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IOOS^® - EYES ON THE OCEAN^™

From the IOOS Program Office:

• Join us - IOOS Advisory Committee Meeting: The public meeting of the IOOS Advisory committee will be April 5-6, 2016 at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. The focus will be on increased connections with BOEM, and progress on work group topics such as examining lessons learned from the Caribbean region which may apply to other IOOS regions, administration of the Ocean Technology Transition project and the landscape of biological, ecological and chemical observations. Manson Brown, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction and NOAA Deputy Administrator and Russell Callender, NOS Assistant Administrator will speak at the start of day one. Info and agenda.

• Farewell: This week we said goodbye to Sam Simmons who returns fulltime to the Marine Mammal Commission, and to Craig Reid who returns to NOAA’s grants office.  Both of the individuals were outstanding members of the IOOS program office advancing the Animal Telemetry Network and processing of the IOOS FY16 Regional Awards, respectively. Both will stay engaged with IOOS – Sam as the MMC rep to the IOOC and Craig who will process the IOOS awards through the grants office.  Thank you for your outstanding support to IOOS.

   

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies

• HF Radar/Radio (IOOS national coordinator, Jack Harlan; Jack.Harlan@noaa.gov):
  • Three job announcements:               
    • United States:  The University of California Davis invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher to work on surface current mapping with HF radar.In collaboration with CeNCOOS, this research would include data analysis, field/ data operations, and report/proposal writing.  Funding is available for 1.5 years with the potential for ongoing funding. The position is based at the Bodega Marine Laboratory (UC Davis).  Applicants should send a letter outlining why this job would be a good fit along with a CV by email to Prof. John Largier, Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California Davis at jlargier@ucdavis.edu.
    • Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Aramco-­‐KAUST Marine Environmental Research Center is seeking a recent Ph.D. with a background and interest in integrated coastal observing and an emphasis on surface current mapping using high frequency radar and autonomous vehicles. All applicants are required to have a Ph.D. with demonstrated expertise in their respective areas. The position is for three years.  To apply, please submit a single PDF file with a cover letter, including a brief statement of research interests (no more than 2 pages), detailed curriculum vitae, and the contact information of three references to Jennifer Otoadese, jennifer.otoadese@kaust.edu.sa.  
    • Australia: Postdoctoral Scientist in Sydney Australia, HF Radar and Surface Circulation off SE Australia: The University of New South Wales, Coastal and Regional Oceanography Lab invites application for a postdoctoral researcher to work on surface current mapping with HF radar. In collaboration with IMOS this research would include data analysis, grant writing and project management. The successful candidate will work under supervision of UNSW Professor Moninya Roughan.  Funding is available for 1.5 years with the potential for ongoing opportunities as additional sites are added to the network. Applicants should send a letter outlining experience and expertise and why this job would be a good fit along with a CV and the names of 3 references by email to Prof. Moninya Roughan at UNSW Australia mroughan@unsw.edu.au.

• Glider Updates: Challenger mission: On March 31, 2016, scientists and engineers from the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (COOL) recovered RU 29 off the coast of South Africa. The Slocum Electric Glider spent 282 days at sea traveling from Ubatuba, Brazil to Cape Town, South Africa. This leg of the mission now completes RU29's circumnavigation of the South Atlantic. Starting in January 2013, the glider was launched from Cape Town, South Africa, was recovered, rebatteried and redeployed off of Ascension Island in November of that year, and then recovered off of Brazil on May 18, 2014 before the most recent trek back to South Africa that began in June of 2015.  Building off of the success of RU 27’s crossing of the North Atlantic in 2009, members of COOL are now leading a global effort to complete the Challenger Glider Mission: a two-year initiative to simultaneously pilot 16 ocean-fairing robots around the world's ocean basins while spreading ocean literacy and educating the general population about our changing planet. To date, a mission from Iceland to Barbados by way of the Canary Islands was completed in the North Atlantic by the Slocum Glider "Silbo," while RU 29 completed its South Atlantic Crossing. Over the next month, RU 29 and "Silbo" will be deployed off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Santos, Brazil, to set forth on return journeys across the North and South Atlantic.

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

• QARTOD Update:
  • Glider QC Manual: Distributed for interagency and international review.
  • HF Radar Surface Currents QC Manual: Continued soliciting input for the manual from the community.  We are repeating the 2nd round of reviews in an effort to improve participation.
  • Outreach:  We have begun planning for OCEANS ‘16 special session on real-time QC of oceanographic data. Provided a QARTOD presentation to several PMEL researchers.

Modeling and Analysis Subsystem

(IOOS PO and IOOS Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed (COMT) POC – Becky Baltes (Becky.Baltes@noaa.gov):

• NOAA’s Ecological Forecasting Road Map:  Mark your calendar for the annual Ecological Forecasting Road Map meeting on April 26-28 in College Park, MD.
• NOAA’s 7th Annual Testbeds and Proving Ground Meeting: Becky and members of the COMT leadership team will participate in NOAA’s 7th Annual Testbeds and Proving Ground Meeting on Apr 5-6.  Becky will provide an annual update on COMT; COMT will have 1 oral and 1 poster presentation.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News

• National Coastal Moored Data Buoy Plan:  IOOS Office and NDBC will convene a writing workshop at NDBC to develop content for the National Coastal Moored Data Buoy Plan.  Co-led by Kathy Bailey, IOOS and Shannon McArthur, NDBC, attendees will include Jan Newton (NANOOS), Ru Morrison (NERACOOS), Carol Janzen (AOOS), Steve Ruberg (GLERL), Uwe Send (SIO) and Helen Worthington (Technical Writer).
• Third Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network: The scientific workshop will happen on the heels of the High CO2 meeting from May 8 - 10 in Hobart. This meeting will attract scientists from approximately 40 countries with many new participants from Africa, India, and the Pacific Islands. Registration for this workshop is still open. Richard Feely, Jeremy Mathis, and Libby Jewett (NOAA) sit on the Executive Council of GOA-ON. Jan Newton, Executive Director of NANOOS, is both on the EC and co-chairing this workshop.

Delivering Benefits

• PacIOOS Governing Council Executive Committee Meeting:  The meeting was held in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Big thanks to our hosts Willy Kostka, Micronesia Conservation Trust (MCT) and Simon Ellis, director of the Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei (MERIP) and local PacIOOS rep for an outstanding meeting.  The first challenge is getting there, but once on the island we had robust discussions on PacIOOS’ current activities and next strategic plan.  A theme for PacIOOS is that they are culturally rooted, and that was evident during our visit.  We had a chance to get out and about and experience the local culture and see PacIOOS observing assets in action.  For my presentation and full story with pictures, see the full story.
• Challenges of Natural Resource Economics and Policy (CNREP) 5th National Forum on Socioeconomic Research in Coastal Systems: Carl Gouldman, IOOS Deputy Director, attended the CNREP forum to brief the IOOS Ocean Enterprise Study results during a panel session entitled: Economic Assessments of the Blue-Green Economy.  The goal of the triennial CNREP forum was to marshal the social sciences towards the most timely and relevant socioeconomic challenges of coastal resource management and policy.  Carl provided a summary of the US IOOS Ocean Enterprise study and attended many of the other sessions covering topics from carbon mitigation banks, to cost benefits of removing derelict fishing gear, to valuing beach use along the east coast for recreation purposes.  This conference demonstrates that experts in the fields of social science are bringing the right skills to bear on the challenges of evaluating the impacts and choices we are considering and making to improve the resilience of our local, regional, and national coastal and ocean resources.
• GCOOS - Launch of New GCOOS Data Portals Featured During White House Water Summit:  The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) launched 2 new data portals designed to help resource managers protect the environmental health of the waterways in the Gulf of Mexico watershed.  The Hypoxia-Nutrient Data Portal, created in partnership with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, and the Citizen Science Data Portal aggregate information gathered from multiple sources and organizations throughout the Gulf so that the data may be used to support informed strategies for protecting the long-term health of the Gulf and its waterways. The launch of these Data Portals took place in coordination with the 2016 White House Water Summit which was designed to raise awareness of the importance of water and to catalyze ideas and actions to help address issues through innovative solutions.  Safe, sufficient, and reliable water resources are essential to the functioning of every aspect and sector of U.S. society, including agricultural and energy production, industry and economic growth, human and environmental health and national security.   (See Page 23 of "Enhancing Data Collection, Access, and Usability," on page 23 in the report Commitments To Action On Building A Sustainable Water Future from The Executive Office of the President.)
• Western Region Environmental Conditions & Impacts Coordination (WRECIC) Monthly Meeting: Thank you to Dr. Jan Newton (NANOOS) for the NVS Climatology update and to all others that contributed to capturing observations and impacts over the reporting period.  This project is focused on documenting and sharing information on regional environmental conditions (especially departures from normal) and impacts on human systems and NOAA mission over the summer to early spring season.  For general questions about the project, please contact Timi Vann at timi.vann@noaa.gov.  For questions on climate, contact Dr. Dan McEvoy Western Region Climate Center (WRCC).  For questions on the NOAA West Watch, contact Michael Milstein.
• NECAN (Northeast Coastal Acidification Network - neracoos.org/necan): Led by NERACOOS with strong collaboration from OAP, NOS and NEFSC provided this update: The Maine Fishermen’s Forum took place at the Samoset Resort in Rockland Maine on March 3-5, 2016. A session on “Questioning Our Changing Oceans”, designed and hosted by three Maine fishermen, included science snapshots from scientist and reflections on the changing ocean environment from four fishermen from around the country and Western Australia. In addition, a NECAN’s session titled “What’s New on Ocean Acidification in Maine and Beyond” was held. The session began by premiering the new O’Chang video on OCA. New research was highlighted on lobster and other marine species in the Gulf of Maine and an aquaculture business offered insights about how they are addressing the threat. NECAN also presented an update on the State of Maine’s policy efforts.
• SOCAN (Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network - secoora.org/socan): Led by SECOORA with strong collaboration from OAP, NOS and SEFSC held their first in person steering committee plus invited guests in early January 2016 and is now in the throes of developing a state of the science of OA in the Southeast, which will likely lead to a journal special issue.

Congressional

• No update.

Communications / Outreach / Education

• NASA’s new sea level change portal has a new article - “In Roiling West Coast Region, a Calm Appraisal of sea level” highlighting NANOOS partners Ted Strub, Craig Risien, Mike Kosro’s efforts to improve the measurement of sea level signals in turbulent coastal regions, such as the West Coast.  The article is available at https://sealevel.nasa.gov/news/42

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation

• No update.

View the IOOS calendar: https://ioosassociation.org/