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

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From the Director:

Hello IOOS Community,

Last edition, we kicked off the The Ocean Enterprise Study 2020. In 2015, we conducted an initial survey of the “Ocean Enterprise” - US business activity that underpins making ocean measurements, observations, and forecasts. The 2020 survey will provide an update to the initial study and will be used to understand the present scale and scope of U.S. business activity in this increasingly vital economic and environmental space.

The Ocean and Blue Economies have seen unprecedented change since the last survey, and is on the cusp of revolutionary change in capabilities and opportunities. Your participation in this survey will be a critical contribution to NOAA's and IOOS' ability to prepare for the years ahead. The first round of invitations to participate in the survey have been sent. We invite any company, large and small, working in this sector, to contribute to this important study through participation in an online survey. To find out more information or to take the survey click here.

Best wishes,
Carl

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

  • IOOS Advisory Committee Meeting Save the Date: The next public meeting of the IOOS Advisory Committee will be held August 4-6, 2020 in Monterey, CA. Stay tuned for more information!

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

  • Surface Current Mapping: (IOOS POC, Hugh Roarty, hugh.roarty@noaa.gov): 
    • No update.

  • Gliders (IOOS POC Bill Lingsch, bill.lingsch@noaa.gov):
    • LAST CALL! Due Today! UG2 Steering Committee Call for Nominations: In collaboration with Consortium of Ocean Leadership and IOOS program office a UG2 Steering Committee charter has been drafted and the call for nominations is out to serve as members. The overarching goal of UG2 is to establish a community that facilitates sharing and cooperation of glider missions within the areas of ocean monitoring, operational reliability, and data management.  We look forward to standing the committee up to facilitate the efforts of the community. The link for nominations and draft charter is: https://mailchi.mp/f5132dcf1df5/ug2steeringcommitteecall and POC is Bill Lingsch, bill.lingsch@noaa.govor 228-216-1716. Nominations will close on April 30th. 
    • Upcoming Training Announcement: The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will be conducting UxS certificate classes this summer and fall.  This two-tiered training gives the working knowledge from ocean science to engineering (ocean, electrical and mechanical) for operators and pilots to safely and successfully execute UxS missions.  This will be the first offering of Tier 2 program with a heavy focus on buoyancy gliders. These courses/certificates have been developed in collaboration with NOAA, Navy, academia, and industry partners to meet the user’s needs.  This is a great opportunity for operators/pilots at all levels that are planning and conducting UxS missions. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: UNMANNED MARITIME SYSTEMS CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS, PHONE: 228.688.3177 • FAX: 228.688.1121. Admissions Information: https://www.usm.edu/ocean-science-engineering/unmanned-maritime-systems-ums-certification.php
      • Unmanned Maritime System (UMS) CERTIFICATE PROGRAM — TIER 1 - Aug 24 – Sep 25, 2020 - Students will learn foundational material in oceanography and ocean engineering related to unmanned undersea and surface vehicles (UUVs and USVs), such as powered gliders. This 10-credit hour program compressed into five weeks of instruction is intended to provide sufficient background to safely operate vehicles in challenging marine environments as well as work with a variety of sensors.
      • Unmanned Maritime System (UMS) OPERATOR CERTIFICATE PROGRAM — TIER 2 - Oct 12 – Nov 13, 2020 - The Tier II follow-on Curricula will be focused on specific types of vehicles, but with topics generalized across vehicle types where appropriate. In this first module focused on gliders, students will learn about glider operations including mission planning, mission execution and management and maintenance and management of assets.  The curriculum draws knowledge from real- world case studies of specific situations, sensors, and platforms. Students will apply these concepts in developing and conducting operations during a short field project.  The UMS Operator Certificate program consists of four courses totaling 12 credit hours compressed into five weeks of instruction including a field project during which students will conduct mission analysis & planning, specific vehicle and sensor matching, specific vehicle preparation, launch, operation, and recovery, followed by quality review of collected data.

  • Animal Telemetry Network (ATN) (National Coordinator Bill Woodward, Bill.Woodward@noaa.gov):
    • PacIOOS ATN Workshop Report Now Available: The PacIOOS ATN Workshop Report is now available on the ATN website https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/atn/ under the Documents tab.

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

  • POSTPONED: 2020 DMAC Meeting, Silver Spring, MD: The DMAC meeting originally scheduled for June is postponed with tentative dates 13 – 15 October 2020 in Silver Spring, MD.  More information to follow.

  • IOOS/ESIP Biological Data Standards Workshop, July 13, 2020, Burlington, VT: This Biological Data Standards workshop, sponsored by the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (US IOOS) in partnership with ESIP, OBIS and BCO-DMO, invites participation from data providers and data managers across the marine community. See more in the “Upcoming Events with IOOS Participation” section below.

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

    • The QARTOD Board of Advisors welcomes Dr. Regina Easley aboard: The BOA recognized the value of a representative from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the search resulted in Dr. Easley’s nomination and a speedy unanimous yea vote. Regina brings expertise in chemical oceanography and measurement uncertainty to the BOA. See https://www.nist.gov/people/regina-easley for her brief bio. Thank you Dr. Easley!

    • Ocean Best Practice System update: The OBPS has created a questionnaire on capacity development, hoping to collect information on existing activities related to ocean best practices. The information will be used to identify gaps and set priorities for the OBPS Working Group related to capacity development. Information sought includes capacity development across the ocean value chain, from observations to providing a product to end-users. Examples include: university studies, short courses (summer school, other), distance learning (MOOCs, webinars, online courses, video tutorials), internships opportunities, ship-board experience, visiting fellowships, workshops, etc. Find the questionnaire at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q7RC2KR and please complete it by May 23rd.

 

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

  • Modeling and Prediction Workshop - June 2020: A Workshop on Modeling, Prediction, and Sensor Networks for Coastal Flooding in the US East Coast will be held at George Mason University in Washington, D.C. June 8-9, 2020. The goal of the workshop is to bring together several groups that are working on quantitative frameworks for monitoring and predicting coastal flooding along the coasts of the US East Coast and draft a strategy for advancing an integrated modeling system for coastal flooding that includes the ocean, atmosphere, land, and urban infrastructure components. Our ultimate goal is to map the synergies for co-designing a US East Coast Flooding Monitoring and Prediction Knowledge to Action Network (Coastal-FMAP-KAN). Please register to the workshop mailing list: https://forms.gle/hAuK6NTyvqTMArvb7

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

  • Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office Releases 2019 Report: The WPTO office has released the 2019 WPTO Peer Review report. The report, developed by the exceptional peer review team of Allison Johnson and Ali Hewitt, presents our peer reviewers' evaluation of our Hydropower and MHK Program strategies, new strategic initiatives like HydroWIRES and Powering the Blue Economy, and 77 individual projects representing about $230 million in executed funding.

  • NOAA 2020 Business Brief Now Available: The NOAA 2020 Business Brief describes the agency’s recent accomplishments, including reducing the impact of extreme weather and water events and powering the American Blue Economy. It is a strong reflection of NOAA’s 50 years of science, service, and stewardship and the outstanding work each of you do on behalf of the Nation. The Business Brief may be obtained in print and in story map formats.

  • Advances in Science and Technology: Oil Spill Response - Ten Years After Deepwater Horizon: NOAA was on the scene of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from the earliest moments of the crisis in April 2010. Our scientists used data from satellites, aircraft, ships, buoys, and gliders to collect and provide mission-critical information to guide the emergency response to the spill, as well as the long-term assessment and restoration of the Gulf Coast. Now, ten years later, we look at a few examples of how lessons learned during and research following Deepwater Horizon have better prepared the agency to provide expert scientific support for future events. Read more here: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/deepwaterhorizon/ 

  • New Great Lakes Water Level Data on CO-OPS Website: Great Lakes partners and stakeholders will now have access to the record high and low water levels for each NOAA Great Lakes National Water Level Observation Network station. These data can be used to aid decision-making this spring and summer season, when high water conditions are expected to continue. CO-OPS has analyzed historical data for each of its Great Lakes water level stations and provided this information on each station’s homepage, like this one from Ludington, Michigan. The overwhelming majority of these stations reached their highest levels on record in 2019. The Great Lakes region has seen historically high water for the past year, conditions that haven’t been seen there in over a decade.

  • OCS Supports Arrival of USNS Comfort to New York City: At the request of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), OCS charted a naval vessel protection zone in New York Harbor. The protection zone is a 500-yard area of regulated waters that helps the USCG protect and secure USNS Comfort, a hospital ship docked temporarily in New York to support COVID-19 response efforts. OCS worked with the USCG Vessel Traffic Service, USCG Sector New York, and the New York Harbor Safety Steering Committee to fulfill and expedite this request. Raster charts now depict the new naval vessel protection zone and an updated electronic navigational chart will follow shortly.

  • OCS Briefs House Science Committee on Ocean Mapping: NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey Director RDML Shepard Smith virtually briefed the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. RDML Smith highlighted ocean mapping capabilities and the Unmapped U.S. Waters progress report to show how bathymetric data are collected, why ocean mapping is important, and how OCS is meeting this critical need. OCS representatives answered questions related to partnerships with other NOAA offices, Federal agencies, industry, and academia. Congressional interest in ocean mapping has increased since the Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and the Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska. The briefing was a valuable opportunity to highlight the pivotal work OCS does to further these efforts.

  • NGS Launches New Survey Mark Recovery Page: NGS has launched a new online form that allows for the submission of survey mark recoveries. A survey mark is any permanent mark or disk placed in the ground or attached to a permanent structure with known latitude, longitude, or height information. To maintain updated records on the more than 800,000 survey marks set around the United States and its territories, the National Geodetic Survey encourages the public to submit current survey mark recovery information. The new survey mark recovery form is mobile friendly and takes advantage of the features available on mobile devices such GPS and cameras. This new form will help users contribute more high-quality data to the NGS spatial reference database. For more information, contact jay.howard@noaa.gov. 

  • Vacancy Announcement: GEO Secretariat Director: The GEO Secretariat has recently posted a vacancy announcement for the position of "GEO Secretariat Director".  The AmeriGEO Co-Chairs want to highlight this opportunity to potential candidates among experienced members in our community. For a complete description of duties and qualifications and to apply please use the link to the Vacancy Notice at GEO’s host organization’s website, WMO at https://erecruit.wmo.int/public. The deadline for applications is May 6, 2020.

  • Grants & Funding Opportunities:

    • STUDENTS: Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars open for submissions: Apply today for the Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars award! Do not miss the opportunity to receive $2500 in travel support to present your research at a conference. Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!). Click here for more info and how to apply. 

    • STUDENTS: Examine How Temperature Affects Fish Movement Patterns in South Florida: SECOORA and the FACT Network are partnering to sponsor a graduate student to examine how temperature affects fish movement patterns in south Florida marine ecosystems. Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!) and the award value is $12,800.  Click here for more info and how to apply. 

    • SECOORA 2020 Data Challenge: Using High Frequency Radar to Meet User Needs: SECOORA is asking students and early career professionals to explain the importance of high frequency radar (HFR) and create tools that use archived SECOORA HFR data. There are two $3500 prizes.  Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!). Click here for more info and how to apply.

    • DARPA BAA: This 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:

  • GCOOS & NCCOS Award $556K for Florida Red Tide studies: The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) and NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) have announced funding for two new studies to examine the economic impact of harmful algal blooms (HABs) across numerous sectors — from tourism and seafood to industries where impacts are less visible, such as healthcare and construction. Read more about the award and the project here. 

  • California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Report available: The 2020 California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Report was released in March. The CCIEA team creates an appraisal of the state of the California Current Ecosystem by analyzing  recent trends in several key indicators for fisheries and the climate. One new indicator this year is the Habitat Compression Index, an indicator of how cold, upwelled water gets compressed against the shore. Read the CCIEA Report Here.

  • New Wave Buoy in WA:  The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) recently deployed a wave buoy in northern Washington waters, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), a NANOOS member, to monitor sediment transport around the Elwha River and Port Angeles. This will be a much welcome asset to the region for many applications.  Important to coastal navigators and planners, CDIP buoys measure wave height, period, and peak direction, as well as water temperature. Data from this asset and other CDIP buoys are available via NVS.

Congressional:

  • IOOS Act Update: No update.

Communications/Outreach/Education:

  • GLOS hosts Smart Great Lakes workshop: On April 21, alongside three partner organizations, GLOS hosted 60 people at a Smart Great Lakes Virtual Workshop. Participants included leaders from policy, management, technology, and research sectors - all interested in exploring ways to advance technology applications that improve understanding, management, and use of the Great Lakes.  Catch up with the workshop online! 

  • Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Telemetry Workshop: On April 3, over 90 people convened virtually to participate in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Telemetry Workshop hosted by the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT), Mid-Atlantic Telemetry Observation System (MATOS), and MARACOOS. An agenda, brief summary, and links to video recordings of the meeting can be found here.

  • CeNCOOS Has a New Look: CeNCOOS has refreshed their logo and website to better reflect their commitment to advancing the system through innovation and expertise. Partners using CeNCOOS data or data services are encouraged to acknowledge CeNCOOS in presentations and posters using the latest high resolution logos.

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation (Please check links as we move forward as things may change quickly for planned events):

  • MARACOOS Annual Meeting, 14 May 2020, VIRTUAL: MARACOOS are excited to announce a series of three interactive Annual Meeting webinars over the coming months. The first will be their Strategic Plan roll-out on May 14 at 10am EDT. All webinars will be recorded and posted on the MARACOOS website. More details coming soon, and register to attend the first session here. 

  • SECOORA Annual Meeting, 18 – 19 May 2020, Virtual: From the comfort of your couch – join SECOORA for our 2020 Annual (Virtual) Meeting! Everyone will be able to tune in remotely for updates on SECOORA, IOOS and more. It will be not the same format as years prior, as it will be condensed into three or four webinar sessions. Click here for meeting materials, registration, and more info. 

  • POSTPONED/ 2020 DMAC Meeting, Silver Spring, MD: The DMAC meeting originally scheduled for June is postponed with tentative dates 13 – 15 October 2020 in Silver Spring, MD.  More information to follow.

  • SAVE THE DATE: IOOS/ESIP Biological Data Standards Workshop, 13 July 2020, Burlington, VT:  This Biological Data Standards workshop, sponsored by the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (US IOOS) in partnership with ESIP, OBIS and BCO-DMO, invites participation from data providers and data managers across the marine community. The workshop will be designed to alternate between working sessions with all participants and hands-on sessions on topics including: 

    • Data Standard and Stewardship Best practices 

    • Vocabularies and ontologies 

    • Shared technology, shared knowledge and knowledge transfer 

    • Development of methodologies 

    • More about the workshop: Hands-on work around data transformation and management processes Scientific observations of marine biodiversity and biology are essential for effective conservation of ocean species. These observations are collected at great cost, and are fundamental to advance scientific understanding of life in the sea. Marine ecological data are complex and heterogeneous, and there are unique methods and approaches to their collection, curation, sharing and distribution. To allow these observations to be reused for scientific, pedagogical and policy purposes, they need to be managed and well-described using standardized methods and formats. There is a pressing need in the marine community for standardized approaches to integrate biological data at local, regional, and global scales. This applies to observations spanning genetic to population data types, and across space and time. Major global databases such as OBIS and GBIF rely on Darwin Core, Ecological Metadata Language, and the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) to help manage taxonomic information. The observing community, focused on abiotic data collections, evolved to leverage netCDF and climate and forecast conventions, while the biological research and applications communities have traditionally operated outside of common standards; this landscape makes it difficult to assess the status and trends of critical indicators of living marine resources and ecosystem services. 

  • CANCELED/ National Coastal and Estuarine Summit, Providence RI, 4 –8 Oct, 2020: Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) and the Coastal States Organization (CSO) 2020 National Coastal and Estuarine Summit, has been canceled. More info: https://estuaries.org/summit/about/

Other Upcoming Meetings:

  • Capitol Hill Ocean Week, 9 June 2020, VIRTUAL: CHOW 2020 will focus on the global issue of protecting biodiversity. The breadth of life in our ocean and Great Lakes is astounding. Building a sustainable global economy that protects nature is critical to people’s health and well-being.  The meeting will offer a full day of virtual activities, including plenaries and concurrent breakout sessions on how science and technology are advancing our understanding of the marine environment, the role of protected areas in conserving biodiversity, and how to engage people as stewards. CHOW will also showcase the amazing work of ocean and Great Lakes partners through a virtual exhibit hall, and are planning a social gathering through a virtual closing happy hour.  Learn more and register at CapitolHillOceanWeek.org

  • EMODnet 2nd Open Conference and Jamboree - Save-the-date: 22 – 25 September 2020: Five years after the first edition, we are delighted to announce the organisation of the second EMODnet Open Conference (22-23 September 2020) and Jamboree (23-25 September 2020). During the event, EMODnet partners, communicators and data providers and users will take stock of EMODnet achievements over the past 10 years, connect across stakeholder communities and set goals for the future. To start the week, the EMODnet Open Conference will focus on use cases and requirements for developing essential open marine data services for blue economy actors, the public sector, civil society and the research community. More details will follow soon. 

Job & Internship Opportunities:

  • STUDENTS: Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars open for submissions: Apply today for the Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars award! Do not miss the opportunity to receive $2500 in travel support to present your research at a conference. Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!). Click here for more info and how to apply. 

  • STUDENTS: Examine How Temperature Affects Fish Movement Patterns in South Florida: SECOORA and the FACT Network are partnering to sponsor a graduate student to examine how temperature affects fish movement patterns in south Florida marine ecosystems. Proposals are due May 15, 2020 (deadline extended!) and the award value is $12,800.  Click here for more info and how to apply. 

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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