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IOOS^® - EYES ON THE OCEAN^™

From the IOOS Program Office:

• IOOS is a Team Sport: THANK YOU to Former PacIOOS Governing Council member Sean Martin, who asked one of his fishing vessels to look for our buoy while in the vicinity. The captain recovered it yesterday! This buoy detached from its mooring on the North Shore of Kauai on March 7, and was about 436 nautical miles NW of Kauai when it was retrieved. Partnerships like this show the value of IOOS, recovering $100K worth of oceanographic instrumentation.

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

• HF Radar (IOOS national coordinator, Jack Harlan; Jack.Harlan@noaa.gov):
  • The working group held a telecon and webinar on HFR diagnostics on 3 May. The WG is nearing final code designations for radar downtimes that will be implemented into a national diagnostics web site.
• Ocean Technology Transition - FFirst Burke-o-later installed in Canada! Located in a seaside shed at Hakai’s Quadra Island Field Station in British Columbia, the Burke-o-later is part of a growing network of ocean acidification monitoring sites on the Pacific coast. Read More. To learn more out IOOS’ Ocean Technology Transition Project’s and NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program’s partnership to transition this and other ocean acidification monitoring systems into operations, please visit, https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/ocean-technology-transition/
• GLOS - Buoy season underway: As buoys go back into the water, data is getting refreshed on the Great Lakes Observing System's Data Portal. Go to http//www.glos.us to access both information tools and the portal. You'll notice a new look on the website, too.
• PACIOOS redeploys Majuro Buoy: The Majuro wave buoy has been successfully redeployed! US Ambassador Tom Armbruster attended a small blessing ceremony organized and sponsored by our partners at the NOAA NWS WSO. It was pouring rain, which in time of drought truly is a blessing. The reinstalled buoy joins the existing PacIOOS network of 13 real-time wave buoys across the Pacific. The buoy made headlines in the Marshall Islands Journal.

• Glider Updates:
  • You asked, we provide – funding attribution now showing up when you click on the glider profiles in the IOOS glider DAC - http://gliders.ioos.us/map/
  • Gulf AUV Network and Data Archive Long-term storage Facility (GANDALF): The GCOOS-RA developed the Gulf AUV Network and Data Archive Long-term storage Facility (GANDALF) to provide data management and glider mapping/tracking assistance to glider operators in the Gulf. GCOOS will host data from anyone operating gliders in the Gulf of Mexico! For more information about GANDALF, please contact Bob Currier at codemonkey@gcoos.org. For information about the GCOOS Gulf Glider Task Team, please contact Chair Chad Lembke at clembke@usf.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):

• Annual DMAC Meeting: We will host the meeting in Silver Spring on June 2-3. The IOOS Office leads the IOOS DMAC meeting to review, update, and coordinate with data managers on the state of IOOS data standard and service implementation and requirements for future growth and operation of the system. Contact Rob Ragsdale, Rob.Ragsdale@noaa.gov for more info and to attend.
• EDS Viewer Live: The EDS Viewer is available at: http://eds.ioos.us/ . The Viewer allows users to display and plot time-series of model output from a variety of sources. Requirements from CO-OPS, as an operational NOS office, were gathered for this release. Users can compare nearby observations from CO-OPS, NDBC, and HF Radar data to model output, and can display most CO-OPS OFS’ model output at different depth layers. Enhancements continue, and will include depths for the remaining OFS, animations within the map (now available through a video option), and depth profiles of model output.
• IOOS Biological vocabulary terms updated: The latest version is located on the Marine Metadata Interoperability Ontology Registry and Repository. The updated vocabulary contains the Darwin Core and Marine Biogeography Extension terms that are used by IOOS and OBIS-USA. Darwin Core terms are from the TDWG-Ratified Darwin Core reference at http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/index.htm. MBG terms ("Marine BioGeography") are those terms added through the Darwin Core extension protocol to meet specific requirements identified by OBIS-USA and US IOOS.
• QARTOD Update – lead Mark Bushnell - mark.bushnell@noaa.gov:
  • Water Level QC Manual Update: Elizabeth Bradshaw, sea level data manager at the British Oceanographic Data Centre Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS), has requested permission to incorporate QARTOD water level QC tests into their updated GLOSS Quality Control Manual. They specifically wish to include and require the Rate of change and the Attenuated signal tests. What a nice complement to our program.
  • Water Level Manual announced in Marine Technology: http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/news/water-level-quality-control-532114
• New Website for ACCER added to AOOS.org – A new webpage was designed for the Alaska Climate Change Executive Roundtable and nested within the AOOS website: www.alaskaclimatescience.org. ACCER staff will provide content management for the site; AOOS staff will provide technical support.

Modeling and Analysis Subsystem:

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

• No update.

Interagency and International Collaboration/News:

• GEO in Action: Check out this story map to learn more about the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) activities: http://arcg.is/1QSoNjD
• Biodiversity:
  • GCOOS is funding a doctoral student fellowship through the University of South Florida, College of Marine Science to help understand linkages between the coral reef, water column, and wetland environments observed by the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) in collaboration with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuaries. A focus of this work will be to understand the linkages between habitat and biological diversity in wetlands in the Keys and the Everglades, and water quality processes that affect aquatic environments surrounding the Florida Keys. http://sanctuaries.marinebon.org/
    

Delivering Benefits:

• MARACOOS Annual Meeting: The theme of the meeting was: Innovation, Integration, and Industry: Expanding the "I"s of IOOS in the Mid-Atlantic. The meeting focused on development of a new innovation initiative for the region, bringing together existing partners with new partners, including the private sector, to respond and provide data and information products in critical areas for the Mid-Atlantic, including estuarine and ocean acidification, telemetry, fisheries, inundation, and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Several office staff participated; Carl gave an IOOS Program Office update on Friday morning. His presentation is available here.
• ACT Support to Nutrient Sensor Challenge: ACT Verification Testing will begin in a few weeks as part of the Nutrient Sensor Challenge. Nine next-generation nutrient sensors (5 nitrate and 4 phosphate) from six different teams around the world will be tested in the laboratory and in three different field settings. Detailed test protocols have been developed and information on the teams can be found at www.act-us.info/nutrients-challenge/Participants.php.
• Next Generation Oceanographers at MARACOOS: See full story and pictures: https://ioos.noaa.gov/news/ioosians-training-visit-rutgers/
• CARICOOS Annual Stakeholders Meeting: See the full story and pictures - https://ioos.noaa.gov/news/caricoos-annual-meeting-ignites-crowd/, My presentation https://ioos.noaa.gov/communications/presentations/
• New Sea Level Trends Calculated for 2015: NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services has recalculated sea level trends for CO­OPS stations using all data up to the end of 2015, and the new trends are posted to the website. Sea level trends are now computed at 142 CO­OPS stations. CO­OPS informed the EPA of the new trends in order to update their Climate Change Indicator for Sea Level, which presents accumulated sea level change since 1960 at our long­term stations. Fifty year trends for 1965­2014, centered on 1990, were also calculated and posted to the website.
• Alaska Ocean Acidification (OA) Network launched: AOOS has been working with partners to start a new network, which will focus on expanding the understanding of OA processes and impacts in Alaska, as well as potential adaptation and mitigation actions. The network will connect scientists and stakeholder communities to identify knowledge gaps, recommend regional research and monitoring priorities, and share data and best practices. The steering committee met on April 12 to set activities for the upcoming year. A new website will be launched in June. The Alaska Ocean Acidification (OA) Network is being launched to help expand the understanding of ocean acidification processes and impacts in Alaska, as well as potential adaptation and mitigation actions. The network will help connect scientists with stakeholders to identify knowledge gaps, recommend regional priorities, share data, and determine best practices for monitoring.

Congressional

• Spring Meetings Taking Place: Carl and Jen, IOOS Office, have met with staff from the following member offices over the last two weeks: Senator Cantwell (D-WA), Representative Byrne (R-AL-1), Representative Capps (D-CA-24), Representative Farr (D-CA-20), Representative Honda (D-CA-17), and Senator Whitehouse (D-RI). For Senator Cantwell’s staff, we added a briefing on the ATN Implementation Plan, which was covered by Sam Simmons and Bill Woodward. The ATN Implementation Plan briefing was provided at the request of Senator Cantwell’s staff. Representative Farr came into his office during our briefing with his staff, and sat down and discussed IOOS with us for approximately 15 minutes. Hill Visits will continue next week with scheduled briefings with staff from the Senate Commerce Committee (Majority and Minority), Senator Wicker (R-MS), Representative Pingree (D-ME-1), House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (Majority), and House Natural Resources Committee (Minority).

Communications / Outreach / Education:

• GLOS - Congratulations to the Great Lakes High School Data Visualization Winner: Ben Bratton: In January 2016, EPA, in collaboration with U.S. Geological Survey and several regional partners including the Great Lakes Observing System, launched Visualize Your Water which challenged high school students in the Great Lakes Basin and Chesapeake Bay Watershed states to create innovative visualizations of nutrient data using open government data sources. In this competition, students used digital mapping technology with data from the USGS, EPA, and other sources to analyze local water quality. They then created a map that told a story about the problem and suggested possible solutions.
• 2016 Ocean Film Contest Launched: AOOS is seeking films 10 minutes or less on any ocean-related topic. The deadline for submissions is September 16, 2016. More information can be found on the AOOS website here.
• AOOS map syncs up agencies' beluga research: http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2016-05-09/aoos-map-syncs-up-agencies-beluga-research

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation:

• Ocean ‘16 – Gearing up:
  • QARTOD Session – Mark Bushnell reports 9 abstracts were submitted, so there will be 2 sessions.
  • Townhalls:
    • IOOS Office and Monterey Bay International Trade Association - “The ‘Blue Silicon Valley’ Emerges from the ‘Serengeti of the Sea’’
    • IOOS Office and Global Ocean Design LLC – Ocean Innovation and Unique Partnerships
    • IOOS Office and CeNCOOS are teaming up with NOAA for an exhibit booth.
      

      
      

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