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IOOS^® - EYES ON THE OCEAN^™

From the IOOS Program Office:

• IOOS in 2016: Every quarter, the IOOS PO holds a mesh meeting – no acronym – just a day we get together talking about our activities.  I am both excited and exhausted by the end of the meeting day because the activity is so broad in nature and voluminous.  Highlights from our mesh meeting last week include:
  • Certification - GLOS submission in progress/several RAs indicate they will submit applications this year
  • IOOS Advisory Committee – next meeting in DC, April 4-5, 2016
  • Awarding the next 5 year cooperative agreements with IOOS RAs and ACT
  • Environmental Compliance – completing our PEA/working with IOOS RAs
  • New website to follow our new logo
  • Consolidation of all the data web sites under ioos.us that will complement ioos.noaa.gov. Includes: new sensors map developed by Axiom and the Environmental Data Server by ASA
  • Transition plans for the projects under US IOOS COMT – working with SURA, lead PI, on highlighting successes to date
  • QARTOD – 3 manuals in progress and ramped up outreach
  • IOOS by the Numbers!
  • Next Generation Navigation – with our partner offices Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), National Geodetic Survey (NGS) and Office of Coast Survey (OSC) to extend the LA/Long Beach under keel clearance project.  CariCOOS briefed us this week on their great efforts.
  • Collaborating with NERRS on new observing and data infrastructure
  • Working with the Coastal Round Table – see Resilience announcement below
  • Working with BOEM and ONR and the Animal Telemetry Network (ATN)
    • ATN Network Coordinator Position Description posted: https://issmgmt.catsone.com/careers/index.php?m=portal&a=details&jobOrderID=6840933
  • HF Radar – Significant waves, tsunami, and training AWIPS operators
  • Release of the Ocean Enterprise Study
  • National Mooring Plan (IOOS and NWS leads)
  • Represent NOAA on the IOOC and active participation on the Task Teams
  • Support to US Group on Earth Observations (USGEO) and GEO – MBON, Blue Planet, Global HF Radar, AmeriGEOSS, Sustainability Development Goals, Natural Capital Accounting, Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network and more
  • Global Ocean Observing System – continued collaboration with the GOOS Regional Alliance – EUROGOOS, IMOS, PIGOOS
  • Amazing work by the IOOS RAs, ACT and COMT to enable decision making every day and an infrastructure for advancing science and technology

Observation Subsystem and Sensor Technologies:

• HF Radar (IOOS national coordinator, Jack Harlan; Jack.Harlan@noaa.gov):
  • No update.

• Glider Updates:
  • Challenger Glider Mission: RU29's mission to circle the South Atlantic:  RU29 was first deployed in Cape Town, South Africa in January of 2013 and flew to Ascension Island in 2013, then the Ascension Island to Ubatuba, Brazil line in 2014 and began the Ubatuba to Cape Town return line in 2015.  Rutgers, MARACOOS partners, has successfully worked through some flight issues on RU29 and is looking to recover the glider in Cape Town the week of  March 28-April 1.  Follow progress.

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):

• 4 sharks added to PacIOOS Tiger Shark Tracking Page: The additions include 3 female sharks (134780, 144555, and 145989) and 1 male shark (144556).  When tagged, each shark was measured from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail, ranging from 2.7 m (9.0 ft) to 3.5 m (11.6 ft). While the sharks are new to the page, their data span from late 2014 to mid 2015, respectively. Click on each shark and watch as 134780 traverses from O'ahu to the Maui Nui area or as 144555 makes its way towards Hawaiʻi Island!
• The 3rd International Animal Telemetry Data Standardization meeting will be held in conjunction with the AGU in New Orleans on Friday, February 26. Hassan and Rob Harcourt (AATAMAS IMOS Australia) are finalizing the agenda for this meeting.

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:

• The IOOC effectively operates using task teams. Some updates from these teams:
  • Steering Group Task Team for the Animal Telemetry Network met.  Co-Chaired by Mike Weise (ONR), Sean Hayes (NOAA) and Sam Simmons (as the Network Coordinator) and members including Carl Gouldman (IOOS), Josie Quintrell (IOOS Association), Jim Price and Jake Levenson (BOEM).
  • Glider Task Team has completed draft survey and it is with the Task Team for review and input.  Expect to see the survey in April.
  • The IOOC Modeling Strategy Team sent out a new draft of the strategy for review by team members.  Comments are due Feb 9.
• St. Lawrence Global Observatory launches its data dashboard: Check out their “Control center” that allows a user to visualize multiple real-time data coming from multiple stations and to save his preferences and even visualized forecast and water level predictions in a graph.  The Dashboard and the Control center are in the web application called Marine conditions. A user guide is also available.

Delivering Benefits:

• 2016 GoMRI Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference: Attracted 1000 participants from 35 states and 15 countries. Dr. Marcia McNutt, ScienceEditor-in-Chief, gave the keynote talk on a topic near and dear to IOOS – data sharing and transparency.  I was invited to give a talk to the GoMRI Ocean Observing Board on observing perspectives from IOOS. My messages were:
  • Deep Water Horizon: new technologies, models, products
  • Connected before, checked in during crisis = successful response
  • Sustained observing through IOOS makes us ready to respond

You can download my presentation here.  It was my privilege to share the podium with an all-star, all female cast.  Dr. Bonnie Ponwith, Director, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA focused on fisheries assessments and the importance of baselines.  Dr. Barb Kirkpatrick, Executive Director, GCOOS offered that the GCOOS 2.0 build out plan as a framework for a Gulf wide observing network.  Dr. Rebecca Green, Oceanographer, Environmental Studies Section, BOEM, continues to expand their efforts to a Gulf wide observing network.  Dr. Ruth Perry, Shell, is working with counterparts at other companies on better coordination of sharing the industry’s assets and infrastructure for observing.  Prior to Shell, Dr. Perry was with GCOOS while she worked on her Ph.D. and is a great emissary for our efforts.

• Citizen Science at work in SCCOOS:  SCCOOS joined forces with USC Sea Grant's Urban Tides Beach Walk and Training at La Jolla Shores. This opportunity generated visibility, participation and collaboration for all coastal photo-documenting projects including SCCOOS’s Storm Photo Effort.  The volunteers learned how to capture beach erosion and coastal flooding photos. These data collected from our citizen scientists will build a database that will be helpful to calibrate models, set priorities and further the collective dialogue about how we can adapt to rising sea levels. One of the volunteers was quoted in a KPBS broadcast that, “being able to basically inform scientists through the click of your phone makes it a lot easier to participate.”
• GCCOS now a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador™: This NOAA initiative recognizes partners that are helping to improve the nation's readiness against extreme weather, water, and climate events. As the Gulf of Mexico's clearinghouse for data and information about conditions throughout the Gulf region, GCOOS is proud to join with this initiative to help support the resiliency of coastal communities, said Dr. Chris Simoniello, GCOOS Outreach and Education Manager.  "One of our main objectives at GCOOS since our inception has been helping to educate residents in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida about the role the Gulf of Mexico plays in their daily lives and provide them with timely information about water and weather conditions," Simoniello said. "Joining the Weather-Ready Nation program will help give us additional tools to educate the public and help us develop an even closer working relationship with other agencies that have a mission similar to ours.” Read More
• NOAA Announces Resilience Grants:  NOAA’s National Ocean Service will award today $4.5 million in coastal resilience grants, with plans to award another $4.5 million in grants later this year. The local community grant recipients are required to add an additional $2.4 million in matching funds.  The awards are partnerships and include the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association on 1 project.  Project summaries page:  https://coast.noaa.gov/resilience-grant/projects/
• Ocean Acidification Workshop: AOOS hosted a 2-day workshop with over 30 OA technical experts and Alaska-based organizations working on OA issues in attendance. The workshop focused on consolidating priorities for OA monitoring in Alaska. Going forward, AOOS will use education and outreach funds from a NOAA OA project to kick-start an Alaska Coastal Acidification Network.

Congressional

• No update.

Communications / Outreach / Education:

• ATN article just published in the journal Animal Biotelemetry: “Toward a national animal telemetry network for aquatic observations in the United States.” Open Access: http://www.animalbiotelemetry.com/content/4/1/6

Upcoming Meetings with IOOS Participation:

• Marine Industries Science & Technology Cluster Town Hall at Ocean Sciences: MIST will be hosting a town hall on the impact of ocean observing systems, various roles within IOOS and ways the cluster can support IOOS efforts.
  • When: Tuesday, February 23, 2016 – 12:45 pm – 01:45 pm – rooms 228-230
  • See the Ocean Sciences Meeting website for registration and meeting details.
• Oceanology International 2016: OI 2016: Marine Technology and Services Sector Role in The ‘Blue Economy,’ program will be held 15 March 2016 to explore the latest trends in ocean observing, viewed through the lens of the ‘Blue Economy’.  By means of a series of presentations drawn from a record number of abstracts, this programme will help attendees evaluate their own ocean science, technology, and economic activities through new perspectives and identify key trends that will influence future developments.  This conference includes distinguished keynotes, two focused panels and an international roster of speakers.  Like all OI conference sessions, it is free-to-attend. Free online registration is available at the OI 2016 website.

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