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From the Director:

Dear IOOS Community,

Welcome to March! Spring in Washington D.C. is starting to make its presence known and March also means the IOOS regions will soon come to town. Later this month, leadership from the IOOS Association, IOOS Regions, and the IOOS Office will meet in Washington D.C. for our annual spring meeting. We will discuss a range of topics including roundtable discussions on RA priorities, spend plans, pan-regional projects, and DEIA & Equitable Service Delivery.  We will also have presentations from invited speakers on marine life topics including updates on the IOOS Marine Life Program and panels on offshore wind and marine carbon dioxide removal. Many thanks to the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) for hosting our meeting at their DC office.

I am also pleased to announce the IOOS Association has awarded the 2023 Caraid Award to Tara Owens of the University of Hawaii Sea Grant. Tara is receiving the award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to observing, understanding and protection of our oceans and coasts through vision, leadership, friendship, and collaboration. Congratulations Tara!

Thanks,
Carl

From the U.S. IOOS Office:

  • Ocean Visions Summit 2023: NOAA Town Hall Panel on the New Blue Economy: The Ocean Visions Biennial Summit 2023 (April 4-6, 2023) will advance the sharing of knowledge and solutions to critical challenges at the ocean-climate nexus. To address the ocean-climate crisis, the world needs to generate and scale innovative solutions quickly and effectively. NOAA will host a Town Hall Panel on the New Blue Economyat the Summit on April 6th, 10-11am ET. As one of the world’s largest providers of ocean and coastal data and information, NOAA is growing the New Blue Economy by improving the quantity, breadth, dissemination, access, and applicability of these data. This panel will discuss NOAA’s efforts to support its academic and private industry partners in leveraging ocean and coastal data, including advancements in ocean science and technology, policy, governance, and application that support the development of solutions in response to changing ocean conditions. Information about the panel is below:
    • NOAA Town Hall / Panel on the New Blue Economy
      • Krisa Arzayus, Deputy Director, U.S. IOOS Program Office
      • Jorge Brenner, Executive Director, Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System
      • Liesl Hotaling, Executive Director, Marine Technology Society
      • Ralph Rayner, Industry liaison for the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System 
    • Session: Thursday, April 6th
    • Time: 10am-11am ET
    • Location: Arctic/Pacific Ballroom
    • Moderator: Ralph Rayner
  • Welcome to the New IOOS Sea Grant Fellows! The IOOS Office is hosting two Sea Grant Fellows this year. Brandon Barlow and Matthew Hodanbosi began their one year fellowship in early February. We are very excited to have them on board. Welcome!
    • Brandon Barlow: Brandon joins the IOOS Office as our Regional Ocean and Coast Fellow. Prior to IOOS, he was a graduate research assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying recreational behavior in urban areas. He has also spent some time in the Bering Sea collecting data about the cod and flatfish fisheries for the National Marine Fisheries Service. Two of Brandon’s personal goals this year are to publish the work done during his master's thesis and to find one thing that makes each DC metro stop unique.
    • Matthew Hodanbosi: Matt joins the IOOS Office as our Coastal Enterprise / New Blue Economy Fellow. Joining us from Mobile, Alabama, Matt is working on his PhD at the University of South Alabama and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and hopes to finish his dissertation during his fellowship year. Matt’s research topic is relating freshwater discharge into Mobile Bay to the diet and health of the resident bottlenose dolphins.
  • IOOS Staff Receive Department of Commerce Gold Award: On January 24th, Derrick Snowden and Becky Baltes received the Department of Commerce’s Gold Award for exceptional leadership in conceptualizing and implementing NOAA’s West Coast Operational Forecast System through a government/academic partnership. The Department’s Gold Medal recognizes distinguished performance characterized by extraordinary, notable or prestigious contributions that impact the mission of the Department of Commerce and/or one operating unit, and that reflect favorably on the Department. To warrant a Gold Medal, a contribution must focus on qualitative and quantitative performance measures reflected in the Department’s Strategic Plan.
  • Kelly Jasion Awarded Silver Sherman Award: On January 31, Kelly Jasion received the Silver Sherman Award recognizing her outstanding contributions and team spirit in delivering success every day and every year. Kelly supports NOAA and IOOS with her 'go get 'em approach', boundless energy, and ability to help on any needed task. She delivers results with very direct and perfect attention to detail, expertise, effectiveness, and always with a smile. Kelly Jasion is recognized for outstanding contributions and team spirit in delivering success every day and every year. Kelly supports NOAA and IOOS with her 'go get 'em approach', boundless energy, and ability to help on any needed task. She delivers results with very direct and perfect attention to detail, expertise, effectiveness, and always with a smile. The Silver Sherman Award recognizes NOAA employees who perform work above their normal requirements to help fulfill NOAA’s mission, achieve a milestone that contributes significantly or critically toward a particular program goal, or demonstrate leadership toward process improvement of a significant magnitude.
  • From the IOOS Association: 
    • Tara Owens is 2023’s Caraid Award Recipient: The IOOS Association is pleased to announce that Tara Owens of the University of Hawaii Sea Grant is the 2023 recipient of the Caraid Award. Tara is receiving this award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to observing, understanding and protection of our oceans and coasts through vision, leadership, friendship, and collaboration. Read more and send a message to Tara here!
    • IOOS Association Spring Meeting - March 21-23, 2023: The IOOS Association, IOOS RA Directors, Board Members, and the IOOS Program Office will meet in Washington, D.C. March 21-23, 2023 for the annual spring meeting. An email with details on registering for the meeting has been distributed to invited participants. Please reach out to kristen@ioosassociation.org with any questions. 

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

  • Surface Current Mapping
    • New Florida Keys HFR: The University of South Florida College of Marine Science (USF-CMS) has added a new CODAR SeaSonde® HF-Radar in Key West’s Smathers Beach Park. Funding was provided by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine Gulf Research Program and it was added to the IOOS National Network HFRNet server in January. This new Key West HFR site provides overlapping radial coverage with a previously installed NASEM-GRP USF/CMS HFR site in Marathon, Florida, enabling better understanding of the complex and variable surface current outflow characteristics of the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current System through the Straits of Florida, as well as supporting other important uses such as improved boater safety and U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.
  • Gliders 
    • OceanGliders BOON Seeking Expression of Interest: The OceanGliders Boundary Ocean Observing Network (BOON) seeks to foster development of a global network of networks that monitor variability along ocean boundaries. At the 2022 Underwater Glider User Group (UG2) meeting in Seattle, two working groups focused on BOON and sustained glider-based observing. The working groups reiterated the importance of respecting coastal countries, publishing near-real time and post-processed data, coordinating with regional modeling efforts, and coordinating with other observing networks within the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). A standing goal is to have 100 sustained gliders in boundary regions by 2030. Forthcoming efforts will build on pre-pandemic BOON efforts by developing regional observing plans to motivate funding, coordinating with other networks (e.g., Argo, OceanSites, store stations, OceanPredict/CoastPredict), introducing BOON metadata tags, and working to expand the number of gliders sampling along ocean boundaries worldwide. Anyone interested in participating in BOON efforts is welcome to submit their contact information here: https://forms.gle/keGhDmGCHPAkXnoXA 
    • UG2 Updates: 
      • Call for UG2 Steering Committee Nominations: The UG2 is seeking new steering committee members to continue support for a robust and growing user group. Each member of the UG2 Steering Committee will advocate for the UG2 goals and objectives and work toward a successful, thriving glider community. UG2 leadership is committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive selection process, steering committee membership, and community. We encourage nominations from a variety of backgrounds, skills, and views. To nominate a colleague or yourself, please fill out the form here by March 16th, 2023.
      • Click here to join UG2
      • UG2 Glider Related Job Postings
  • Buoys & Moorings
    • Year-round moorings offer a glimpse at the winter life of Lake Superior over 17 years: Observing equipment usually comes out of the water in the Great Lakes over winter, however several researchers have kept monitoring gear in the water, even in the coldest months. Jay Austin and colleagues at the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory have operated year-round subsurface moorings at multiple locations in Lake Superior over the past 17 years. The UMD moorings collect critical information on the lake’s temperature, chemical composition, and currents in Superior’s cold, deep waters. These measurements can help scientists better understand the warming of the lakes and other effects of climate change. Read more and access the data here.
    • WETS Wave Buoy Redeployed: The Kāneʻohe Bay WETS Wave Buoy was redeployed on January 20, 2023. Every half hour, this buoy transmits wave height, direction, and period data from the U.S. Marine Corps Base Wave Energy Test Site (WETS), approximately 1 mile offshore from Pyramid Rock of Mōkapu Peninsula. The Kāneʻohe WETS buoy is owned and managed by PacIOOS. Data are managed by the Coastal Data Information Program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
    • Buoy Recovery off Oregon Coast: The Columbia River Plume buoy (SATURN-02), operated by CRITFC-CMOP, was recovered after an 8 month seasonal deployment. The buoy will be refurbished over the next few months and redeployed in May of this year. This buoy observes salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll and ancillary pigments at multiple depths throughout the water column, monitoring both the near surface river plume and upwelled shelf water from late spring until winter. 
    • New Buoys Coming to the East Coast of Florida in 2024: SECOORA is excited to announce Dr. Lynn Leonard (University of North Carolina Wilmington) and her team were selected as the recipients for the Filling Regional Observation Gaps on the Florida East Coast Request for Proposals for their proposal Filling the Gap: SECOORA Members Partnering to Affordably Increase Observations and Build Capacity Along the FL East Coast. Dr. Leonard and her team of Co-Investigators (Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, NOAA National Weather Service, FACT Network, and Second Creek Consulting) will deploy new real-time buoys in 2024 on the east coast of Florida. Read more here.
  • Harmful Algal Blooms 
    • NHABON Webinars: 
      • 7th NHABON Webinar: Save the date for the next webinar on March 15, 2023 from 3:00-4:00 PM EST. The topic will be announced shortly.
    • Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network: The AHAB network continues to grow and had monthly meetings in December and January that were well attended in addition to a 3-hour meeting in person during AMSS. The importance of rapid communication during times of high Alexandrium count was emphasized, but it was also noted that the efforts from the previous summer (notably the HAB-specific cruise in the northern Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort) were not going to happen every year, and when they aren’t happening, how do we monitor the state of the blooms? In addition, the importance of toxin testing was emphasized, and the difficulties of maintaining dedicated staff in remote areas was discussed. This is a long-term discussion that will continue and be expanded on during the 3-day Alaska HAB workshop being hosted by AOOS March 27-29 in Anchorage.
    • NCCOS Provides Harmful Algal Bloom Training at Coastal Carolina University: NCCOS Phytoplankton Monitoring Network staff led a training session on algal sampling, microscopy, and identification of freshwater cyanobacteria at Coastal Carolina University’s Waccamaw Watershed Academy. The academy provides watershed management expertise in North Carolina and South Carolina counties. The academy’s faculty are working to understand the sources, transport pathways, and biological impacts of pollutants in the Waccamaw Watershed, including mercury, pathogenic bacteria, oxygen-demanding substances, and nutrients. The NCCOS training will empower the academy’s existing monitoring program to better identify emerging concerns, such as harmful freshwater cyanobacteria, for the community.
  • Marine Life
    • MBON Workshop - ‘Implementing biodiversity monitoring on rocky shores using photo-quadrants and Artificial Intelligence’: NOAA AOML colleagues and other MBON partners at IBIOMAR-CONICET (https://ibiomar.conicet.gov.ar/) and ProyectoSub Foundation (https://www.proyectosub.org.ar/en/) will host an MBON Pole to Pole workshop in Argentinian Patagonia on March 27-31, 2023 to facilitate development of a collaborative network between park rangers and scientists for long-term monitoring of intertidal rocky shores of Argentina that will address the nation's management and decision-making needs.  The activity will train participants in biodiversity monitoring techniques using Artificial Intelligence applications for processing benthic imagery (photo-quadrats) for classification and quantification of functional groups and indicator species. More details are available on the workshop website at https://eqmh.github.io/p2p-argentina-workshop/index.html.
    • Marine Biodiversity Dialogues Task Force II: Lenfest Ocean Program is supporting Marine Biodiversity Dialogues II, an expert task force led by Dr. Emmett Duffy, Smithsonian Institution, Gabrielle Canonico, U.S. IOOS, and Dr. Steven Scyphers, University of South Alabama, a social- and natural-science initiative to explore and synthesize how diverse marine species and habitats in U.S. waters work together to support ecosystem function and resilience. Information about the initiative can be found here: https://www.lenfestocean.org/en/research-projects/marine-biodiversity-dialogues-task-force-ii 
    • Alaska Marine Ecosystem Network: The first-ever meeting of the Alaska Marine Ecosystem network was held during AMSS. This was an opportunity to talk about the idea of having an Alaska Marine Ecosystem network and get input and feedback about how the network should be developed and what it should focus on. AOOS, as the coordinating body of this AME network, collected this input and will form an organizing committee to help develop the network and identify some early actions and activities of the network. The original idea of the network was to enhance coordination of marine ecosystem research and monitoring activities around Alaska, but after this discussion it seems that there is also a need to make the research community more accessible to Alaska native communities and have a space for input and discussion.
    • New Paper Published: A key component of marine ecosystems is changing together with our climate: A recently published paper produced as part of activities of the GOOS Biology and Ecosystems Panel provides an extensive review of various studies that show how different species of zooplankton are reacting to climate change. Read more about the paper and find out how Dr. Kim Bernard's research team studies krill in Antarctica.
    • IOOS Participated in OCB Scoping Workshop: An effort is underway to build a Cost-effective Coastal Biogeochemical Observing Network in Collaboration with the Commercial Fishing Community. NERACOOS (Jake Kritzer) and MARACOOS (Gerhard Kuska) both attended the OCB Scoping Workshop: Building a Cost-effective Coastal Biogeochemical Observing Network in Collaboration with the Commercial Fishing Community at WHOI and discussed the opportunities to collaborate with the fishing industry. 

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

  • Bogachiel River Gauge now on NVS: NANOOS is now providing near real-time data from the USGS Bogachiel river gauge near Forks, WA via the NANOOS Visualization System, thanks to a request from the Quileute Tribe, who use the river flow and temperature data for fisheries management. Please reach out if you know of an asset that we are not yet hosting on NVS.
  • Bering Strait Pollution Response: AOOS Senior Advisor Molly McCammon joined a Coast Guard-led planning team on January 25 as the team prepares for an in-water oil spill response exercise in the Bering Strait/Nome region on June 7. AOOS has been developing the Bering Strait Incident Response Tool (BSTIRT) as a potential tool for use, alongside Arctic ERMA (Emergency Response and Management Application). AOOS’ high frequency radars in the Bering Strait will also be used for oil spill/ocean circulation modeling.
  • Marine Heatwave Data Layer Now Available in PacIOOS Voyager: Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are a useful metric for quickly providing context for the conditions that ecological systems are experiencing, and scientists increasingly incorporate MHW intensity and duration into their assessment of recent biological or ecological changes for marine species. MHW calculations can be computationally intensive, so interactive tools to examine them in time and space are limited. However, PacIOOS recently ingested archived global MHW data from NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch and transformed the data into an interactive layer in PacIOOS Voyager, so you can now easily explore different MHW events around the world, back to the 1980s! In Voyager, select Remote Sensing > Satellite Data > marine heatwave.
  • QARTOD:
    • No update.

Modeling and Analysis Subsystem:   

  • No update.

Around the Regions:

  • SCCOOS hosts NOAA, NOS leadership: SCCOOS met with Dr. Richard Spinrad, Nicole LeBoeuf, and Carl Goldman on Wednesday, February 15th at Scripps Institution of Oceanography to highlight our long-term high-quality ocean observing assets and stakeholder success stories. Topics included SCCOOS legacy and history, including California's initial investment towards HF Radar and our aging infrastructure, including that 79% of California's HFRs are over 15 years old and 20% have exceeded the 20-year normal service life. SCCOOS also discussed the critical need for investments in ecosystem models in support of a climate ready nation. 
  • Partner Engagement on Guam: PacIOOS director Melissa Iwamoto visited with partners on Guam to provide program updates and to learn about ongoing and new local projects and initiatives. Topics of discussion included the potential utility of low-cost wave buoys to support shoreline management efforts and identifying priority management focus areas that might benefit from additional water quality instrumentation. The main impetus for the trip was an invitation from the NOAA National Weather Service to present during their 2023 Pacific Region Managers Meeting. It was a fortuitous opportunity to reconnect with NWS Managers and staff from across the entire region, discuss priority needs for new wave buoys from a regional forecasting perspective, and provide PacIOOS modeling and capacity building updates and plans.
  • Win friends and influence ocean acidification (monitoring)! The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Acidification Network (GCAN) and the Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network (SOCAN) have joined forces to address gaps in ocean acidification monitoring and need your help to identify coastal acidification areas of concern. Survey results will inform the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification’s (IWGOA) upcoming call for information on priority monitoring needs. All members and stakeholders with interests in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are invited to take the short 10-minute survey — and you don’t need prior knowledge to participate. Survey closes March 31.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility:

  • Moving forward the collaboration with Alejandro Tapia y Rivera Montessori School in Lajas, P.R.: Moving forward the collaboration with the Alejandro Tapia and Rivera School located in La Parguera, Lajas, P.R., CARICOOS organized a round table with faculty, teacher assistants and school directors, on February 3, 2023. In this discussion, moderated by Sea Grant, CARICOOS and Instituto Nueva Escuela (INE), the organizations reiterated their commitment to contribute to the strengthening of the curriculum of this Montessori school, especially in the marine sciences field. Read more here.
  • Ocean Data Explorer Workshop: AOOS and Axiom Data Science hosted an interactive workshop introducing the ODE to new users and providing demonstrations of new user features in the ODE. There were 20 participants ranging from marine mammal biologists, physical oceanographers, meteorologists, and grad students from various disciplines who all asked great questions and showed a lot of interest in how the ODE can help them with their research or decision-making. AOOS plans to follow up with participants on how to continue to improve the ODE. AOOS will plan for more ODE outreach, demonstrations, and user help sessions for the future.
  • New Lesson Plans from GCOOS: Are your students interested in animal telemetry and how such data is managed? Thanks to an Earth System Information Partnership (ESIP) “FUNding Friday” award, GCOOS Outreach & Education Manager Dr. Chris Simoniello, and System Architect and co-Data Manager Felimon Gayanilo, worked as part of a team to develop three new lessons for middle and high school students: “Ocean Animals on the Move: Using Technology to Track Marine Life.”  The lessons and poster are free to download and use. Learn more and download here.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

  • UN Decade of Ocean Science For Sustainable Development Updates 
    • SAVE THE DATE | 2024 UN Ocean Decade Conference to take place on 10-12 April 2024 in Barcelona, Spain: Three years after the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), a global conference will bring together the Ocean Decade community and partners to celebrate achievements and set joint priorities for the future of the Decade. Hosted by Spain and co-organized with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC/UNESCO), the 2024 UN Ocean Decade Conference will take place on 10-12 April 2024 in the coastal city of Barcelona. Read more here: https://oceandecade.org/news/barcelona-to-host-2024-un-ocean-decade-conference/ 
    • New endorsed Decade Actions spotlight science-based solutions for ocean resilience: A dozen new Decade Actions have been officially endorsed by the Ocean Decade to strengthen the impact of co-designed and transformative science for ocean health and resilience. Learn more: https://oceandecade.org/news/new-endorsed-decade-actions-spotlight-science-based-solutions-for-ocean-resilience/ 
    • Kick-off meeting of the OceanPrediction Ocean Decade Collaborative Centre: The OceanPrediction Ocean Decade Collaborative Centre celebrated its official launch with an online interactive event held on 11-12 January 2023, centred on community building and connection of different sectors and activities. Watch the key messages!
  • Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) News:
    • Pioneer Test Deployments at New MAB Location: On February 21, 2023, a team of scientists and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution left Charleston, SC aboard the R/V Neil Armstrong to begin test deployments in preparation for the installation of an Ocean Observatories Initiative ocean observing system in its new location in the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB). The new location was selected after a series of National Science Foundation-sponsored workshops to elicit community input on a location that could answer important science questions. The science team deployed two test moorings off the coast of North Carolina, occupying shallow and deep sites of the proposed array. The deployments are to ensure the mooring designs perform as expected in the MAB environment. The array is expected to be operational in the spring of 2024, when it will begin to share valuable ocean data with anyone with an Internet connection. Read more here: https://oceanobservatories.org/2023/02/test-deployments-underway-for-pioneer-relocation/ 
  • U.S. Coastal Communities' Need for Water Level Observations: This 5-minute survey will help the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA), the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) and the Integrated Ocean Observing System Association (IOOS Association) assess U.S. coastal community interest in expansion of a water level network established in the Southeast.  See also ASBPA Water Level Project. Please share your communities' water level observing needs to help us advocate for improvements at a national scale. This survey will be open until March 17, 2023. Click here for more information and to access the survey.
  • Call for Task Team: OceanGliders: OceanGliders is an international network supporting the use of ocean gliders, autonomous underwater vehicles that contribute to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). The network supports, coordinates, and enhances glider activity worldwide. OceanGliders is organized into Task Teams (TTs) gathered around technical issues and scientific areas for which gliders are suited to carry out long term observations and process studies. TTs are led by recognized specialists in their domains and fully open to engage broader communities. Letters of Intent due by May 15.
  • NOAA Seeks New Director for National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science: NOAA has posted a job announcement seeking a new Director for the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) provides high-quality science for predicting coastal ocean, Great Lakes, and watershed processes, and delivers data, information, products, and technical assistance to other parts of NOAA and to Federal, state, academic, non-governmental, and public partners. NCCOS establishes effective mechanisms to ensure the scientific and technical merit of NOS's coastal science programs. The announcement closed March 6. Please apply here. 
  • CO-OPS Installs New Sensors in Kings Bay, Georgia: CO-OPS installed a new water level station and two new current meters in and around the waterfront restricted area of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay located in Kings Bay, Georgia. The new stations enhance CO-OPS’s Kings Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-time System, delivering observations and predictions for oceanographic conditions in the area. The information will help improve safe and efficient naval navigation operations in a location where a large tide range and swift currents are regularly observed. The expansion supports CO-OPS’s mission to provide reliable real-time data to the public and maritime community. The Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System is an integrated system of sensors concentrated in seaports across the U.S. that delivers accurate and reliable data about environmental conditions in real time. Please visit the CO-OPS website to view Kings Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System information.
  • CO-OPS Kicks Off the Columbia River Current Survey: CO-OPS will begin the second year of its Columbia River Tidal Currents Survey later this month by installing a current meter near Longview, Washington. This meter is the first of 11 sensors to be installed during the region’s 2023 survey season. The new meters will join six current meters deployed during the 2022 field campaign, which have been collecting continuous measurements during the colder months. Tidal current surveys, which are administered by NOAA’s National Current Observation Program and generally span two years, rely on temporarily deployed current meters to collect data every six minutes. Additional fieldwork to deploy and recover the Columbia River sensors will take place between May and September. Current measurements collected during this survey will be used to update NOAA’s Tidal Current Tables, which are available on the CO-OPS website.
  • OCS Hosts Field Procedures Workshop: OCS’s Hydrographic Surveys Division hosted the 2023 Field Procedures Workshop in Norfolk, Virginia, for the first time in person since 2020! During the workshop, NOAA unveiled hydrographic survey plans for 2023, and survey vessels and hydrographic contractors detailed their challenges, successes, and innovations from the previous field season. Attendees also discussed the use of uncrewed and autonomous systems, OCS’s Data Licensing Policy, and continuing National Bathymetric Source development — a project dedicated to creating and maintaining the best available bathymetric data to support nautical charting. The workshop also highlighted the implementation of a project analyzing potential environmental impacts associated with recurring surveys and data collection as well as the overhaul of the requirements for hydrographic surveys. Over 200 members of the hydrographic survey community attended.
  • OCS Meets with Mississippi River Stakeholders: OCS's Navigation Services and Marine Chart Divisions met with Mississippi River stakeholders to share information about programs, products, and services. Discussions focused on Precision Marine Navigation, layout updates for Electronic Navigational Charts, and the updated NOAA Custom Chart Version 2.0, a map application that allows users to create their own paper and PDF nautical charts based on Electronic Navigational Charts. Additionally, OCS identified several datum issues on the river and outlined a plan to work through them with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other stakeholders. OCS participants also saw firsthand how pilots use NOAA data and charts on ships.
  • NGS Collects Images of Areas Impacted by Atmospheric Rivers: As part of NGS’s mission to increase navigation safety and assess the impacts of major weather events on the shoreline, NGS collected imagery of California and Oregon coastal areas affected by recurring atmospheric river events. Atmospheric rivers are long, concentrated regions in the atmosphere that transport moist air from the tropics to higher latitudes. The moist air, combined with high wind speeds, produces heavy rain and snow upon landfall, especially over mountainous terrain. These extreme precipitation events can lead to flash flooding, mudslides, and catastrophic damage to life and property. This imagery, which is freely available to the public, can be incorporated into geographic information systems and can serve as a reference to assess damage following other events, such as hurricanes.
  • NGS and Partners Install Florida Reference Stations: The NGS Continuously Operating Reference Stationsbranch chief and the Gulf Coast regional geodetic advisor collaborated with the Florida Department of Transportation and Sarasota County, Florida, to install three Continuously Operating Reference Stations in the county. The stations provide Global Navigation Satellite System data, supporting three-dimensional positioning, meteorology, space weather, and geophysical applications throughout the United States. Sarasota County initiated the stations’ installation to build benchmark credits in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System. This voluntary incentive program requires the county to have up-to-date benchmarks for use in elevation certificates which ensure compliance with community floodplain management practices. The benchmark credits will help the county lower residents’ flood insurance premiums. NGS used this opportunity to train Florida stakeholders in station installation and share station operation and maintenance best practices.
  • New NOAA Climate Change Resource Collection: The NOAA Sanctuaries Office has launched a new Climate Change Resource Collection that includes lesson plans & activities for teachers, webinars, videos, web stories, and additional materials. A rapidly changing climate brings challenges to our underwater parks in ways we have never seen before. Climate-related impacts, like changing weather patterns and storm events, warming seas, ocean acidification, and sea level rise, are becoming more prevalent around the globe. Changes in climate will affect national marine sanctuaries and the overall health of the ocean, which is vital to our quality of life and, ultimately, our survival.

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