan to attend Ocean Sciences 2020, please join us and contribute!

Town Hall Title: Expanding Access to Critical Marine Biological Diversity Observations
Date and Time: Wednesday, 19 February 2020: 12:45 - 13:45
Location: SDCC, 7A, UL

Public Comment for the Four Draft NOAA Science and Technology Strategies: NOAA Unmanned Systems, Artificial Intelligence, `Omics, and Cloud Strategies: NOAA has released four draft NOAA Science and Technology Strategies for public comment: NOAA Unmanned Systems, Artificial Intelligence, `Omics, and Cloud Strategies. These initiatives will serve as enablers to dramatically expand our application of these four emerging science and technology focus areas by improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and coordination of their development and usage across the agency. Comments must be received by December 16, 2019. For more information, please see the Federal Register Notice: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/11/14/2019-24753/public-comment-for-the-four-draft-noaa-science-and-technology-strategies-noaa-unmanned-systems

Department of Energy Challenges Innovators to Harness the Power of the Oceans: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced developments in two new prizes: Waves to Water, which challenges innovators to desalinate water using the power of ocean waves, and the Powering the Blue Economy™ Ocean Observing Prize, a joint DOE-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) prize, which challenges innovators to pair marine renewable energy technologies with ocean observing platforms. These announcements were made at a White House multi-agency public-private partnership summit on November 14th that was focused on accelerating science, technology, and research in the oceans. Read more here: https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-challenges-innovators-harness-power-oceans
Great Lakes Basic Hydraulic and Hydrologic Data Coordinating Committee Meeting: The Coordinating Committee on Great Lakes Basic Hydraulic and Hydrologic Data held their 107th meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland. CO-OPS and NGS are working with their Canadian counterparts on this committee to update the International Great Lakes Datum (IGLD), a common vertical water level reference datum. Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River System, one of the world's largest freshwater resources, is shared by the U.S. and Canada. Management of this shared resource requires a common elevation reference surface, or datum, from which to measure its water levels. Due to the gradual rising of the Earth's crust from receding glaciers, the IGLD must be adjusted every 25-30 years. This updated reference system is critical for safe and efficient navigation, shoreline development, and habitat preservation in the Great Lakes. An updated IGLD (2020) datum is due to be released in 2025. For more information contact Laura Rear McLaughlin Laura.Rear.Mclaughlin@noaa.gov or visit greatlakescc.org.
NGS, Canadian Geodetic Survey Coordinate Modernization of Reference Systems: Scientists from NGS and the Canadian Geodetic Survey (CGS) met to discuss the coordinated modernization of the American National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) and the Canadian Spatial Reference System (CSRS) by 2022. This meeting continued the technical collaboration required for both countries to provide consistent geodetic reference frames across North America. Discussions ranged across technical and policy arenas, with a number of decisions reached. NGS and CGS agreed to choose an industry standard grid format for all gridded products and services from both agencies, and further agreed to a variety of naming and nomenclature decisions which should make cross-border work more seamless in the future. Contact: Dru.Smith@noaa.gov
NOAA Seeks Public Comment on Ending Production of Paper Nautical Charts: NOAA is undertaking a five-year program to end all raster and paper nautical chart production. Ultimately, production of all NOAA paper nautical charts, raster navigational charts (NOAA RNC®), and related products, such as BookletCharts,™ will cease. NOAA is seeking feedback through a Federal Register Notice published on November 15, 2019. This information will shape the manner and timing in which products’ phasing out process will proceed. The International Maritime Organization now mandates that all large commercial vessels on international voyages use ENCs. In 2016, the U.S. Coast Guard started allowing regulated commercial vessels on domestic voyages to use ENCs in lieu of paper charts. To meet these needs, NOAA is in the midst of a multi-year program to improve its ENC coverage. NOAA is currently testing a Custom Chart prototype which is intended to serve as a replacement for traditional paper charts. Contact: Christiaan.Vanwestendorp@noaa.gov
NOAA Ship Rainier returns to survey the Hawaiian coast, provides update on lava flow development: NOAA Ship Rainier’s four-decade tropical sonar silence is over and Hawaiian hydrography is back! The 2019 field season was productive, challenging, and geographically diverse. After starting the season with traditional hydrographic surveys in Alaska, Rainier was re-tasked to support science diving operations in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument that surrounds the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Though the primary purpose of this dispatch was to support coral reef research, the world’s most productive coastal hydrographic survey platform would have been remiss to forego this opportunity to ping new waters. Read more here: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/updates/noaa-ship-rainier-returns-to-survey-the-hawaiian-coast-provides-update-on-lava-flow-development/
NGS Publishes Technical Report on New Geoid Monitoring Service (GeMS): For more than 200 years the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) has provided access to the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), a consistent coordinate system that defines latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation throughout the United States. The datums that define this positioning framework are currently fixed with respect to time. However the Earth is not a static object, and we now have the scientific and observing capabilities to understand many physical changes and incorporate them into a time-dependent, dynamic NSRS that uses a gravity-based vertical reference system to measure heights. NGS has published a new technical report that describes the current state of knowledge and outlines the next steps required to define this time-dependent geopotential datum. Long-term NGS goals regarding time-dependent geopotential datum have been incorporated into a project called the “Geoid Monitoring Service” or GeMS. This report presents a roadmap of options for how NGS could realize a time-dependent geopotential datum. For more information, contact kevin.ahlgren@noaa.gov
NOAA, NFWF Announce Resilience Projects Chosen for Funding: NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced projects recommended for funding under the 2019 National Coastal Resilience Fund. The fund will invest $29.3 million in 44 projects that restore, increase, and strengthen natural infrastructure — the landscapes that help absorb the impacts of storms and floods — to ultimately protect coastal communities and enhance fish and wildlife habitat. There was significant interest in this grant program in 2019, with 176 eligible pre-proposals requesting a total of $101 million in funding. The total investment, including non-federal match, is $89 million. OCM is the lead federal partner on the fund. Contact: Laura.Petes@noaa.gov
Gulf of Maine Cyst Sampling Cruise Sets Stage for 2020 Red Tide Forecast: In the Gulf of Maine, seasonal forecasts of Alexandrium catenella (the cause of Gulf of Maine Red Tide) severity depends on the number of "cysts," or seed-like cells that exist in sediments. Cyst abundances are measured in the fall or early winter prior to the forecast release in the spring. Gulf of Maine Red Tide produces a toxin that can accumulate in shellfish. Human consumers of toxin-contaminated shellfish can experience paralytic shellfish poisoning, which is a serious and sometimes fatal illness. To protect human health, state agencies conduct rigorous monitoring and ban harvesting of toxic shellfish. An NCCOS-sponsored cyst cruise, in partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, documented cyst abundance across the Gulf of Maine. NCCOS provides forecasts of Gulf of Maine red tide events that enable proactive responses to protect coastal economies, making the region more resilient to red tide outbreaks. Contact: Terry.McTigue@noaa.gov
Dive into History through Great Lakes Shipwrecks: Wisconsin Sea Grant helps explore shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, celebrating and illuminating Wisconsin’s nautical past: For more than 30 years, Wisconsin Sea Grant has explored shipwrecks in collaboration with The Wisconsin Historical Society to illuminate and celebrate Wisconsin’s nautical past. Their efforts have led to Wisconsin having more shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places than any other state. Together, they created the Wisconsin Shipwrecks website where visitors can learn about underwater archaeology, ongoing research and more. The website serves as a portal to the shipwreck sites hidden at the bottom of lakes Michigan and Superior, so anyone can see and explore a wreck’s history. More intrepid visitors can even find coordinates to sites and attractions. The Great Lakes house over 6,000 shipwrecks, which may seem like a lot, but makes sense for the region. Not only are the Great Lakes an important trading region, but the cold water and low salinity is an ideal environment for preserving wrecked ships (read more from Wisconsin Sea Grant here).
NOSB Announces 2020 Competition Theme: The National Ocean Science Board has announced its 2020 competition theme - Understanding Human, Economic and Environmental Resiliency in the Gulf of Mexico. The theme is both appropriate given the 2020 National Finals will be hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Ocean Science and Engineering and timely as the Finals will coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. That event exemplifies the challenges in the Gulf but also provided an opportunity for researchers, ocean science institutions, and numerous stakeholders to better understand regional dynamics and support recovery and resilience actions in the “living laboratory” of the Gulf. This theme will be incorporated into multiple aspects of the Finals event, including activities and presentations, as well as serve as the basis for many buzzer and team challenge questions during the 2020 regional and Finals competitions. You can read the entire 2020 theme document here.
COPERNICUS Collaborative Vision for a Sustainable Ocean and Recently Published Blue Book Now Available: The Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS) 2019 session on “COPERNICUS Collaborative Vision for a Sustainable Ocean: Investment and Innovation for Ocean Data and Deliverables” brought together EU policy makers, ocean data leaders and the investment community to discuss the advancement of investment and innovation for ocean data deliverables on 22 November. COPERNICUS is the European Earth observation and monitoring programme, and aims to give the European Union autonomous and operational capability in space-based observation facilities and in situ measurements. The recently published Blue Book “Copernicus for a Sustainable Ocean” promotes and tells the story of the Copernicus Marine Service to inform all European citizens, including policy-makers, students and youth, on how the Copernicus Marine Service benefits society as a whole. Among its contributors are decision-makers, entrepreneurs, experts, concerned citizens, and scientists from all over the world that are directly involved in ocean-related issues.
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. Closes 1/13/2020. View the full notice here.

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. Closes June 12, 2020.

Delivering the Benefits:

MARACOOS and MARCO Partner to Create Monthly Sea Surface Temperature Maps: The Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) has partnered with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) and the MARCO Portal Team to produce a group of maps displaying average monthly sea surface temperatures based on 15 years of recent data. Read more here.
SECOORA Fills Gaps in Harmful Algal Bloom Research in the Gulf of Mexico: With SECOORA's support, a team of scientists are working to improve our understanding of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) on the West Florida Shelf. Focusing on the toxic dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, the team is increasing bloom sampling efficiency and improving bloom forecasting by using a combination of ship-based sampling, glider deployments, and satellite remote sensing. By working together, observation capabilities and enhanced forecasting will be expanded to HAB-prone areas off the coast of Florida. Read more here.
2018 Puget Sound Marine Waters Overview: A comprehensive look at Puget Sound marine conditions for the year 2018 is now available. Physical, chemical, and biological information, ranging from large-scale climate variations to local biota monitoring, is summarized to provide a thorough overview of conditions in Puget Sound and the surrounding area during 2018. The report includes many contributions from NANOOS. This report is published by Puget Sound Partnership and NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center as part of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program. Read the report here.
GCOOS Data Featured: An important GCOOS societal benefit is ingesting large volumes of data from thousands of sensors and pushing them out to the sectors that need them. IOOS held a DMAC Tech Webinar on Oct. 31 that featured Dr. Leila Belabbassi, GCOOS Data Manager. She compared Quality Assurance of Real Time Ocean Data (QARTOD) with Ocean Observatory Initiatives (OOI) quality control procedures for real-time and delayed-mode quality control. She also discussed the degree of completeness of four main data evaluation activities that define the Quality Control Procedure Paradigm for both programs. GCOOS System Architect, Felimon Gayanilo, shared data transport challenges and solutions related to the GCOOS Data Portal at the 24th Annual Conference of the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors in Corpus Christi.
Red Tide Citizen Scientists in the Gulf of Mexico: Commercial fishermen in Southwest Florida are donating their time & vessels to support a better scientific understanding of offshore waters. In 2018, as blooms of toxic red tide and blue-green algae took over Southwest Florida waters, Commercial Fisherman Casey Streeter, of Pine Island, Florida, knew he had to do something about the problems impacting his family's commercial fishing and fish market businesses. The result was the creation of the Florida Commercial Watermen’s Conservation (FCWC). This new nonprofit, science-based organization is bringing together commercial fishers to work with federal and state scientists to collect water quality data from offshore Florida waters from Venice to Marco Island for red tide and other water quality indicators. Read more here.

Congressional:

ICOOS Act Update: No update.

Communications/Outreach/Education:

NOAA Planet Stewards 2020 Stewardship Community Applications open: Take this opportunity to make a real difference in your school or community. Join a national community of educators where you can: learn how to write a Federal funding proposal; have the opportunity to receive up to $2,500 to carry out a project responding to environmental challenges in your community; meet educators from around the country who share your interest in STEM education and environmental stewardship. Find out more about the Stewardship Community and how to apply here. Applications due by 12/1.
Announcing the Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholarship Winner – Kelsey Johnson-Sapp: SECOORA is proud to announce the winner of the 2019 Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholar Award, Kelsey Johnson-Sapp from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. The scholarship will support Kelsey’s attendance and participation in the International Coral Reef Symposium, one of the largest coral reef conferences in the world. Kelsey will present her preliminary findings for her project Exploiting Local Variation in Thermal Tolerance to Trial Managed Relocation of Corals to Build Climate Resilience in SE Florida.
Webinar: What do we know about the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico? Join SECOORA for a webinar, December 10 at 12 PM ET, with Dr. Peter Hamilton from North Carolina State University. Dr. Hamilton will discuss what has been learned from recent major observational studies in the Gulf of Mexico that involve satellite remote sensing, in-situ moorings and both deep and surface drifters. Major results include explanations of circulation processes that lead to separations of Loop Current eddies, and the radiation of deep energetic flows into the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Reserve your spot today!
Join The NOSB For A Webinar On Sea Level Rise: The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) is happy to announce a special webinar opportunity for middle and high school educators nationwide. All educators and interested individuals are welcome to join, and NOSB coaches are highly encouraged to participate. The free online webinar series begins December 4, 2019 at 4pm Eastern. On that date, Sonia Vedral, Renee Collini, Mikaela Heming, and Sara Martin from the Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative will present on ‘Preparing Communities for Sea-Level Rise.’ The webinar will last 1 hour, with 30 minutes for Q&A. For more information about the presenters, and the link to join the webinar, please visit the NOSB webinar series website. This webinar series will focus on the 2020 NOSB competition theme of "Understanding Human, Economic, and Environmental Resiliency in the Gulf of Mexico." More information about the theme is available on the NOSB website.
IOOS in the News:

Ciencia y Meteorología: Programa de robótica acuática (CARICOOS via CROEV), NotiCentro/WAPA TV, 11/13/19
Red Tide And Human Health: Researchers Study 'Chronic Exposure' (GCOOS), WUSF, 11/14/19

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation:

AGU Fall Meeting, 9 – 13 December 2019, San Francisco, CA: AGU’s Fall Meeting is the largest international Earth and space science meeting in the world. After meetings in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., it returns to the Moscone Center in San Francisco to celebrate the past and inspire the future during their Centennial. For registration and more information, click here: https://www.agu.org/Fall-Meeting

GOA-AN North American Hub Meeting, 16 – 18Dec 2019, Huatulco Mexico: An in-person meeting of the GOA-AN North American Hub will take place at the Universidad del Mar, Ciudad Universitaria SN, Huatulco, Oaxaca 70902. Please place these dates on your calendar and please RSVP as soon as possible to Richard Feely (e-mail: Richard.A.Feely@noaa.gov) and Cecelia Chapa (e-mail: cecychba@gmail.com) if you plan to attend the meeting (or participate via the internet from your office). More information and the agenda can be found here: (http://goa-on.org/regional_hubs/north_america/activities/workshops/huatulco2019/workshop.php). The GOA-ON North American Ocean Acidification Hub has been established to serve the countries of Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) has encouraged grass-roots formation of regional hubs to foster communities of practice for the efficient collection of comparable and geographically distributed data to assess ocean acidification and its effects, and to support adaptation tools like model forecasts. For more information, contact Elizabeth Mackie (Elizabeth.Mackie@noaa.gov).
UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 7 – 10 January 2020, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada: Following the First Global Planning Meeting held last May in Denmark, the Ocean Frontier Institute will convene a North Atlantic Regional Workshop 7-10 January, 2020, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The workshop will facilitate regional, interdisciplinary discussions across sectors, such as ocean science and technology, ocean policy and sustainable development, industry, NGOs and civil society, and donors and foundations, to identify concrete deliverables and partnerships to meet the Decade's six societal objectives. For more information, see on the workshop website (https://oceanfrontierinstitute.com/un-decade-2020). The North Atlantic Regional Workshop will aim to identify:

Knowledge gaps and regional ocean science priorities for the 2030 Agenda and the North Atlantic Action Plan
Existing relevant partnerships/networks/initiatives and potential interested partners
Priorities in capacity-development/training
Priority themes and topics to be addressed by the Decade
Other regional initiatives and meetings to be aligned with the Decade

Ocean Obs RCN Annual Meeting, 16 February 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/ocean-sciences-meeting
Save the Date! MARACOOS Annual Meeting, 14 May 2020, Baltimore, MD: The MARACOOS 2020 Annual Meeting is coming up on Thursday, May 14, 2020, in Baltimore, MD preceded by an evening networking reception on May 13. A major focus of this year’s meeting will be to seek your input and refinements to the MARACOOS Strategic Plan --- a Plan that will be under development with all of you in the Mid-Atlantic ocean and coastal community in the months leading up to the Annual Meeting. Join individuals from the private sector, non-profit sector, academia, and government as we come together to discuss the goals and strategies for the future of ocean and coastal observing in the Mid-Atlantic region. Register for the meeting here.

Save the Date! SECOORA Annual Meeting, 18 – 19 May 2020, St. Petersburg, FL: More info coming soon!

Other Upcoming Meetings:

International Indian Ocean Science Conference (IIOSC2020), 16 – 20 March 2020, Goa, India: More info available: https://iiosc2020.incois.gov.in/ The International Indian Ocean Science Conference (IIOSC 2020) sponsored by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, will be held from 16-20 March 2019 in Dona Paula, Goa, India. The conference aims to not only act as a multi-disciplinary showcase of Indian Ocean oceanic and coupled climatic research in general, but will provide the opportunity to specifically present research resulting from the Second International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2) (2015-2020) and so act as a platform for the recently proclaimed extension of IIOE-2 out to at least 2025.

Job & Internship Opportunities:

Program Assistant, MARACOOS, Newark, DE: MARACOOS seeks a full-time Program Assistant to assist the Director of Engagement & External Affairs with administration and communications for MARACOOS and provide administrative support to the Executive Director of the IOOS Association. The ideal candidate is someone with an interest in coastal and ocean science and information with strong communications and organizational skills, an ability to work independently and with diverse people, and a willingness to perform the range of tasks necessary to make an organization operate smoothly and efficiently. Closes 12/6/19. Learn more and apply here.
California Sea Grant - California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Coordinator: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and California Sea Grant at UC San Diego seek a motivated individual to coordinate the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) program under the guidance of the CalCOFI Director and CalCOFI Committee, in partnership with California Sea Grant. Closes 12/15/19. Learn more and apply here.
California Sea Grant Extension Specialist - Cal Poly San Luis Obispo: California Sea Grant seeks a California Sea Grant Extension Specialist, to be based in San Luis Obispo, California at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). The extension specialist will be a full-time employee of Cal Poly hired as a research scientist. Closes 12/30/19. Learn more and apply here.
Staff Scientist/Program Manager: The Ocean Technology Research Program of Mote Marine Laboratory has an opening for a full time Staff Scientist/Program Manager. The successful candidate should have a PhD, DSc, or equivalent in oceanography, marine science or engineering with experience in sensor and instrumentation development and deployment for the marine environment. Experience in interdisciplinary research, biogeochemical measurements and instrumentation, optics, autonomous instrument platforms, robotics, and/or ocean observing systems with strong engineering background will be advantageous. Closes 12/31/19. Read more and apply here.
2021 Knauss Fellowship Opportunity now open: The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. Students should apply by February 21, 2020. Learn more about the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.
Biology and Ecosystems Data Analyst: The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is recruiting a Data Analyst with a focus on biology and ecosystem data to assist in integration and management. The post will be based at MBARI, which is located in Moss Landing, CA and will work closely with the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) and the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS). Read more and how to apply here.
Postdoctoral Researcher: Development of indicators to assess Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): The Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher for assessing changing conditions in the marine protected areas (MPA) of California. Learn more and apply here.

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