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From the Director:

Dear IOOS Community,

The newsletter this week is chock full of so many great updates from around the IOOS Enterprise including award announcements, updates on UN Decade of Ocean Science activities, success stories from our Regions, and important upcoming meetings.

I’d like to draw your attention to a couple important items. First, the IOOS Advisory Committee will hold a virtual 2 day, public meeting on November 29th and December 6th, 2021. A public meeting notice has been published in the Federal Register. For more information about the meeting and how to register, please see the bullet below.

Second, the IOOS Association has opened the nomination process for outstanding contributions to coastal and ocean observing. The IOOS Association created the Caraid Award in 2020 as an annual award to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to observing and understanding our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes through vision, leadership, friendship and collaboration. Candidates can be an individual, a group, or an organization that has contributed to observing and understanding the oceans, coasts, and/or Great Lakes through collaboration, innovation, and/or a commitment to working with stakeholders. Please share this announcement with your networks and I encourage you to submit a nomination. 

Thanks,
Carl

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

  • NOAA Awards $15.2M for Harmful Algal Bloom Research in FY21: IOOS teamed up with NCCOS to announce $15.2 million in funding for harmful algal bloom research in Fiscal Year 2021. These projects will help improve understanding of the socioeconomic impacts of HABs, enhance HAB monitoring and forecasting efforts, and improve technologies to prevent, control, and mitigate HAB events. New projects will begin in Ohio, New Hampshire, Maine, Louisiana, Florida and Washington. NOAA announced the awards via NOS Web Story, social media posts, congressional notifications, and stakeholder outreach. Read more here: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/oct21/2021-hab-awards.html 
  • IOOS Advisory Committee Public Meeting, November 29th and December 6th (Virtual): The next meeting of the IOOS Federal Advisory Committee will take place November 29th and December 6th, 2021. This meeting is open to the public. To register for the meeting and/or submit public comments, email Laura.Gewain@noaa.gov. Refer to the U.S. IOOS Advisory Committee website at https://ioos.noaa.gov/community/u-s-ioos-advisory-committee/for the most up-to-date information including the agenda and dial-in information. 
  • Tiffany Vance Awarded NOAA Administrator’s Award: Congratulations to Tiffany Vance for receiving the NOAA Administrator’s Award for leadership envisioning the nation’s first National Harmful Algal Bloom Observing Network (NHABON). The NOAA Administrator’s Award recognizes employees who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, skill, and ingenuity in their significant, unique, and original contributions that bring unusual credit to NOAA, DOC, and the Federal Government. Great job to Tiffany and the NHABON team for their hard work on this initiative. 
  • From the IOOS Association: 
    • Caraid Award nominations now open: The IOOS Association has opened the nomination process for outstanding contributions to coastal and ocean observing. The IOOS Association created the Caraid Award in 2020 as an annual award to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to observing and understanding our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes through vision, leadership, friendship and collaboration. Candidates can be an individual, a group, or an organization that has contributed to observing and understanding the oceans, coasts, and/or Great Lakes through collaboration, innovation, and/or a commitment to working with stakeholders. For more information and how to make your nomination, see the poster here. 

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

    • HF Radars Installed in the Great Lakes: Congratulations to the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) and the high-frequency radar (HFR) team at Michigan Technological University’s Great Lakes Research Center on their successful installation of the first liminographic HFRs in the IOOS Surface Currents Program!  These two high-resolution CODAR SeaSonde® HFRs will provide coverage across the Straits of Mackinac which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
    • UG2 Updates:
      • UG2 Webinar Series: UG2 hosted their 6th webinar series on October 21st that focused on piloting gliders.  This was our first panel and thanks to our speakers it was a huge success.  Our panel members covered operations in and around Alaska, Arctic, Great Lakes, Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean.  They spoke of their mission objectives and piloting challenges, successes, and failures.  Their talks were concise and informative and many questions were raised.  The panel consisted of the below: 
        • UG2 Glider Operations/Piloting Panel Members:
          • David Aragon, Rutgers University
          • Brita Irving, University of Alaska Fairbanks, International Arctic Research Center
          • Catherine Edwards, University of Georgia, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
          • Cailin Burmaster, Real-Time Aquatic Ecosystem Observation Network (RAEON), University of Windsor; ON
          • Dan Hayes, Cyprus Subsea Consulting and Services C.S.C.S.; Managing Director
          • Mélany Belzile, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography
  • US UG2 2022 Glider Workshop: We are finalizing member selection for the workshop committee and are currently drafting the goals and deliverables. Our current intent is to lean toward an in-person event in early Fall 2022 on the west coast (preferably San Diego) since the last two were on the Gulf and East Coast.  

Marine Life:

    • NERACOOS ATN-MBON-OTN: U.S. Northeast Atlantic Biological Observations Workshop Summary Report is available at https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/atn/ under the Documents Tab. 
    • Marine Life 2030 Launches New Website: The UN Ocean Decade endorsed program Marine Life 2030 has launched a new website and logo! Check it out here: https://marinelife2030.org/ 
    • AOOS and AMBON partner on a Benthic Camera System for the Arctic: As reported in the AOOS newsletter, AOOS partners and AMBON investigators Seth Danielson and Katrin Iken (UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences) have developed a new camera system to provide year-round photos of seafloor (benthic) organisms in the Arctic. The bottom-landing tripod and benthic time series camera and light system can take time lapse photos for up to 15 months, even during periods of ice cover in the Arctic ocean. The system will provide an unprecedented opportunity to observe benthic organisms during an entire year, and ultimately from year to year. In July 2021, the camera system was test-deployed for a few weeks in Sunny Cove, Resurrection Bay, and yielded excellent benthic imagery. The tripod will also serve as a stable near-bottom platform for sensors that measure water speed and direction, fish and zooplankton acoustic backscatter, ice draft, and sea water temperature, salinity, and pressure. The first year-long deployment is scheduled for September 2021, when the camera will be integrated into the Chukchi Ecosystem Observatory (CEO) mooring cluster and contribute to AMBON monitoring. Other partners in the system design and development include the Sexton Corporation and the UAF Geophysical Institute Machine Shop.
    • Biological Data Standards Primer published: OBIS-USA and the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Biological Data Standards Cluster have developed and published a biological data standards primer on the ESIP Figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16806712. The ESIP Cluster developed this primer for managers of biological data to provide a quick, easy resource for navigating a selection of the standards that exist. The goal of the primer is to spread awareness about existing standards for biological observations and is intended to be shared online and at conferences to increase the adoption of standards for biological data and align them with the FAIR data principles.
    • South Atlantic Fishery Management Council at X-MBON BioTrack Working Group Meeting Oct. 21, 2021: At the recent BioTrack Working Group meeting, Dr. Chip Collier, Deputy Director for Science at the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC), gave an excellent presentation describing how marine animal tracking data from both telemetry and conventional tagging is supporting their fishery management needs by helping to identify Essential Fish Habitats, defining Movement and Migration patterns and assisting with Stock Identification. The data also supports their stock assessments by providing estimates of mortality and of trends in stock abundance.  BioTrack is a collaborative network to assess and monitor biodiversity hotspots where marine megafauna share habitat. By integrating animal movement, biodiversity and environmental data, Bio Track generates knowledge about marine megafauna hotspots and how they are changing which provides opportunities for prioritizing spatial protections, planning for multiple use of ocean spaces, and monitoring for ecosystem responses to environmental change. 
    • Funding Opportunity! FY2022 US Marine Life Observations: Coordinated Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) and Animal Telemetry Network (ATN) Activities to Ensure Resilient, Productive Ecosystems and Human Communities in the Face of Change: On behalf of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), NOAA and partner agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the Office of Naval Research request proposals that: (1) build upon the foundation established by the US Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON), the US Animal Telemetry Network (ATN), and the US IOOS Regional Associations to work across sectors and disciplines towards an integrated, sustained marine life observing capability for the U.S. ocean, coasts and Great Lakes, from estuaries to the deep ocean; (2) advance technologies for efficient and/or automated collection of species and associated habitat observations; (3) enable open access to biodiversity data and information; and (4) utilize these observations, technologies, and data to address place-based (e.g., sanctuaries, reserves, protected areas, leasing blocks, etc) management, conservation and restoration needs. For more information and to apply: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=335886. The deadline for applications is December 17, 2021.

Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure (DMAC) Subsystem and Tools Built on IOOS data (DMAC System Architect Micah Wengren and IOOS Data Management leads: data.ioos@noaa.gov, or the 'ioos_tech' listserve: https://groups.google.com/g/ioos_tech):

  • SAVE THE DATE: 2022 DMAC Code Sprint April 26-28, Chicago: We're pleased to announce that IOOS plans to host the 2022 DMAC Code Sprint in Chicago with our partner GLOS! Save the dates of April 26 - 28, 2022 for the second DMAC community code sprint. We're tentatively planning to host an in person event in Chicago, with the option for virtual participation for those who are unable to travel to be there in person. We'll be reaching out in the near future with more details about meeting logistics, sprint/activity planning, technologies we hope to use for the virtual component of the sprint, and all the rest. If you have any suggestions or input about the sprint, please post them in the #dmac channel in the IOOS Slack - https://ioos.slack.com. Use this link to join our Slack workspace.  As we did two years ago, we expect to use Slack heavily during the sprint.   
  • New IOOS CodeLab notebook for searching multiple ERDDAP servers! Check out the notebook at the following webpage: https://ioos.github.io/ioos_code_lab/content/code_gallery/data_access_notebooks/2021-10-19-multiple-erddap-search.html. The latest erddapy module release (v1.2.0) added a multiple servers search similar to the web one implemented in https://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/download/SearchMultipleERDDAPs.html. The Python interface allows the user to mix powerful variable handling and visualization with the query results.
  • QARTOD (National Coordinator Mark Bushnell, mark.bushnell@noaa.gov):
    • QARTOD and ESIP Marine Data Cluster: The ESIP Marine Data Cluster hosted Mark Bushnell to discuss the QARTOD project, "Quality Assurance / Quality Control of Real-Time Oceanographic Data - Past, Present, and Future / Five-year plan development, 2022 - 2026". The recording is now in the Google drive and links to resources mentioned are in the agenda: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1MtBz5PCabH_xRbiqP3W8aY9eteWzk7KP 
    • QARTOD 2022-2026 Work Plan: We continue drafting the QARTOD 2022-2026 work plan. The working group that was established for this effort has now reviewed the draft several times, and it has been delivered to the Board of Advisors who will discuss the plan at the next quarterly meeting on 01 November. We continue to solicit feedback about our intentions to expand the scope of QARTOD to make it relevant to a broader range of communities. Your thoughts are welcomed, contact Mark to weigh in.
    • Ocean Best Practice System Update: Work has started on improving the OBPS web site and enhancing the repository discovery capabilities by improving both metadata input fields and search options. For example, users will soon be able to constrain a search to include only documents which have been endorsed by an entity. Now is a good time to visit https://www.oceanbestpractices.org/, then go tohttps://www.oceanbestpractices.org/contact/ to send your suggestions or identify issues.

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

  • Successful Community Modeling Workshop: The Community Modeling Workshop took place from October 19th-21st, which attracted a registry of over 300 scientists, engineers and managers. The workshop consisted of Keynotes, panel discussions, and modeling showcases designed to bring together the modeling community for a collaborative future. The workshop began with a Keynote by Mark Osler, the NOAA National Ocean Service Senior Advisor for Coastal Inundation and Resilience, and continued with presentations and panels with NOAA scientists, academia and NGO’s. A summary of workshop outcomes will follow.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

  • UN Decade of Ocean Science For Sustainable Development Updates: 

    • The Ocean Decade Data Coordination Platform: Call For Expression Of Interest - Due 29 October 2021: Data and information will be key enablers of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Digitizing, preserving, managing, exchanging and, most importantly, using a significantly increased volume and range of ocean-related data, information and knowledge will be cornerstones of the success of the Decade. The ambition of the Decade in relation to data, information and knowledge management includes significant enhancement of infrastructure, common approaches that enable interoperable data sharing and stewardship, and enhanced collaboration between data providers and users. Implementing a “digital ocean ecosystem” to support the Decade will be a dynamic and continuous process, incorporating established approaches and technologies as well as those that are only just emerging. The Ocean Decade Data Coordination Platform is the group that will be tasked with achieving these ambitions. Nominations for membership in the Ocean Decade Data Coordination Group will close on Friday, October 29th at 11:00 PM Universal Time. To submit your Expression of Interest, please see this form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OceanDecade-DataCoordinationPlatform

    • Ocean Decade launches new Call for Decade Actions No. 02/2021: The new Call for Decade Actions No. 02/2021 is an open invitation for partners from around the world to request endorsement for transformative Decade Actions that contribute to the Ocean Decade vision. The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system, and deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The Call for Decade Actions No. 02/2021, the second of a series that will be launched every 6 months as part of the Ocean Decade, will focus on Decade programmes that address priority issues including marine pollution, multiple stressors on marine ecosystems or the ocean-climate nexus. Learn more here: https://forum.oceandecade.org/news/523508.

    • Discover Newly Endorsed Decade Actions: The Ocean Decade has endorsed ninety-four new Decade Actions across all ocean basins, building global momentum for ocean knowledge-based solutions ahead of major upcoming global summits on climate and biodiversity. The community of Ocean Decade Actions is growing rapidly and creating a global web of positive and collective efforts to create the Ocean We Want. Creating a truly global array of Argo floats extending pole-to-pole and to the full depth of the ocean; revolutionizing real-time warning systems for earthquakes and tsunamis through environmental sensors integrated into submarine telecommunications cable; redesigning and implementing public policies to adapt coastal cities exposed to sea level rise: These are just glimpses from the mass of collective ocean action embodied in the Decade Actions. Read more here: https://www.oceandecade.org/news/ocean-decade-endorses-new-wave-of-actions-across-the-globe/

    • A Clean Ocean Predicted Laboratory - Nov 17-19, 2021: The next UN Ocean Decade Laboratory will be held November 17-19, 2021. This laboratory is focused on the Decade goal of a clean ocean. Stakeholders will collaborate to identify pollutants and their sources to the ocean by 2025, remove contaminants from the ocean by 2030 and support society’s transition to a pollutant-minimizing circular economy. Learn more here: https://www.oceandecade-conference.com/en/a-clean-ocean.html 

    • Join the Ocean Decade Kick-off in the Western Pacific! 25-26 November 2021: You are cordially invited to join the UN Ocean Decade Kickoff Conference for the Western Pacific and its Adjacent Areas! The Conference will mark the launch of the UN Ocean Decade in the Western Pacific and its adjacent areas, and represent the beginning of the region-wide efforts in a substantive development and implementation of Decade Actions. It aims to catalyze partnerships among various ocean stakeholder communities in the region, and initiate co-design of transformative ocean science solutions to the Ocean Decade Challenges in order to achieve the Ocean Decade Outcomes. Learn more here: https://www.ioc-westpac.org/decade-kickoff-conference/ 

  • Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) News:
  • Endurance Array to Provide Hourly Meteorological Data: On 11 October 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)requested that OOI’s Coastal Endurance Array buoys provide hourly meteorological data to the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) because a nearby NDBC buoy (46029, Columbia River bar) had gone offline. OOI buoy data are typically telemetered every two hours due to sampling schedule and bandwidth constraints (the actual sampling rate is higher). Endurance Array team members examined sampling and telemetry schedules for the Endurance offshore coastal surface moorings to see if they could accommodate NOAA’s request. The team concluded that meteorological data from the moorings could be updated hourly while still meeting OOI sampling requirements. This critical change allowed for the continuity of data for NDBC. Read more here: https://oceanobservatories.org/2021/10/endurance-array-to-provide-hourly-meteorological-data/ 
  • DARPA Forecasting Floats in Turbulence (FFT) Challenge: As part of the Ocean of Things program – which uses low-cost distributed drifters for maritime situational awareness – the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting a challenge called Forecasting Floats in Turbulence, or FFT. The challenge is designed to spur development of algorithms to better predict where free-drifting floats will travel over time. Starting with a training data set, DARPA will provide 20-days’ worth of historical drift data from a field of commercially available Spotters produced by Sofar Ocean, a performer on Ocean of Things. With roughly 90 Spotters circulating in the Atlantic, and 20 days of data, participants will need to train their algorithm or technique to predict where these spotters will be in 10 days. DARPA will award a total of $50,000 in the FFT challenge: $25,000 for first place, $15,000 for second place, and $10,000 for third place. To learn more about the competition, see https://web.cvent.com/event/501b761d-7e68-4fc8-b0bb-53b8c7f79f34/summary 
  • NOAA's National Marine Ecosystem Status website Provides One-Stop Shop for Key Marine Ecosystem Data: NOAA announced a re-launch of its National Marine Ecosystem Status website, a tool that provides easy access to NOAA’s wide range of important coastal and marine ecosystem data. The website provides a starting point for educators, outreach specialists, and the interested public to explore the status of seven major U.S. marine ecosystems and the nation. The re-launch of the site features updated indicator data, new regional coverage for some existing indicators, and a completely new Marine Species Distribution Indicator. Read more here: https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2801/NOAAs-National-Marine-Ecosystem-Status-website-provides-one-stop-shop-for-key-marine-ecosystem-data 
  • New Current Meter Improves Reliability at Lake Charles PORTS: The Center for Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) field division successfully installed an additional current meter in the Calcasieu Channel in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The new meter, which sits across the channel from an existing one, will be integrated into the Lake Charles Physical Oceanographic Real-time System (PORTS®) to increase data redundancy. For pilots navigating the channel, the offshore meters are a mission-critical component of the Lake Charles PORTS. Installing a redundant meter substantially increases reliability of the entire Lake Charles PORTS system, alleviating concerns of outages from severe weather (e.g., lightning, hurricanes), ship strikes, and battery malfunctions. CO-OPS collaborated with its local partner, the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District, to install this second offshore meter. The current meter will also help improve the safety of marine navigation at the entrance to the port, where alternating currents can be especially swift.
  • NGS Releases New Version of Time-Dependent Positioning Utility: The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) just released a new version of its Horizontal Time-Dependent Positioning (HTDP) utility. HTDP transforms positions across time and space — critically important abilities for high-accuracy geospatial applications on a dynamic Earth. This version includes three new earthquake models (one in California and two in Alaska) and can now estimate how coordinates change with time over the entire planet. Transformations involving the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) have also been updated. In addition, the HTDP User Guide was extensively expanded to provide more information on how the utility works. HTDP version 3.4.0 is available now on GitHub.
  • Partners Measure Human-Induced Subsidence in Chesapeake Bay Area: The Chesapeake Bay is our Nation’s largest estuary and provides more than $100 billion in annual economic value. As regional communities are dealing with nuisance flooding and the loss of coastal wetlands, it is important to understand which impacts on land elevation and sea-level rise are due to global-scale phenomena (e.g. global sea level rise) and which may be caused by local, human activities (e.g. groundwater withdrawals). This year scientists from NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey continue their collaboration with more than a dozen regional partners, including: the US Geological Survey, Virginia Tech, Maryland Geological Survey, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, Hampton University, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, and the Delaware Geological Survey. This private-public partnership measures land-surface subsidence at the rate of a few millimeters per year in the Chesapeake Bay region in a 5-year study that will be run every October from 2019 to 2023.
  • Precision Marine Navigation Program Hosts Workshop: NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey (OCS) Precision Marine Navigation (PMN) program hosted its third annual stakeholder workshop. By advancing stakeholder engagement and enhancing communication between the PMN program and its customers (mariners, pilots, and equipment manufacturers), the workshop promotes the PMN program’s primary goals of improving customer decision-making and increasing certainty for mariners. The workshop was held virtually and attracted participants from industry, academia, international hydrographic organizations, and interagency partners. It emphasized the collaborative nature of the PMN program, with presentations and remarks from OCS, the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, and the National Weather Service. Program staff provided updates on navigation resource development, and participants had the opportunity to ask questions and submit feedback on provided products and services.
  • IMOS News: Researchers release buoys to collect data for South Australian coastline erosion study: Three buoys have been deployed off the coast of Adelaide to gather data to help predict the future of South Australia's coastlines. Data from the three buoys will inform morphodynamic models to predict future changes in Adelaide's metropolitan coastline from climate change and sea level rise. The project is a collaboration between Flinders University, South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), SA Water, EPA and Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-20/flinders-university-coastal-study-uses-buoys-off-adelaide/100553114 
  • Grants & Funding Opportunities:

  • RFP: NC Sea Grant: Coastal Resilience Team Competition: North Carolina Sea Grant has launched the inaugural Coastal Resilience Team Competition. The program will provide up to $20,000 for student teams to conduct two-year projects that will lead to more resilient habitats and communities on the North Carolina coastal plain. Each team will include two to four members, including at least one graduate student, who will serve as the project lead, and at least one undergraduate, who will assist. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on October 29, 2021. For more information, access the full Request for Proposals. 

  • Matching Fund Opportunity for Ocean and Coastal Mapping and Request for Partnership Proposals: This notice establishes selection criteria and requirements for the NOAA Rear Admiral Richard T. Brennan Ocean Mapping Matching Fund program, to be known as the Brennan Matching Fund. The purpose of this notice is to encourage non-Federal entities to partner with the NOAA National Ocean Service ocean and coastal mapping programs on jointly funded ocean and coastal surveys and related activities of mutual interest. NOAA would receive and match partner funds and rely on its existing contract arrangements to conduct the surveying and mapping activities in FY 2023. Proposals must be received via email by 5 p.m. ET on October 29, 2021. Applicants must submit via email any accompanying geographic information system (GIS) files, which are due no later than November 5, 2021. Read the full Notice of Funding Opportunity here.

  • AXA & IOC-UNESCO Call for Research Projects on Coastal Livelihoods: The AXA Research Fund and the Ocean Decade are launching a joint ‘Call for Proposals |Call for Decade Actions’ around the theme of “Resilient Coastal Livelihoods”. This call will simultaneously respond to the priorities of the AXA Research Fund and contribute to the fulfillment of several Ocean Decade Challenges. The call will predominantly contribute to Challenge 7: Increase Community Resilience to Ocean Hazards, but research proposals could also contribute to a range of other Challenges including Challenge 4: Sustainably Feed the Global Population; Challenge 5: Develop a Sustainable and Equitable Ocean Economy; and Challenge 6: Unlock OceanBased Solutions to Climate Change. This call aims at selecting and supporting 8 Postdoctoral researchers working on coastal livelihoods and the associated environmental, economic, social, geopolitical issues. We will look for innovative, transdisciplinary research topics, adopting either a global perspective or focusing on regional challenges with potential for replication. Fellowships are awarded for a period of 2 years with up to 125,000€ allocated for the full period. Candidates should be maximum PhD +5 years. Candidates must have already defended their PhD before applying for an AXA Fellowship. Expressions of interest due 8 November 2021 by 4pm CEST; full applications due 14 December 2021 by 4pm CEST. Click here for full information.

  • FY2022-2023 Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship Request for Proposals: NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management is pleased to announce the release of the FY 2022 - 2023 Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship request for proposals. This program offers graduate students admitted to or enrolled in a Master’s or Ph.D. program the opportunity to conduct estuarine research within a National Estuarine Research Reserve. The Davidson fellowship supports research projects that help scientists and communities understand the coastal challenges that will likely influence future policy and management strategies, and offers professional development opportunities geared to build the next generation of coastal professionals. NOAA is committed to reaching applicants from minority serving institutions, and to partnering with these universities for collaborative science initiatives and fellowship opportunities within the research reserves. NOAA will award one fellowship at each of the 29 reserves in the national system. Each two-year project will employ the tenets of collaborative research, including engaging end-users, incorporating multi-disciplinary perspectives, and ensuring outcomes are applicable to local coastal resource management needs and decision-making. The fellowship honors the legacy of Margaret A. Davidson, a true visionary and pioneer in the field of coastal resource management. Applications are due December 10th, 2021. A link to the request for proposals can be found here. Additional information about the program can be found on our website.

  • NEW! Nancy Foster Scholarship Program: The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program provides support for master’s and doctoral degrees in oceanography, marine biology, maritime archaeology—these may include but are not limited to ocean and/or coastal: engineering, social science, marine education, marine stewardship, cultural anthropology, and resource management disciplines—and particularly encourages women and members of minority groups to apply. The application period for the 2022 Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program has opened and complete applications are due December 14, 2021 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. The Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found here.

  • FY2022 US Marine Life Observations: Coordinated Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) and Animal Telemetry Network (ATN) Activities to Ensure Resilient, Productive Ecosystems and Human Communities in the Face of Change: On behalf of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), NOAA and partner agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the Office of Naval Research request proposals that: (1) build upon the foundation established by the US Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON), the US Animal Telemetry Network (ATN), and the US IOOS Regional Associations to work across sectors and disciplines towards an integrated, sustained marine life observing capability for the U.S. ocean, coasts and Great Lakes, from estuaries to the deep ocean; (2) advance technologies for efficient and/or automated collection of species and associated habitat observations; (3) enable open access to biodiversity data and information; and (4) utilize these observations, technologies, and data to address place-based (e.g., sanctuaries, reserves, protected areas, leasing blocks, etc) management, conservation and restoration needs. For more information and to apply: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=335886. The deadline for applications is December 17, 2021.
  • Understanding multi-stressor impacts on marine ecosystems under climate change:NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)/Competitive Research Program (CRP), the NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO), and the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP), in partnership with the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) and the NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), are soliciting proposals to understand the combined impacts of multiple stressors on the function and health of marine ecosystems within the context of climate change. This information will be used to improve place-based management of marine protected areas and enable the proactive protection of these critical ecosystems under future climate scenarios. Applications are due January 18, 2022.  Click here for full details and how to apply. 
  • Integrated Research on Coastal and Ocean Acidification and Harmful Algal Blooms: and the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) are soliciting proposals for research that must address the interaction between coastal and ocean acidification and harmful algal blooms. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2022 Federal appropriations. It is anticipated that up to approximately $1,500,000 may be available in Fiscal Year 2022 for the first year for all projects combined. If funds become available for this program, 3-5 targeted projects are expected to be funded at the level of $300,00 to $500,000 per year per proposal (including ship time). Projects are expected not to exceed 3 years in duration. NCCOS/CRP will not accept any proposals submitted with an annual budget that is greater than $500,000 for any year. It is anticipated that projects funded under this announcement will have a September 1, 2022 start date.  Applications close January 19, 2022.  View the funding opportunity here. 

Delivering the Benefits:

  • SCCOOS Provides Critical Information to Inform Response Efforts to the Huntington Beach Oil Spill: When disasters like the Huntington Beach oil spill in Southern California occur, Regional Associations like the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) monitor and publicize key information that can inform response efforts. Earlier this month, an estimated 25,000 gallons of oil were released from a displaced undersea pipeline off of Huntington Beach. With concerns over damage to regional ecosystems and beaches, as well as to disruptions in the operations at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, monitoring ocean conditions such as ocean surface currents, wave and swell forecasts, and wind conditions around the oil spill is of critical importance to promoting safety at sea and informed decision-making. Technology such as High Frequency (HF) Radar surface current mapping and Wave Gliders have been able to provide supporting information to stakeholders about the spread of the oil spill. The HF Radar Network (HFRNet) team at the Coastal Observing Research and Development Center (CORDC) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) has been providing hourly maps of SCCOOS-supported surface current data in near-real time to help guide the oil spill response. Additionally, Boeing Liquid Robotics Wave Gliders, autonomous uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) equipped with environmental sensors, have provided real-time wind measurements to inform NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) forecast models for the spill. Read more here. 
  • GLOS’ Seagull Platform beta is live: The beta launch of GLOS’ new cloud based Seagull platform is live! Check it out here. 
  • High frequency radar goes live in the Straits of Mackinac: After years of planning, COVID delays, and assorted setbacks, a high-frequency radar (HFR) pair is now installed in the Straits of Mackinac, thanks to work by researchers Lorelle and Guy Meadows at Michigan Tech.  This is the first HFR installed in the Great Lakes. It will provide a map of surface currents every hour to support:
    • Navigation and boater safety
    • Search and rescue operations
    • Spill response

Read more on this story here. 

  • Seafloor Mapping Tool: Inspired by the success of a small pilot project in northern Canada, AOOS, the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR) and NOAA’s Coast Survey are testing the use of a portable survey system to fill critical data gaps in seafloor mapping near Alaska’s coastal communities.  The system – called the M2Ocean Hydroball - is a form of crowd-sourced bathymetry that can use local vessels and communities to provide depth measurements that are typically hard to come by. Read more about this in the latest AOOS Newsletter.
  • A New Tool for the Bering Strait: AOOS, with funding from WWF U.S. Arctic Program and the IOOS Regional Ocean Data Sharing Initiative, is developing a “Bering Strait Transboundary Incident Response Tool.” This tool will co-locate relevant data from the Russian and the U.S. sides of the Bering Strait, as well as the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Seas. The final product will allow for both Russian and U.S. authorities and scientists to access the same data and to share the same visualizations of the area within the Bering Strait region. This information is valuable not only for a potential response to an emergency event such as an oil spill, but will be useful as a public information resource to a broader group of interested parties on both sides of the EEZ, including coastal communities, conservation groups, resource managers and academic researchers. Read more about this in the latest AOOS Newsletter.
  • New papers & reports:

Congressional:

  • No update.

Communications/Outreach/Education:

  • Sen. Angus King remarks on the importance of ocean observing: U.S. Sen. Angus King (Maine) addressed a NERACOOS audience via video message where he offered his reflections on the importance of NERACOOS and good data. The Senator shared his remarks to kick off the final webinar of a webinar series that explored ocean challenges and solutions from the Gulf of Maine to the Arctic. Check out what he had to say here!
  • Learn about Arctic climate change (including harmful algal blooms)!  AOOS is pleased to join the UAF International Arctic Research Center in launching a new free online course about climate change in the Arctic. Climate Change in Arctic Environments is a Massive Open Online Course led by world-renowned climate scientists Rick Thoman and John Walsh. They shaped the course by bringing together over 30 experts from across Arctic disciplines. The course consists of a series of 8 to 10-minute videos about modern climate science and the impacts of climate change across atmospheric, marine, terrestrial and human systems. One of these videos is by Thomas Farrugia (AOOS) and provides an overview of harmful algal blooms and how they are changing in the Arctic. Participants can watch videos individually or complete the entire course to gain a strong foundation in Arctic systems as a whole, and have roughly 4 weeks to finish the self-paced course. There is also a paid option for those who want permanent access and a certificate of completion. Sign up between now and May 2022.
  • IOOS at Florida’s St. Petersburg Science Festival: For the 11th consecutive year, GCOOS and SECOORA collaborated to bring IOOS and ocean observing to the St. Petersburg Science Festival. The October 15 festival took place virtually with thousands of students and educators from about 100 schools tuning in to explore science, technology, engineering, art and math. The IOOS-themed YouTube broadcast by GCOOS’s Dr. Chris Simoniello and Grant Craig and SECOORA’s Abbey Wakely, gave participants the opportunity to learn about ocean observations and how IOOS is benefitting society. It also allowed the students the opportunity to test their deciphering skills using the International Code of Signals.

Click here to view the IOOS Association Calendar

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

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