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,

October brings us to a new federal fiscal year and we are looking forward to continuing to advance IOOS mission goals, implement Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding, update and publish the IOOS Enterprise Strategic Plan for 2025-2028, and deliver reliable and accessible ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes data to improve lives and livelihoods to meet the safety, economic, and stewardship needs of the Nation.

We’ve had a busy September which kicked off with the IOOS Association 2024 Fall Meeting followed by the Underwater Glider User Group Workshop ‘24 which brought together the global underwater glider community to strengthen international collaboration through community dialogue, exchange information, share experiences, and refine and develop best practices to support the glider community. 

Last week I attended the MTS/IEEE Oceans 2024 Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia where I had the opportunity to speak during the opening Plenary Session on the impact of public sector policy on ocean technology innovation. Co-panelists included Dr. Paul Snelgrove, Science Advisor to the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and Ken Paul, former Fisheries and Oceans Advisor to the Assembly of First Nations. We also co-hosted a Town Hall where we formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NOAA’s National Ocean Service and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster. This MOU supports collaborations between NOS and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster to convene to develop connections, share knowledge and exchange technological information, and focus on workforce development to expand and strengthen the Ocean Enterprise. The establishment of this cross-border relationship with one of Canada’s largest private industry organizations working in and with ocean technology is a positive step toward growth in the Ocean Enterprise. With this MOU, we hope to further encourage collaboration and cooperation with the supercluster, opening up new pathways for information exchange, workforce development, and technological advancement.

Also see below for the info on another IOOS workshop last week focused on Detecting the Coastal Climate Signal! 

Lastly, this is the final month of the survey to provide feedback on our newsletter. We’d love to hear your opinion!

Thanks,

Carl

 

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

  • Work on IOOS data! There is a new opportunity at the University of Maryland for two skilled data managers to support U.S. IOOS data archiving at the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). These positions will ensure data collected by the RAs, and other partners, will be archived and made discoverable/accessible for current as well as future use by NOAA and the nation. Access the announcements for all the details here.
  • Optimizing Ocean Observing Networks for Detecting the Coastal Climate Signal Workshop: Krisa Arzayus, IOOS Deputy Director, and Sarah Nickford, IOOS Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, attended the IOOS/CLIVAR workshop along with our colleagues on Optimizing Ocean Observing Networks for Detecting the Coastal Climate Signal in Boulder, CO this week. The 2.5 day workshop was largely centered on identifying what a climate signal is on the coast, how coastal ocean observations are currently being used for decision-making, and identifying gaps in the current observing network. At the end of the workshop, through various breakout group sessions, we came up with a list of recommendations for what observations are needed as a backbone in the coastal observing network, actionable steps to incorporate societal concerns and local knowledge into climate services at the coast, and recommendations for developing a national execution plan. A writing team has been assembled to draft a report based on these recommendations and the discussions that occurred throughout the workshop. This report will feed into the IOOC Coastal Climate Signal Task Team implementation plan.  
  • IOOS Federal Advisory Committee Update - Farewell and Welcome to New Members: The 2021-2024 IOOS Advisory Committee completed their term on September 13th, 2024. Many thanks to Scott Rayder and Sara Graves for their leadership of the committee and to the other committee members for their participation and dedication. Nine new members of the committee have been selected and have begun their new term along with 5 returning committee members. Debra Hernandez, SECOORA, has been selected to Chair the 2024-2027 IOOS Federal Advisory Committee. Learn more about the current committee membership here: https://ioos.noaa.gov/community/u-s-ioos-advisory-committee/u-s-ioos-advisory-committee-members/ 
  • From the IOOS Association:
    • Seeking Nominations: 2025 Caraid Award: 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. The word “Caraid” is a Scottish Gaelic word, meaning “care" or "love” and is pronounced like “courage.” These are the attributes - caring and the courage to do what matters - that makes IOOS work. The first recipient of the award was Dr. Ru Morrison whose Scottish heritage and collaborative nature inspired us to learn about Caraid, not only as a word, but also as an ethos he brings to all of his work. Candidates can be any person who has contributed to observing and understanding the oceans, coasts, and/or Great Lakes through collaboration, innovation, and/or a commitment to working with stakeholders. Nominations are due November 15th. Learn more and find the nomination form here. 

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

  • Surface Current Mapping
    • Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force Meeting: On September 10th, Brian Zelenke served as an invited panelist on BOEM’s half-day long Central Atlantic Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting.  This meeting discussed Federal, State, local government, commercial, and private equities potentially impacted by BOEM’s OSW leasing in the central Atlantic, and considerations for mitigating those impacts.
  • Gliders 
    • GANDALF ‘Today’: On Sept. 13, Dr. Uchenna Nwankwo, GCOOS Oceanographer and Assistant Research Scientist with TAMU-GERG, and GERG Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Xiao Ge recovered Slocum glider 1148 after 98 days wet with lab support from Dr. Sakib Makmud, glider operations lead, intern Matthew Smith and student worker Valeria Flores. The mission, funded by a disaster supplement, was one of some 30 uncrewed missions being tracked on our piloting dashboard GANDALF. Vehicles we're following include Saildrones, Slocum gliders and Seagliders with missions conducted by at least 10 groups.
    • UG2 Updates: 
      • 2024 Glider Workshop: The 2024 UG2 Workshop was hosted at the University of Michigan Palmer Commons from September 10–12, 2024 and was a huge success! This workshop brought together 140 members from the global underwater glider community to strengthen international collaboration through community dialogue, exchange information, share experiences, and develop best practices to support the glider community. The event consisted of plenaries, break out sessions, town halls, networking happy hours, poster sessions, and vendor booths spread out over three action-packed days.  A post-workshop webinar will be held in October featuring some key presentations from the workshop.
      • Please visit the UG2 website (www.underwatergliders.org ) for upcoming events, job opportunities and UG2 updates. Please send us any photos, resources, jobs, or events that we can showcase.
  • Buoys & Moorings
    • Se’lhaem Monitoring Buoy Deployed in Bellingham Bay: NANOOS partners have redeployed the Se’lhaem Buoy, located in Bellingham Bay, Washington. The NANOOS-supported buoy is a collaboration between the Northwest Indian College, Western Washington University, and APL-UW’s Northwest Environmental Moorings Group. The buoy transmits near-real time data for wind, air temperature, water temperature, salinity, pH, and more. The Se’lhaem buoy was first deployed in 2016 and has provided data for researchers, tribes, and students to observe and learn about the state of the environment in Bellingham Bay. Read the Cascadia Daily News article here.
  • Harmful Algal Blooms 
    • Starting in late July and persisting through September there were many marine mammal strandings in California. This triggered the California Harmful Algal Bloom Early Warning and Event Response Network, to implement emergency response communications  to marine mammal rescue organizations. Wildlife rehab centers collected and treated animals showing signs of illness and collected samples for further investigation. California Department of Public Health consults CalOOS data to guide their own phytoplankton and biotoxin monitoring in order to determine if any shellfish advisories are necessary to prevent food-borne illness.
      • During this bloom there were reports of odd looking water near Del Norte (CeNCOOS region), and SCCOOS created a doc that outlines the collaboration between SCCOOS, CeNCOOS, Tolowa Dee-Ní Nation, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and NOAA.
    • AOOS deploys new Imaging FlowCytoBot: The Alaska Ocean Observing System recently purchased an Imaging FlowCytoBot (IFCB) to enhance monitoring capacity for HABs. Thomas Farrugia, who coordinates the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network, deployed the IFCB from the USCGC Healy during an Arctic Observing Network research cruise. Read more here.
  • Marine Life
    • The U.S. Global Change Research Program seeks public comment on the proposed themes and topics of the first National Nature Assessment as indicated by the chapter annotated outlines linked here. Based on input received in response to this notice, chapter author teams will develop their draft chapters.Comments must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on November 4, 2024. Access the Federal Register Notice here.
    • IOOS Marine Life Data Network Guidance The IOOS Marine Life team has developed comprehensive documentation of recommended best practices for managing marine life data. We have published these recommendations to the Marine Life Data Network website: https://ioos.github.io/marine_life_data_network/. The goal of the IOOS Marine Life Data Network (MLDN) is to ensure that all marine life data generated by IOOS Regional Associations and related networks, such as MBON and ATN, are openly accessible, well documented, and ready for reuse. The documentation provided was originally developed through the work of the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network’s DMAC Working Group and is now being expanded to cover all IOOS marine life data. The documentation provides the IOOS DMAC guidelines for marine life data management to help us achieve these goals for open and FAIR data. Please review the Marine Life Data Network website and consider how these best practices might be integrated into our current processes and strategies. The Marine Life Data Network is an open, collaborative effort with the entire IOOS community. We welcome feedback on the website and data management recommendations through the GitHub repository where the content is managed.
    • States Take on the National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy: On Sep 6, Gabrielle Canonico and Emmett Duffy (Smithsonian) participated in a webinar with state legislators, hosted by the National Caucus for Environmental Legislators (NCEL), to discuss the National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy and the role of States in its implementation. Other speakers included Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Thomas O’Shea, Florida State Representative Lindsay Cross, and NCEL Ocean Program Manager Alissa Weinman. NCEL published a summary of the event on their blog: https://www.ncelenviro.org/articles/states-take-on-the-national-ocean-biodiversity-strategy/
    • 3rd National Marine eDNA Workshop:
      • As summer comes to an end, we are excited to see all the activity within the eDNA community! Following the June 2024 workshop, we would like to provide you with a few additional resources listed below and hosted on the eDNA Workshop event website, under the post-event resources tab. 
      • The full workshop report is now available. This document summarizes the main structure of the event, key messages from speakers and participants, and feedback captured from the Day 2 breakout sessions. These group discussions were dynamic, and reporting forms differ across topics and participating groups.
      • A news article was released by Johns Hopkins APL in July and includes key workshop takeaways.
      • Recordings of the Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 sessions from the workshop are available on the Johns Hopkins APL and Smithsonian Institution YouTube channels.

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

  • Gulf of Mexico Beach Guide Gets Update: GCOOS recently updated the Gulf of Mexico Beach Guide “All Things Beaches,” with additional water quality information from Florida and Alabama. This one-stop-shop for information beachgoers need to have a fun, safe day at a Gulf of Mexico beach compiles beach data from numerous sources, including the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and state and local agencies into a central and easily searchable website. Read more and access the guide here. 
  • Seagull User Survey: GLOS is conducting a survey to learn more about how you use Seagull, what you like about it, and how we can improve it. Please consider taking the time (est. 5-10 minutes) to give us some feedback. By completing the survey, GLOS will enter you in a drawing for a chance to win a Yeti cooler!
  • QARTOD
    • No update.
  • Artificial Intelligence
    • No update.

Modeling and Analysis:   

  • NOAA launches new Salish Seas and Columbia River operational forecast system: NOAA is launching a new tool to forecast water level measurements up to three days into the future in the Salish Sea and Columbia River. The Salish Sea and Columbia River Operational Forecast System (SSCOFS) uses an advanced computer model and replaces the existing Columbia River and Estuary Operational Forecast System. The new forecast system also expands geographic coverage beyond the existing model, offering comprehensive guidance to users in the Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Columbia River up to Bonneville Dam. Read the full story here. This could not have been completed without the hard work of the teams at NOAA’s IOOS, CO-OPS, OCS, ORR, NCEP offices; the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; and the team at NANOOS.
  • Ecological Forecasting Cyberinfrastructure Workshop: Summarized workshop materials are now available in this public, static webpage. Eco-forecast community is welcome to contribute to the cyberinfrastructure handbook at this webpage as well as contribute to other parts of the documentation. The most succinct summary of the workshop is here.

Around the Regions:

  • New weather station Puerto Rico: CARICOOS, in collaboration with Weatherflow Inc, has expanded its meteorological network by adding a new weather station with a rain gauge in Maricao, Puerto Rico, as well as precipitation measurement capabilities at stations in Water Island, St. Thomas, and Sandy Point, St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The weather station, located in Puerto Rico's central mountainous region, was installed at the request of the National Weather Service (NWS) San Juan Forecast Office to enhance the understanding of orographic effects on small-scale convective processes and improve local weather forecasting. The precipitation data is particularly valuable for the U.S. Virgin Islands, where most residents rely on cisterns for their water supply, making accurate rainfall measurements essential. 
  • AUVs search Lake Superior for plane missing for 55 years: A mission to locate a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) plane that was carrying two pilots and a graduate student when it disappeared over Lake Superior in 1968 has wrapped up. Led by the Smart Ships Coalition, a large area search mission took place Monday, September 9th through Friday, September 13th. To learn more about the mission read the article here, read the daily summaries, and/or visit the GLOS YouTube page for all of the recorded live updates. 
  • Student Opportunity: 2024 SECOORA Data Challenge: The 2024 SECOORA Data Challenge invites undergraduate students, graduate students, and early career professionals to develop a project that combines multiple southeast datasets to support one or more coastal communities by addressing a timely and relevant issue. See the details on SECOORA’s website.
  • Student Opportunity: Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars Award: In remembrance of Vembu Subramanian — our friend, colleague, and SECOORA Data Manager — SECOORA established an award for the next generation of ocean experts to network with others in their field and/or present their work at meetings or conferences within the United States. See the details on SECOORA’s website.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility:

  • New Multi-Stressor Curriculum Online: Looking for a way to bring ocean data into the classroom? NANOOS provides a variety of lesson plans on our Education pages, including a new curriculum on Multiple Stressors that was recently developed by UW EarthLab Ocean Literacy intern Jordan Clancy. Students learn about the compounding effects of ocean acidification and marine heat waves on vulnerable organisms, and practice monitoring for these stressors using NVS.
  • Alongside California SeaGrant, USC SeaGrant, Heal the Bay, California Water Boards, Sacred SpacesInstitute for Indigenous Peoples and NOAA, SCCOOS will be hosting a community meeting on October 25th to explore the latest DDT findings including what it is, where it is, and how it is affecting humans and wildlife. Attend in person at USC or via Zoom. A social hour will follow the panel, and live Spanish interpretation is available upon request. Learn more about Deep Ocean DDT Contamination off the Southern California Coast and register at bit.ly/GetInvolvedDDT . In-person attendees must register by October 21st. Don't miss this impactful discussion!
  • Backyard Buoys engages students across Alaska: AOOS staff spent a day with Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program middle school students who are interested in marine science. In August, AOOS and the Backyard Buoys program helped sponsor the BARC Science and Culture Fair in Utqiaġvik. Read more here.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

  • UN Decade of Ocean Science For Sustainable Development Updates: 
    • Global Response to Our Call for Decade Actions No. 07/2024: With 94 submissions from 33 countries, the global ocean community has stepped up to support capacity development and resource mobilization for the Ocean Decade. These remarkable results showcase the collective dedication to securing a sustainable future for our ocean! The Ocean Decade team is now reviewing these initiatives, and exciting updates are on the way! Stay tuned as we continue shaping the future of the ocean we need for the planet we want.
  • Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) News:
    • Call for Co-Chair of the GOOS Expert Panel on Biology and Ecosystems: The GOOS Expert Panel on Biology and Ecosystems (BioEco Panel) provides scientific advice and expertise to GOOS on sustained ocean observations focused on establishing the current and future state of marine life. The work of the Panel in coordinating a robust, global observing system for ocean biology and ecosystems is centered around a set of Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) that cover marine taxa and habitat groups, and are designed to inform policy and management. The BioEco Panel is now seeking a new co-chair to help progress and contribute to GOOS 2030 Strategy and goals of the Panel roadmap. Applications are due no later than 30 October 2024. Learn more here: https://goosocean.org/news/call-for-co-chair-of-the-goos-expert-panel-on-biology-and-ecosystems/ 
    • Three emerging observing networks join the GOOS: The Fishing Vessel Observing Network (FVON), Surface Ocean CO2 Observing Network (SOCONET) and Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) Subsea Cables are three new emerging networks aiming to grow and contribute to the Global Ocean Observing System by providing sustained and interoperable ocean data to fill known gaps .Read more here.
    • Ocean observing use cases: impact and value of sustained ocean observations: GOOS has just released three use cases that demonstrate real impact and value of data coming from sustained ocean observations. These include stories that show:
      • How ocean observing supports German offshore wind energy development
      • How observations help reduce right whale strikes in Canadian and US waters
      • How observations help improve hurricane predictions in the North Atlantic
  • Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) News:
    • Connecting Science & Community: Key Insights from the OOIFB Pioneer MAB Workshop: The Coastal Pioneer Southern Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) Array Community Workshop, held from September 10-12, 2024, at Old Dominion University, brought together a diverse group of scientists, educators, and stakeholders to explore the potential of the Pioneer MAB Array in advancing oceanographic research in the region. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and dedicated to the memory of Dr. Larry Atkinson, the event organized by the Ocean Observatories Initiative Facilities Board (OOIFB), aimed to highlight the array’s capabilities, evaluate regional research progress, and promote collaboration within the ocean research community. Read more here. 
  • The application period for the 2025 Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program is now open. 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. All of the application details are outlined in the FY25 Notice of Funding Opportunity. This will be the first year with a pre-application process that will be due on October 31, 2024. An informational webinar will be held on October 15, 2024 at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.
  • New interagency U.S. sea level change website: On behalf of the U.S. Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change, the U.S. Global Change Research Program officially released a whole-of-government, comprehensive online resource all about sea level rise this week.
  • Sea Grant & NOAA's Weather Program Office Award $1.5 Million for Community Flooding Social Science Liaisons: NOAA announced $22.78 million in funding to NOAA labs, programs, cooperative institutes and other research partners to advance research on a wide range of water-driven climate impacts. Research topics include coastal and inland flood and inundation mapping and forecasting, and next-generation water modeling activities, including modernized precipitation frequency studies. Read all about the projects here.
  • Marine Technology Society Journal Call for Papers: Three quarters of the global ocean floor has never been mapped to modern standards. This special issue will cover a range of topics related to mapping the oceans. Submit a paper to the Spring 2025 edition, Mapping the Ocean - Closing the Gaps. Find the full information here.
  • OCS releases new version of nowCOAST: NOAA’s nowCOAST™ team released a new version of the application. The application covers all U.S. coastal waters — including the Great Lakes — and is a cloud-based, web-mapping portal for real-time coastal observations, forecasts, and warnings for the maritime community. The new version includes significantly improved access to OCS’s BlueTopo metadata layers, which include survey date, name, and source information. This information is directly accessible through the web visualization point query — making BlueTopo more findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable by internal and external users. 
  • NGS collects emergency response images of Hurricane Francine: NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) collected aerial images in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine. The crew flew over more than 881 square kilometers in 13.6 hours and collected 1,938 images. Imagery was collected in specific areas identified by NOAA and assigned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in coordination with impacted states and other federal agencies. 
  • CO-OPS’s tools, data highlighted at coastal conference: NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) attended the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association National Coastal Conference 2024 in Galveston, Texas. CO-OPS demonstrated how both the Coastal Inundation Dashboard and the Monthly High Tide Flooding Outlook tools are used in real-world applications. Another presenter attested to the importance of data obtained from a 2018 National Current Observation Program research survey in Laguna Madre, Texas, while someone else analyzed Galveston Pier 21 tide gauge data to assess hyperlocal versus regional sea level rise trends.

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