The Z-Gram is an informal way of keeping you up-to-date on US IOOS^® activities. Pass it on! Please reply with an e-mail with additional addresses or if you no longer want to receive the Z-Gram. Previous Updates

_

Facebook: www.facebook.com/usioosgov Twitter: https://twitter.com/usioosgov

_

IOOS^® - EYES ON THE OCEAN^™

From the IOOS Program Office:

• • IOOS’ Ocean Technology Transition (OTT) Project has a new website: Led by OTT Project Manager Jen Rhoades, the team developed the new website with contributions from OTT Project PIs and IOOS Office Staff.  The website provides a comprehensive and streamlined source of the OTT Project and funded activities.  Visit http://www.ioos.noaa.gov/ocean_tech/welcome.html today to read the latest OTT announcements and news, learn more about OTT, and obtain information on OTT funded activities. The IOOS OTT project sponsors the transition of emerging marine observing technologies, for which there is an existing operational requirement and a demonstrated commitment to integration and use by the ocean observing community, to operational mode.  OTT has sponsored the transition of technology to support enhanced observing capabilities for Harmful Algal Blooms, ocean acidification, hypoxia, and arctic ice freeze-up.
  • Highlight of our week – interacting with NOSB winners: The IOOS Program Office and Office of Naval Research had a chance to interact with the 2015 National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) top two teams in the Science Expert Briefing component of the NOSB Finals Competition, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and Boise High School, on their analysis of the proposed reauthorization of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009. To say we were impressed is an understatement. Their astute and critical analysis gave us some new ideas to pursue. We echo Sherri Goodman, President of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in her weekly newsletter – “They are truly the future of ocean science.” I add – “And the future is bright.”
  • IOOS RA Certification Update: We continue to work on PacIOOS’s certification package. We keep an elapsed time clock and we are at day 58 (reminder we have 90 days to make a decision). A second request for additional information was sent on 5 June. The review clock is on pause. A second RA has indicated they will provide their package by the end of June.
  • The Ocean Enterprise: A Study of US Business Activity in Ocean Measurement, Observation and Forecasting: The survey is open now through mid-June. The study aims to identify and dissect the scale and scope of the United States private sector activity in support of ocean measurement, observation and forecasting, and the use of ocean information to deliver safety, economic and environmental benefits.

  Any company who is a provider or intermediary is welcome to join the study. Opt in by going to the survey: https://ioos.noaa.gov

  Summary information is also available on the IOOS web page: http://www.ioos.noaa.gov/ioos_in_action/ocean_enterprise_study.html This study is sponsored by NOAA’s National Ocean Service and the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) and being conducted by the ERISS Corporation and The Maritime Alliance.

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

• Gliders and Tiger Shark Monitoring: Supported by US IOOS, MARACOOS and NOAA Fisheries’ Proactive Conservation Program Award see the article about University of Delaware doctoral student Danielle Haulsee use of an autonomous glider to monitor for sand tiger sharks tagged with acoustic telemetry tags.  The study has recently published in Marine Ecology Progress Series. UDaily (University of Delaware) – June 2, 2015 - http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2015/jun/shark-habitat-migration-060215.html
• New Waverider Buoy Supports Harbor Pilots: A new Datawell Waverider Mk III wave monitoring buoy (WMO ID 42098) was deployed near the entrance to the Tampa Bay shipping channel. The addition of this buoy to existing NOAA Physical Oceanographic Real Time System (PORTS) infrastructure supports the work of the Tampa Bay harbor pilots based out of Egmont Key, FL. Instruments on the Waverider buoy will provide the pilots with real-time data on wave height, period and direction, critical information to enhance safety as the pilots move between the station and inbound or outbound ships. Data from this buoy and photos of the deployment are available at http://tbports.org. Funded by the Greater Tampa Bay Marine Advisory Council – PORTS, Inc., the local operator for Tampa Bay PORTS, and operated in collaboration with the University of South Florida College of Marine Science and the Coastal Data Information Program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (CDIP), funded by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the information also supports broader efforts to monitor and predict waves and shoreline change. “While the primary beneficiaries of wave data from this buoy are the Tampa Bay Pilots and related shipping interests, the wave information is critical to studies of beach erosion and channel dredging” said Mark Luther, the head of local operations for Tampa Bay PORTS.
• Wave buoy deployed in the Port of Long Beach: As part of NOAA’s National Ocean Service project with the Port of Long Beach and SCCOOS as second CDIP wave buoy has been deployed at the entrance to the Port of Long Beach. This buoy is the 2nd validation point to be used in the model development for the Port of LA/LB Under Keel Clearance Project which analyzes the safety for tanker transits with a deadweight over 175,000 DWT or with a draft over 55ft. The funding was provided by the National Ocean Service.
• 2015 GEO Global HF Radar Task meeting: The fourth meeting will take place in Heraklion, Crete (NOTE new LOCATION) 22-23 September 2015. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the Seventh Session of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Regional Alliance Forum. As in the past, the focus of this GEO task is operational aspects of HF radar.  The theme will be "HF radar networks" which would seek to have presentations from individuals who would discuss their nation's network including their data management, deployment and operation, as well as applications of the HF radar data to real-world problems.  Background Information: The US Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) has been hosting a website for this GEO Task at http://www.ioos.noaa.gov/globalhfr/welcome.html. We will unveil a new web page for this community to share thoughts and information on the global HF radar effort. If you have any questions email Hugh Roarty: hroarty@marine.rutgers.edu

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

(Contact Derrick or Rob to get on the list serve for changes - Derrick.Snowden@noaa.gov, Rob.Ragsdale@noaa.gov):

• DMAC meeting presentations posted: IOOS Website DMAC Workshops’ page.
• QARTOD Ocean Optics QC Manual: TheS. IOOS DMAC Quality Assurance/Quality Control of Real-Time Oceanographic Data (QARTOD) project has completed and the quality control manual for ocean optics observations. The QC tests described in the manual address in-water and above-water radiance and irradiance, beam attenuation, turbidity, photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), chlorophyll, CDOM (colored dissolved organic matter), FDOM (fluorescent dissolved organic matter), and backscattering and volume scattering. The manual was prepared with extensive input from ocean optics experts from national and international organizations within the ocean-observing community, including manufacturers and academic institutions. This is the seventh manual in a series that provides guidance to the RAs and other ocean observing entities. The QARTOD focus now turns to a QC manual for dissolved nutrients.
• National Glider DAC Webinar: John Kerfoot will give an instructional webinar on submitting data to the National Glider DAC, Thursday June 18 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. EST. This is a great way to get informed about the future directions of national glider data sharing and archiving.  If interested, contact Rob Ragsdale ragsdale@noaa.gov for webinar details.

Modeling and Analysis Subsystem:

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

• Join us at the COMT annual meeting: The COMT Annual All Hands Meeting will be held July 30-31 at SURA in downtown DC.  If you are interested in hearing the latest updates for the COMT, please consider attending.  The agenda can be found here.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

• Visit to IMOS; GOOS Steering Team Meeting; Blue Planet and LEGOs: What do LEGOs have to do with this trip? Check out the full story. Highlights of the visit include: IOOS and IMOS, while structured differently, have much in common. Tim Moltmann and I jointly presented at the University of Western Australia. See my presentation. I had great visits with IMOS’ glider and HF Radar facilities. From there it was off to the GOOS Steering Committee meeting where the GOOS panels are making great progress on identifying essential ocean variables and advancing GOOS projects. Exciting news was the official stand up of the Biological and Ecosystem panel – co-chaired by Sam Simmons (Marine Mammal Commission and IOOS). I provided updates on the GOOS Regional Alliance work including reporting on the inventory of operational and pre-operational oceanographic modeling capability within the GOOS Regional Alliances, including physical, chemical, and ecological models. A questionnaire was developed to gather information regarding the models and assign a basic categorization to the models based on accessibility of the data. We received model inventories from Black Sea GOOS, EUROGOOS, IOCARIBE, IOGOOS, MONGOOS, IMOS, PI-GOOS, SEAGOOS, and U.S. IOOS. OCEATLAN and GRASP indicated they are not running any operational models at this time. The majority of the models being run are ocean circulation (ROMS, HYCOM, MOM4, etc.) and wave forecasting (SWAN, WW3, etc.) models. Thank you to EUROGOOS who have visualized the inventory. Check it out here. From there it was 2 days of great presentations at the GEO Blue Planet Symposium. I provided both an IOOS overview and a 5 min HF Radar update – not a scientific look – both presentations have been posted on the IOOS website. Check out the Blue Planet symposium website where you can read the abstracts and in the coming months the presentations will be posted - http://blueplanetsymposium.com/. So back to the LEGOs, Dirk Slawinski has taken up the hobby of designing ocean observing platforms (gliders and Argos) with LEGOs – see pictures here. Interested contact Dirk, dirk.slawinski@gmail.com
• Ocean Tracking Network published in Science: CONGRATS to the Canadian and international OTN investigators who have authored a review paper, "Aquatic animal telemetry: A panoramic window into the underwater world," This paper, published in Science, details the explosion in aquatic animal tracking research over the past 30 years and its impact on discoveries about the movements, migrations, interactions and survival of both common and elusive aquatic The review describes a profound revolution, including over 20 examples of scientific breakthroughs, in global ocean observation science achieved through advancements in acoustic and satellite telemetry—tracking via electronic tags placed on organisms ranging from tiny neonate fish to large whales, which transmit data to fixed or mobile receiver stations or orbiting satellites. “The vastness and impenetrability of the ocean has historically limited our ability to acquire and process information on animal movements. Telemetry has significantly enhanced our capacity to predict and plan in the face of climate change and human influence,” said Sara Iverson, scientific director of the Ocean Tracking Network and corresponding author on the paper. “In the future, we could be looking at spatially dynamic MPAs, which move annually with predictions of animals’ response to their environments,” said Nigel Hussey, lead author and researcher at the University of Windsor with the Ocean Tracking Network. Read more at oceantrackingnetwork.org
• World Hydrography Day: Did you know that World Hydrography Day is coming up on June 21. To mark the deployment of NOAA ships Fairweather and Rainier as they begin a summer of hydrographic survey projects in the Arctic, NOAA hosted a ceremony at the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Base in Kodiak, Alaska. Did you know that NOAA is the United States’ charting agency? A partnership that involves both the NOAA’s National Ocean Service – Office of Coast Survey, NOAA’s ships, and the private sector charter services. Read the full story and sign up for the blog: https://noaacoastsurvey.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/ceremony-in-kodiak-alaska-marks-the-deployment-of-noaa-ships-fairweather-and-rainier/

Delivering Benefits:

• U.S. Coast Guard Uses PacIOOS Regional Ocean Modeling System to Rescue Missing Person: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) recently plucked a missing Seattle tourist from the ocean after he had drifted 10 miles away from Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, where he had rented a paddleboard for an afternoon beach outing. Using the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) Regional Ocean Modeling System and High-Frequency Radar, the USCG successfully conducted a search-and-rescue (SAR) mission for the missing paddler. The SAR planner used the systems to place a search pattern over the missing person, which allowed the helicopter to locate him early the next morning, 15 hours after he left shore.  From the USCG: “We did use PacIOOS data for the paddle boarder case off of Waikiki.  HI ROMS had all the particles moving to the west which lined up perfectly with the SLDMB we deployed and because of that our SAR planner was able to put a search pattern right on top of the missing person allowing the helicopter to locate him as soon as the sun came up.  Really a great case for PacIOOS because the individual drifted in upwards of 12 miles from his starting point off of Waikiki.”

Congressional

• Congressional briefing – 9 July: Please join us for the Senate Oceans Caucus congressional briefing, “Making a Difference:  Why Ocean Observing Matters,” on Capitol Hill on Thursday, July 9 12:00pm-1:15pm.  VADM Mason Brown has been invited to give an overview of the importance of observations and U.S. IOOS, and Jen is providing the support to develop his briefing materials.  Three other speakers are expected to discuss IOOS from an end user perspective. For more information contact: Josie Quintrell - jquintrell@comcast.net
• House of Representatives introduces a bill to reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009. The bill was introduced on 11 June by Rep Don Young (R-AK).

Communications / Outreach / Education:

• IOOS Animal Telemetry Network (ATN) featured in GEOBON
• MBON featured in video: Dan Haifley, Our Ocean Backyard: Fish, DNA above an undersea mountain: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/environment-and-nature/20150606/dan-haifley-our-ocean-backyard-fish-dna-above-an-undersea-mountain#.VXPUu-V_BDE.email

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation:

• No update.

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