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IOOS^® - EYES ON THE OCEAN^™

From the IOOS Program Office:

• Z’s Trip highlights:
  • GEO XIII:  Read the full story at https://ioos.noaa.gov/news/geo-xiii-plenary-advancing-vision-geo/
  • ICMERS 2016: Zdenka participated as a keynote speaker at the conference and then in a workshop to begin discussion on a Kingdom of Saudi Arabia integrated ocean observing system.  An outstanding conference at a fabulous institution, KAUST.  The hospitality was superb and the talks topnotch – Read More

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

• HF Radar/Radio: (IOOS national coordinator, Jack Harlan; Jack.Harlan@noaa.gov):
  • No update.
• Gliders: Challenger Mission – keep up with Challenger -RU29 continuing westward off the shelf and Silbo who’s only comms are via the Argos Transponder in the tail of the glider  via the blog
• Funding Opportunity – heads up, Ocean Technology Transition: U.S. IOOS is planning a Federal Funding Opportunity through its Ocean Technology Transition Project (OTT) to be announced in early January 2017.  Applicants will have 60 days after the announcement to submit applications in response to the Federal Funding Opportunity.

Data Management and Communications (DMAC) Subsystem and Tools Built on IOOS data (DMAC list serve – contact Derrick or Rob - Derrick.Snowden@noaa.gov, Rob.Ragsdale@noaa.gov):

• Checkout the new IOOS Access Data Page! IOOS data comes from a variety of technologies or data collection systems.  IOOS data can be accessed through a variety of regional and national access services and tools through IOOS interactive maps, Data Assembly Centers (DACs), and individual Regional Association portals -- with so many resources, it can be tough to know where to start.  Ever wonder where exactly to find certain types of data?  Which tool is the best one for you to use?  Let the new IOOS Data Access Page help.  This new webpage provides an overview of all these services and tools available. Also linked to this new site is our new IOOS data access blog.  This new resource for scientists and data managers interested in diving deep into the data offers links to video tutorials and data usage demonstrations using various programing languages (Python, Matlab, R, etc). We are eager to share this new resource but please bear with us as this blog undergoes final refinement.
• Save the Date! IOOS DMAC meeting is scheduled for March 15-16, 2017 in Silver Spring, MD:  The meeting includes a full day with the RA Directors and DMAC managers to discuss strategic planning followed by a second day of technical presentations and discussions.
• NANOOS NVS Version 5 Released:  Exciting new features:
  • Current Conditions: This new feature within many NVS apps provides a regional view of data from all assets at once that are reporting real-time air temperature; surface water temperature; barometric pressures; wave height and direction; and wind speed and direction.
  • New water column profile plots: New profile and “heatmap” plots for select profiling buoys, including the Twanoh and Carr Inlet ORCA buoys.
  • NVS Salish Cruises App: Provides downloadable cruise data from 1998 to 2016 in the Salish Sea.
• Automated archiving of SCCOOS data at NCEI: The first data set archived under the new automated process is titled "Oceanographic data collected from station Santa Monica Pier in the Coastal Waters of California by Institute of the Environment at University of California, Los Angeles, and assembled by Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) Regional Association from 2005-06-16 to 2015-07-13 (NCEI Accession 0157016)." These archival data can be downloaded via links on this page: https://accession.nodc.noaa.gov/0157016.  Each quarter, NCEI will initiate the automated process to archive all the station data assembled by SCCOOS during the previous month. You can find all of the SCCOOS archived automated shore stations through the NCEI Geoportal and the NCEI IOOS Archive Data Portal
• ATN: (National Coordinator Bill Woodward, Bill.Woodward@noaa.gov):
  • ATN DAC-SECOORA Acoustic Node Data Link:  Conference call with SECOORA, FACT, ATN DAC, OTN and Axiom teams to bring together the partners in implementing this data link so that we can collectively get moving to enable this connection. Agreement was reached that the link should be implemented in steps and work will begin at the DAC immediately to make the initial connection between the DAC and the ERDDAP end points (server) of the node where data that has already been agreed by the providers to be publically available is served. There was further agreement that as time goes on and as the SECOORA node gets further populated with acoustic data, steps for creating additional mechanisms for submitting data from the node to the DAC can be evaluated and implemented as needed.
• QARTOD: (National Coordinator Mark Bushnell, mark.bushnell@noaa.gov):
  • Heads up:  Phytoplankton Manual expected to be sent to the IOOS RAs the week of 12/5 with replies due by Jan 5th.

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:

• Marine Mammal Commission launches new Marine Mammal Health MAP: Learn more about the vision and development of the Marine Mammal Health MAP on the landing page.
• NOAA launches an Arctic website: See the site here. Full site will be launched on Dec 13th at AGU with the release of the 2016 Arctic Report Card.
• MBON awarded National Oceanographic Partnership Program 2016 Excellence in Partnering Award:  The MBON pilot “National Marine Sanctuaries as Sentinel Sites for a Demonstration Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON)” was voted to be the NOPP project that best exemplifies the program's partnership objectives by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. This award is meant to recognize the strong partnerships that have been built over time and their impact on the oceanographic community. To find out more about the EiP award, visit the page at http://www.nopp.org/excellence-in-partnering/
• MBON video demonstrates MBON portal: This video demonstrates some of the capabilities of the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) portal, which you can visit directly at http://mbon.ioos.us.
• MBON Biodiversity Indices:  The capabilities of the IOOS MBON portal were expanded (https://mbon.ioos.us/) with biodiversity indices calculations for three MBON sites (AK, MB and FK). Rob Bochenek (Axiom) optimized the biodiversity indices calculation workflow. The biodiversity calculations include density, average count, coefficient of variation, number of events, richness, Berger-Parker Percent Dominance, Shannon-Weiner Diversity, and Pielou’s evenness. All have Alpha, Gamma, and Beta versions. This summer, Axiom completed the integration and programming refinements to the CalCOFI Fish Counts and Egg counts datasets into in the MBON portal, enabling researchers to map and query the datasets using the seven biodiversity indices. Lynn deWitt, John Field and Keith Sakuma (SWFSC), and Jarrod Santorra (UCSC) worked closely with the teams at CeNCOOS, MBNMS, MBARI, and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to assemble, reformat metadata and enroll the Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (RREAS) data into ERDDAP. Background information on the cruise data and analyses are available. The team has been meeting to discuss the development and evaluation of RREAS diversity indices and manuscript preparation. Legacy datasets that are prioritized for enrollment include: Beach COMBERS, MBARI phytoplankton, PISCO/MPA nearshore, MBARI mid-water, Animal Telemetry network.

Delivering the Benefits:

• The Maritime Alliance hosted another successful BlueTech Week in San Diego:  This year’s theme was “Case Studies of Collaboration,” organized as 6 events over 5 days. The focus was on international partnerships and bringing together academics, government representatives, and industry members to discuss best practices, latest innovations, and growth opportunities for maritime industries locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. Deputy Director Carl Gouldman represented IOOS. IOOS was a co-sponsor of several events and shared booth space with NOAA during the Tech Expo.  Derek Parks and Vince Garcia attended the “pitch fest” on Friday, representing the NOAA Technology Partnerships Office and the Small Business Innovation Research program.  The pitch fest was designed for technology companies to pitch ideas for new innovation and was a resounding success that will be repeated in future years.  Carl Gouldman moderated and presented the Gathering Data panel on day 1 of the 8th annual BlueTech & Blue Economy Summit and Tech Expo. During the panel he described the 2016 Ocean Enterprise Study [link: https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/ocean-enterprise-study/] results which estimate that Ocean Enterprise businesses in the United States generate $7B in annual revenues.  We were happy to welcome so many people with diverse points of view and expertise who heard presentations from IOOS - Jeff de la Beaujardiere (Data Management Architect and EDMC Chair, NOAA), Clarissa Anderson (deputy director, SCCOOS) and Sara Guiltinan (Leasing Specialist, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Pacific Region).
• AOOS online tool aids Kachemak Bay recreational shellfish harvesters:  Harmful algal blooms (HAB) have long been a threat in some coastal Alaskan communities. As ocean temperatures rise over the next few decades, HABs are expected to occur more frequently. While the State of Alaska regularly tests commercial shellfish toxins, recreational and subsistence shellfish are not tested. Access to information about environmental conditions influencing HABs is important for making informed choices about shellfish consumption to reduce the risk of shellfish poisoning. Access the tool here
• NERACOOS/USGS - New tide gauge tested during king tide: Catch the news broadcast.  The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS) partnered to get the gauge funded and installed. Before the gauge was installed in April, meteorologists, emergency management coordinators and citizens had to rely on data from a gauge in Portland, which prevented people from evacuating in time.
• Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT): Detailed Testing Protocols used for evaluating the performance of in situ dissolved oxygen sensors are available for download.

Congressional:  

• Coordinated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act: H.R. 6321 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2016, and is effectively the introduction of S.1886 (which passed the U.S. Senate in September) into the House.
  

Communications/Outreach/Education:

• Reaching the Next Generation: The GCOOS team participated in the Great American Teach traveling to classrooms throughout the Gulf Coast to share information about oceans and ocean observing to students from elementary to high school. GCOOS staff also helped to organize the St. Petersburg Science Festival, which draws more than 25,000 visitors each year. GCOOS has participated in both the Sneak-Peek Day for Tampa Bay-area students and the public open house since inception of the festival in 2011. Read more
• Check out Z’s discussion on Industry Clusters recorded at Oceanology International London, 2014.

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation:

• Oceanology International Comes to North America:  The OI North America 2017 Conference has a 3-part program that will consist of a series of keynote end-user focused panel discussions, topical technical sessions and a full day dedicated to the Catch the Next Wave conference, all aiming to provide a better understanding of present and future requirements and opportunities of the Blue Economy. Abstracts are being sought now: http://www.oceanologyinternationalnorthamerica.com/en/Whats-On/2017-Conference-/

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