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

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From the Director:

Dear IOOS Community,

We are so excited to have announced our $60 M Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerator funding opportunity! Funded under the Inflation Reduction Act, this program will develop business accelerators that will in turn support small businesses that are developing sustainable technologies geared toward climate resilience to attract capital, mature their technologies and scale their business models for climate impact. We held a public webinar about the funding opportunity on July 19 (you can catch up on that here) and Phase One applications are due September 11. This program has been in development for a long time, and we're really looking forward to the ideas and innovations that these accelerators will help catalyze.

Thanks,
Carl

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

  • IOOS Deputy Director on Detail to Office of Response and Restoration: Krisa Arzayus will begin a detail on August 14th as the Acting Deputy Director for NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration. We are in the process of interviewing candidates for her backfill. We will announce the Acting IOOS Deputy Director selection in our next edition. 
  • 2025-2035 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences for the National Science Foundation: The committee on the 2025-2035 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences for the National Science Foundation (NSF) has been tasked to advise the NSF's Division on Ocean Sciences on forward-looking approaches to guide investments in research, infrastructure, and workforce development and develop a strategy to advance understanding of the ocean's role in the sustainable blue economy. Through this virtual town hall, the committee is seeking input on research and infrastructure needs to advance the understanding of the ocean’s role in the broader Earth. The success of this effort depends upon broad community engagement. The DSOS committee thanks you, in advance, for your input. The survey will remain open for approximately one month, closing on August 23, 2023. Responses to the virtual town hall can be viewed here.
  • NOAA Announces Ocean-based Climate Resilience Accelerator program: NOAA announced a new Ocean-based Climate Resilience Accelerator (OCRA) opportunity with funding through the Inflation Reduction Act. The program aims to create a nationwide, coordinated business accelerator program that identifies and develops key commercial opportunities for improved use of ocean and coastal observing technologies and information services essential to the delivery of climate resilience. The program will support the development of innovative early to mid-stage businesses with training, resources, mentorship, and seed funding to facilitate taking such opportunities to market. A total of $60 M will be awarded in two phases over five years. This first phase seeks applications for OCRA program design. All selected applicants in phase one will later be invited to apply for implementation funding under phase two. Phase 1 applications are due September 11.  Learn more about this opportunity here.
  • NOAA seeks public comment to inform more equitable climate service delivery: NOAA has released a Request for Information (RFI) that seeks feedback on its delivery of climate data, information, science and tools, or “climate services,” to help ensure that this vital information reaches all U.S. communities in a way that is accessible, inclusive and usable. The RFI also focuses on how NOAA can increase capacity and access to climate services for climate preparedness, resilience and adaptation planning in historically underserved communities — including tribal and Indigenous communities. The RFI will also address how the agency can better include indigenous and local knowledge in its climate services. Read more here: https://www.noaa.gov/stories/noaa-seeks-public-comment-to-inform-more-equitable-climate-service-delivery 
  • From the IOOS Association: 
    • No update.

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

  • Surface Current Mapping
    • ROWG-13 Meeting: Planning for the IOOS-sponsored 13th Radiowave Oceanographers Working Group (ROWG-13) meeting has begun.  This meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 2024 with GCOOS to host at the University of Southern Mississippi.
  • Gliders 
    • UG2 Webinar on Passive Acoustics: On June 1, 2023, we started our two-part series on Passive Acoustics. Part 1 is available on https://underwatergliders.org/index.php/webinars-and-events/. The June webinar included speakers Dr. Lora Van Uffelen, Assistant Professor, Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island; Dr. Clark Richards, PhD, Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Halifax NS, Adjunct professor, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Dr. Selene Fregosi, Ocean Associates, Inc., in contract to NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. The second-part is scheduled for August 3rd, 2023 and the panel speakers include Mark Baumgartner, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Laurent Beguery, Alseamar - Head of the SeaExplorer Survey Department.
  • Buoys & Moorings
    • New Real-Time Buoy in Flower Garden Banks: The research team at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary has installed a new SO-FAR buoy at the East Bank, which is now providing real-time information on wave height, wind speed and temperatures from the surface and at the reef cap. Support for the buoy is provided by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Dr. Xinping Hu, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and a member of GCOOS’s Gulf of Mexico Coastal Acidification Network science working group. Click here to see the current report from the buoy.
    • New MapCO2 Buoy Deployed off Maui: The new Moored Autonomous Partial Pressure of Carbon Dioxide (MAPCO2) buoy deployed off Olowalu, Maui in July joins an array of MAPCO2 buoys moored across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Caribbean to monitor ocean acidification in a Central Pacific tropical coral reef ecosystem. Measurements of temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen, pH, air pressure, and dissolved CO2 are recorded every three hours, and transmitted daily. The data are managed by PMEL at the NOAA Western Regional Center in Seattle, Washington and PMEL enables data streaming into the PacIOOS website and PacIOOS Voyager.
    • Equity and Ecosystem Health: Congresswoman Jayapal (WA) secured Community Project Funding for renovating the current University of Washington ORCA buoys, supported by NANOOS, with a new design using profiling floats to take measurements throughout the water column. Led by APL Principal Engineer, Dana Manalang, the newer technology is more reliable and cost-effective, which will allow expansion to more communities.
    • SCCOOS adds buoys for acoustic & environmental moitoring: In July SCCOOS allocated some of its funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to purchase two real-time buoys to increase real-time acoustic detection of white sharks and environmental monitoring in Southern California. SharkLab Techs from CSU Long Beach stopped by the SCCOOS Program office on July 7 and picked up the buoys; they plan on deploying this summer. 
    • 15th Biennial Buoy Workshop Set for May 20-23, 2024 in Sequim, Washington! Mark your calendars for the 15th Biennial MTS Buoy Workshop that will take place at the 7 Cedars Casino in Sequim, Washington May 20-23, 2024. Uniquely positioned for marine-based research that is focused on helping the nation achieve sustainable energy, a sustaining environment, and coastal security, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has partnered with MTS for this event. Visit Buoy Workshop Website
  • Harmful Algal Blooms 
    • Help Track Sargassum Inundation: GCOOS, SECOORA and CARICOOS are teaming up with the University of South Florida’s Dr. Chuanmin Hu and colleagues to develop models that can support response and mitigation for sargassum inundation events in the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. They’re also working with the Marine Macroalgae Research Lab at Florida International University, coordinated by Lowell Iporac, which hosts the Sargassum Watch Epicollect 5 Citizen science project. Through the project, they're asking citizens to report sightings of Sargassum landings in Florida and the Caribbean. Read more here. 
    • PNW HAB session at SACNAS: A session titled Getting the word out: Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Science and Service Delivery Needs in the Pacific Northwest, Alaskan, and Pacific Islands communities has been accepted for the SACNAS 2023 National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) Conference. This session has been scheduled for Friday, October 27, 2023 from 2:30pm to 3:45pm. Stay tuned for more details!
    • NOAA, Ohio Sea Grant Announce Algal Bloom Seasonal Forecast: NOAA and Ohio Sea Grant released their annual Lake Erie harmful algal bloom seasonal forecast. The forecast provides coastal managers, lake users, and drinking water facility operators with a sense of the upcoming bloom season’s potential severity. NOAA and its research partners predict western Lake Erie will experience a harmful algal bloom this summer measuring 3 on the severity index, with a potential range of 2-4.5. The severity index is based on the bloom's biomass, or the amount of its harmful or toxic algae, over a sustained period. Blooms over 5 have substantial impacts, with noticeable areas of scum, and have larger areas and longer durations of impact. Blooms over 7 are particularly severe, with extensive scum formation coverage.
    • NHABON Webinars: 
      • September 13, 3 - 4 pm EDT: NHABON Webinar #9: The Economic Impact of HABs
  • Marine Life
    • DSRR Board Approves ATN DAC Data to NCEI: The National Center for Environmental Information’s (NCEI) Data Set Readiness Review (DSRR) Board recently approved the automated ingest of select satellite telemetry data from the U.S. Animal Telemetry Network’s (ATN) Data Assembly Center (DAC) into the NCEI archive. The DAC encourages new users to register datasets and existing users to review and if necessary, update their project and deployment-level metadata contained within the ATN Registration App to ensure datasets are ready for archive. Please reach out to ATN’s Data Coordinator, Megan McKinzie (mmckinzie@mbari.org) with any questions, or to discuss and approve release of your data to NCEI under the ATN collection. 
    • ATN and AniBOS Platform Metadata Now Being Integrated into OceanOPS: The Animal Telemetry Network’s (ATN) Data Assembly Center (DAC) continues to serve near real-time animal-borne sensor data to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Telecommunication System (GTS) via NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) for incorporation into nearcasts, real-time forecasts, and ocean and climate models. Metadata about these animal platforms are also now being integrated into the OceanOPS website under the emerging GOOS network, AniBOS.  
    • OTN Virtual Study Hall: Tune into the Ocean Tracking Network’s weekly study hall, Thursdays 1-3 pm EST, to explore acoustic telemetry data analysis tools, methods and solutions with the OTN data team and peers from around the globe. Reach out to Caitlin Bate (@CaityBate) or Jon Pye (@j_pye) for the participation link, or send email to otndc@dal.ca.     

Data Management and Cyberinfrastructure (DMAC) Subsystem and Tools Built on IOOS Data:

  • Historical observing data is available on Seagull: The past decade of observing data sent to GLOS has been available on Seagull for months, thanks to a platform-by-platform data migration by Cyberinfrastructure Engineer Joe Smith. Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the process of moving historical data from Sturgeon to Seagull.
  • 2023 IOOS DMAC Annual Meeting: IOOS is pleased to announce that the DMAC Meeting will take place at the Silver Spring Civic Center in Silver Spring, MD Tuesday September 26 to Thursday September 28.  Please save these dates in your calendars.  We are planning to return this year to an in-person meeting format with online attendance available for those unable to travel. Please send any questions to the IOOS DMAC team at data.ioos@noaa.gov.  
    • Please contribute your ideas for both plenary session presentations as well as for breakout discussion and/or workshop sessions.  Please complete all fields, including your name as topic suggester, so that we may follow up if needed. Submit your ideas for the agenda at this link by Friday, August 18. 
    • If you are planning on attending in person, a room block has been reserved at the Courtyard Silver Spring Downtown for 257 USD per night. Guests have until September 1, 2023, to confirm a reservation by calling in directly to the hotel at 301-589-4899 or using this link.
  • QARTOD
    • Ocean Best Practices System update: The 7th annual Ocean Best Practices System workshop will run online 9-13 October 2023. It will be divided into three sessions per day, about 2-3 hours total each day. Registration is free and will be opened on the OBPS website shortly. In the week following the workshop, OBPS plans to facilitate focused sessions organized separately by interested groups. If you are interested in contributing a presentation, leading a track session, or organizing a focused session, please fill out this Interest to Participate form.

Modeling and Analysis Subsystem:   

  • No update.

Around the Regions:

  • CeNCOOS Collaboration with Ocean Vision AI: Ocean Vision AI is leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to advance our ability to process underwater imagery. This initiative paves the way for creating reproducible data pipelines for running and validating models while engaging with non-experts to enhance ocean literacy. Ocean Vision AI has recently developed an open-source database for annotating ocean imagery on a platform called FathomNet. Read more here.
  • Synchro project website launched: Synchro is a co-design test bed to synchronize and evolve solutions for industry, ocean science and conservation. Testing and evaluation hurdles often hinder the adoption of innovative equipment. Synchro aims to bridge this gap, facilitating cost-effective testing and evaluation of oceanographic equipment. Learn more about our mission and partnerships at https://oceansynchro.io/.
  • NERACOOS Annual Impact Report available: NERACOOS is excited to share their 2022 Annual Impact Report! As its pages describe, last year was in many ways an important transition out of the difficulties imposed by the pandemic and a reinvigoration of the engagement, observing, and data delivery mission. The Report is structured around the five strategic goals conveyed in the 2022-2025 NERACOOS Strategic Plan. 
  • Spring 2023 Bering Science released: AOOS, along with the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, released the Spring 2023 edition of Bering Science. The report shares observations and research happening in and around the Bering Sea. This year’s report focuses on five themes identified by a Community Advisory Panel: crab, harmful algal blooms, salmon, seabirds and climate. Over twenty contributors from local, Tribal, state, federal and university organizations shared their research and observations. Read more and access the report here.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility:

  • DOI partnership increases opportunities for Alaska Native youths: AOOS partner Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) has established a new partnership with the Department of the Interior that will increase employment opportunities for Alaska Native youth across the Department’s offices and bureaus. In 2022 and 2023, AOOS has sponsored internships for ANSEP students, and are excited to see this new partnership that will facilitate ANSEP students entering the workforce. 
  • NOAA Releases Updated Tribal Consultation Handbook, Revised Administrative Order, and Indigenous Knowledge Guidance: In November 2021, NOAA began the process of consulting with Tribes and Indigenous communities on an updated draft of the NOAA Tribal Consultation Handbook, NAO, and IK guidance in response to President Biden’s Executive Order 13175. NOAA received valuable input from a number of tribes and incorporated the suggestions into these final documents. These documents will serve as a reference and the vital foundation of our work to build and strengthen our relationships with Tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders. The updated NOAA Tribal Consultation Handbook and other materials can be found at https://www.noaa.gov/legislative-and-intergovernmental-affairs/noaa-tribal-resources-updates. 
  • Yap Marine Island Ecology Course: The annual Yap Marine Island Ecology Course established by the Micronesian Conservation Coalition (MCC) was completed earlier this month in Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). In collaboration with Yap Catholic High School (YCH), 23 senior students and three alumni students, assisting YCH teachers, MCC instructors, and Yap Divers staff participated in this intensive 4-week course that mixed classroom, labs, and field trips. The course introduced students to marine and terrestrial sciences that affect their island and surrounding waters. Read the full story here.
  • Backyard Buoys talk available: This spring, the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s seminar theme was Equity and Environmental Justice in Climate-Ready Fisheries and Ecosystem Management. NANOOS’ Roxanne Carini, a project leader, spoke about the co-development of Backyard Buoys and how communities are getting buoys in the water, customizing their buoy stewardship plans, and driving the functionality of the Backyard Buoys wave data app. Click here and scroll down to the bottom to access the recording.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

  • UN Decade of Ocean Science For Sustainable Development Updates: 
    • CoastPredict 'GlobalCoast' Survey: CoastPredict, one of the GOOS Programmes endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade, has launched GlobalCoast - its Global Coastal Ocean Experiment. Through GlobalCoastthe Programme will deliver transformative science and technology for coastal ocean observing and prediction at Pilot Sites in up to 20 contrasting Regions of the Global Coastal Ocean. The outcomes will be globally relocatable and replicable solutions, standards and applications to support coastal resilience. The initiative does not start from scratch - it will harness existing expertise through CoastPredict’s Focus Area projects and latest advances in coastal observing and prediction. We encourage the IOOS community to engage with this transformative action by proposing or collaborating on Pilot Sites. Proposal of a Pilot Site can be done through the GlobalCoast survey. The survey is open until 4 September. This is an opportunity to guide the selection of Pilot Sites where the programme will leverage existing funding and/or initiate new funding for transformative activities by the CoastPredict community and its partners. The survey link, Explainer video and GlobalCoast Explainer document are all available on CoastPredict’s GlobalCoast webpage for more information. 
    • CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: Tropical Americas and the Caribbean (TAC) Region Ocean Decade Task Force: Individuals interested in joining the Tropical Americas and the Caribbean (TAC) Region Ocean Decade Task Force as an individual expert member are invited to read the following information and complete the nomination form. The Task Force will comprise up to 15 expert members drawn from government, private sector, philanthropy, civil society and the scientific community, plus five members representing regional organizations (UN agencies, regional intergovernmental organization and NGOs). Expert members will be selected for a two-year term with due consideration to expertise, geographic, generational and gender balance, and will serve on a voluntary, non-remunerated basis in their personal capacities. Submit your nomination form here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/tac_nomination_form 
  • Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) News:
    • Welcoming Joanna Post - the new GOOS Office Director: Dr. Joanna Post was recently appointed by the Director General of UNESCO as Head of the IOC Secretariat Ocean Observations and Services Section, replacing the current GOOS Acting Office Director, Dr. Emma Heslop. Dr. Post holds a Ph.D. in environmental biochemistry from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. She is joining the IOC after 10 years with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat where, most recently, she has been the Team Lead in the Adaptation Division. Prior to that she led the research and systematic observation agenda and international science-policy liaison. During this time she has also built and coordinated the ocean agenda at the secretariat, supporting negotiations that included Parties permanently anchoring ocean-based climate action in the UNFCCC multilateral process. She will take up the role as the new GOOS Office Director from 1 September 2023.
    • New Ocean Observing Technologies to Advance Vital Tsunami Warning Systems: More than 700 million people on our planet are exposed to tsunamis, but new technological advancements and international cooperation efforts will make future tsunami warnings more timely, accurate and accessible to all those at risk. Read more here.
  • Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) News:
    • New Features on Data Explorer Demonstrated: OOI’s Data Science Team and representatives from Axiom Data Science demonstrated the newest features of Data Explorer in a Town Hall on July 26, 2023. The latest version includes a significant expansion of data availability. Among its many new features is the ability to see and download still images, real-time streaming for cabled instruments, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and Bio-Acoustic Sonar (ZPLS) instruments data. Principal Investigator-added instrument data are also now available on the site. Check it out and don't hesitate to reach out with questions and comments. Watch video here. 
    • Sensor Summer School Video and Curriculum Available: The Ocean Observatories Initiative Facility Board hosted a 2023 summer school (July 17-21, 2023) at Oregon State University in Corvallis that focused on OOI optical attenuation and absorption data. A mix of advanced graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and early career scientists participated in this hands-on learning experience about how to access, analyze, and interpret data from the Sea-Bird AC-S. Data from the AC-S is used to characterize the absorption and scattering of light in seawater, which provides information on phytoplankton biomass in the measured ocean region. So others may benefit from what was learned, the curriculum is available online, as well as a video summarizing the week-long experience. Access the curriculum. Watch the video.
  • Explore AA-MARINET Joint Pilot Action AANChOR CSA: The AANChOR Team would like to invite you to explore the latest advancements in the All-Atlantic Marine Research Infrastructure Network (AA-MARINET) Joint Pilot Action – AANChOR CSA. The All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance brings countries from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean together to foster marine research and innovation cooperation within the All-Atlantic community. As part of the All-Atlantic project AANChOR CSA, six long-term collaborative Joint Pilot Actions were designed. These were aligned with the ambitious goals of the Belém Statement, leveraging a multi-stakeholder platform. The AA-MARINET Joint Pilot Action aims to create a long-term collaboration framework that promotes and facilitates the convergence and alignment of Research and Innovation infrastructure initiatives at the Atlantic Ocean level. The network supports the establishment of an All-Atlantic Trans-National Access mechanism for Research Infrastructures, focusing on three pilot domains: coastal observation, pelagic imaging, and polar research. Learn more here: https://www.aa-mari.net/
  • NWS to host NOAA Open Data Dissemination (NODD) Office Hours: In collaboration with the NWS Office of Organizational Excellence, NOAA Open Data Dissemination (NODD) is hosting Office Hours on Wednesday, August 16th from 12-1 pm EDT  to answer questions about NOAA data available via NODD. The Office Hours concept is an engagement opportunity for users to connect with NOAA data experts, share experiences and case studies, and provide feedback to the NODD Engagement team. This virtual discussion is to share information about the Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) and open access via Google. Register here. 
  • Students Gain Valuable Experience Aboard NOAA Survey Vessel: OCS partnered with the University of New Hampshire, the University of South Florida, and the College of Charleston to host 30 undergraduate and graduate students, five academic advisors, and one Empowering Women in Hydrography participant aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster for several days. The cruises were primarily training opportunities for the students; a secondary goal was to continue acquiring data in a National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council priority area on the Blake Plateau, approximately 60 nautical miles east of Charleston, South Carolina. NOAA and University of New Hampshire personnel led the cruises. The students all came from mapping and other marine science academic backgrounds. Prior experience ranged from never having been to sea to having sailed numerous times on mapping cruises. Participants learned data acquisition and processing techniques, saw marine life, and experienced life aboard a ship.
  • CO-OPS Installs Temporary Water Level Sensor in Louisiana: CO-OPS staff installed a temporary microwave water level sensor at the New Canal, Louisiana, National Water Level Observation Network station, located just outside New Orleans, Louisiana. CO-OPS will compare results from this temporary sensor to the existing Aquatrak sensor at this location to prepare for the rebuild of the permanent station; the temporary sensor will minimize data gaps during rebuilding. The new station will be higher than the existing one and will have an improved ladder design and a microwave water level sensor as its primary sensor. These changes will mitigate the impacts of silting, which is common at this station. The temporary sensor installation is part of an ongoing effort to transition all National Water Level Observation Network stations from acoustic water level sensors to lower-cost and lower-maintenance microwave water level sensors.
  • Southern California Marine Mammal Strandings Event Response: NCCOS provided an event response award of $12,550 to the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project; the University of California, Santa Cruz; the Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito; the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System to investigate the potential links between marine mammal strandings occurring off of Southern California and a suspected offshore Pseudo-nitzschia bloom. Blooms of the harmful algae Pseudo-nitzschia can produce domoic acid, a neurotoxin that can accumulate in small fish and shellfish and lead to severe illness or death in animals that feed on these organisms, including marine mammals and sea birds. Researchers will characterize domoic acid levels in stranded marine mammals and other wildlife through sample analysis and expand water sampling to characterize domoic acid levels in offshore regions that are not routinely monitored. This work will provide critical data to understand Pseudo-nitzschia presence and toxicity better.

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