Eyes on the Ocean™ - IOOS Newsletter - 6 June 2024 - The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) (2024)

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Dear IOOS Community,

June is National Ocean Month! This important observance reminds us all to take time to appreciate our ocean and its countless resources. All month, the National Ocean Service will raise awareness about the ocean’s importance and highlight efforts to safeguard and sustain this critical ecosystem by sharing engaging content, including captivating videos, stunning imagery, and fascinating trivia about our ocean and coasts on the NOS website and social media platforms through the NOS Ocean Month campaign. Join the celebration by visiting the NOS National Ocean Month page.

I’m also pleased to announce that this week, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced the first National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy. Written by a team led by co-chairs Gabrielle Canonico, NOAA/U.S. IOOS, and J. Emmett Duffy, Smithsonian, the strategy calls for a stronger, more unified and inclusive approach to ocean conservation. I commend the team on this significant accomplishment and first step to produce this high-level roadmap to a more sustainable ocean. An implementation plan is currently in development to outline specific actions tailored to regions and communities. Great work!

Thanks,

Carl

• NOAA Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerator Webinar Series - June 25, 2024: On June 25th, MTS and NOAA will host a webinar on “Ecosystem Services, Including Change Detection, Change Analysis, and Change Adaptation/Mitigation” as part of the NOAA Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerator Webinar Series. Join the discussion with industry experts on the state of the marketplace, exploring opportunities for industry growth, and a Q&A session for Phase 1 Awardees. Learn more and reserve your spot today!
• Date: June 25, 2024
• Time: 1:00 - 2:30 PM ET | 10:00 - 11:30 AM PT
• Location: Zoom - Reserve Your Spot
• Learn more here!

• NOAA Summit Launches CEFI Implementation: The NOAA Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative Summit (May 7-9, San Diego, CA) brought together NOAA builders and users of the CEFI Decision Support System to ensure effective build-out of the System with IRA funding over the next three years. This cross-NOAA effort will build the operational modeling and decision support system needed to provide decision-makers with actionable information to reduce impacts and increase resilience of the nation’s valuable marine resources and resource-dependent communities in a changing climate. The Summit included 140 in person participants (@ 240 total) from four NOAA Line Offices (NMFS, OAR, NOS, NESDIS) and all U.S. ocean and coastal regions, including the Great Lakes. The CEFI Summit (1) affirmed the CEFI purpose, goals, and structure; (2) provided input on products, workflows and timelines for CEFI System Components; (3) strengthened collaborations; and, (4) identified key next steps, including continued engagement with target audiences/users.

• Welcome! We have new faces around the IOOS Office:
• Welcome Charmaine Jones! Charmaine joins the IOOS office as a Senior Budget Analyst. She comes to IOOS from the National Weather Service's Office of Observations (OBs) where she served as a Financial Management Analyst concentrating on Reimbursables, PAC, CWIP and labor. Prior to working for OBs, she has held various administrative/financial positions across NOAA since 2007. Charmain holds a Criminal Justice B.S. from the University of Maryland and is completing a degree in Hospitality Management.
• Welcome Thomas Hutchins! Thomas Hutchins has joined the IOOS office as an IT Specialist in the Operations Division.
• Welcome Alejandra Enriquez! Alejandra is joining the IOOS office as a program analyst supporting environmental compliance. Prior to joining IOOS, Alejandra worked as a technical writer with the National Ocean Service's Communications and Education team. She was a Knauss Fellow in 2021, and has a master's degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston.

• From the IOOS Association:

• The US CLIVAR一IOOC/IOOS-sponsored Workshop on Optimizing Ocean Observing Networks for Detecting the Coastal Climate Signal will take place September 23-25, 2024, in Boulder, Colorado, and virtually. The workshop will focus on in situ sampling of physical and biogeochemical parameters from the coastline to the edge of the US Exclusive Economic Zone, in combination with remote sensing measurements and modeling, to enable the detection of climate signals. The workshop will also bridge the gap between global climate research and regional operational oceanography at the coasts. Registration is open. Abstract submission and travel request deadlines have been extended to June 10, 2024.

• Surface Current Mapping

• South Fork Wind, LLC MOU signed: On May 30, 2024 the U.S. IOOS Office and South Fork Wind, LLC have signed an MOU for the mitigation of mission degrading offshore wind turbine interference to oceanographic high-frequency radar by the South Fork offshore wind farm (SFWF). This wind farm, off the coast of New England, will potentially impact eight HFR systems, which are used by NOAA IOOS in support of mission objectives including tracking and predicting the movement of spills of hazardous materials or other pollutants, monitoring water quality, and predicting sea state for safe marine navigation. If the wind farm interferes with the HFR signal, the MOU requires South Fork Wind to share data from a nearby met-ocean buoy and a wave and current radar on the SFWF Offshore Sub Station (wave height, direction, period, current speed and direction, and visibility data) that can be used to mitigate the interference to the radar signal. Similar MOUs are being established with other wind farms around the U.S. coast.

• HFRNet is transitioning to NOAA (Climate Ready Nation, Info based Blue Economy): IOOS will transition HFRNet from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Coastal Observing Research & Development Center into the NESDIS Common Cloud Framework. The decision to migrate the data assembly center to NCCF was made by the IOOS Office, guided by feedback received from the HFRNet Replacement Request for Information issued in August 2023. Work migrating functionality into the NCCF is underway, with an initial version anticipated to be operational before the end of June 2025.Read more here: https://ioos.noaa.gov/news/high-frequency-radar-data-to-be-hosted-at-noaa/

• Hillsboro, Florida HF-Radar Back in Operation: Congratulations to SECOORA collaborator Dr. Bill Baxley and his HF-radar team at Florida Atlantic University on their work returning their SeaSonde® at Hillsboro, Florida (HILL) to operation! This SeaSonde has been freshly calibrated with an antenna pattern measurement (APM) generated with CODAR Ocean Sensors’ AISPattern Suite Software. The IOOS Surface Currents Program looks forward to comparing how APM calibrations made in this manner perform compared to APMs generated from in-situ transponder-based methods like ships and drones. HILL’s other “partner” SeaSonde station in Haulover Inlet, FL is anticipated to be returned to operation shortly to provide full data coverage of the waters offshore of the greater Miami area.

• Congratulations to Rutgers’ on the reinstallation of their long-range CODAR SeaSonde oceanographic HF-radar on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts! This station was taken down in 2021 to accommodate construction taking place at the site location. The data are flowing again to the Rutgers and IOOS HFRNet Data Assembly Centers. Funding for the install was sponsored by MARACOOS. Thanks to Rutgers technician Ethan Handel, University of Massachusetts technician Patrick Pasteris and Professor Miles Sundermeyer for conducting the installation. IOOS also thanks Lt. Brendan Coakley from the Nantucket Police Department who has served as Rutgers’ local point of contact for the past ten years.

• Gliders

• GCOOS Glider Operations Preview: Forecasters are calling for an extremely active hurricane season this year and glider operators in the Gulf are getting ready. In May 2024, researchers with Texas A&M University’s Geochemical and Environmental Research Group prepared to launch two gliders in the Northwestern Gulf, says Dr. Uchenna Nwankwo, GCOOS Oceanographer and Assistant Research Scientist with TAMU-GERG, who helps to coordinate mission planning for all Gulf gliders. In all, operators from TAMU-GERG, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of South Florida and Sarasota, Florida-based Mote Marine Laboratory are planning for at least 20 glider missions. The U.S. Navy is also taking part by providing four gliders for launch by GERG, USM and USF, and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory will be deploying a Saildrone as well. Read more here!

• UG2 Updates:

• 2024 Glider Workshop: Registration and call for abstracts is now OPEN for the 2024 UG2 Workshop which will be hosted at the University of Michigan Palmer Commons from September 10 - 12, 2024. This workshop will bring together the global underwater glider community to strengthen international collaboration through community dialogue, exchanges of information, sharing of experiences, and development of best practices to support the glider community. The event will consist of plenaries, break out sessions, town halls, networking happy hours, poster sessions, and vendor booths spread out over three action-packed days.
• Click here to access the registration form
• Check the website for updates and information

• The new UG2 website is now live (www.underwatergliders.org )! We have relaunched this to be bold, up-to-date, and act as a dynamic platform for UG2 to share resources, jobs, research, and upcoming events! Please send us any photos, resources, jobs, or events that we can showcase.

• Click here to join UG2

• UG2 Glider Related Job Postings

• Buoys & Moorings

• SECOORA Partners with North Carolina Communities to Install New Water Level Sensors: In March 2024, SECOORA installed two new water level stations in Beaufort County, North Carolina. Partners with Beaufort County Emergency Services, North Carolina Public Safety, and NC Sea Grant identified the Bayside Community (within Chocowinity) and the town of Belhaven as two frontline communities in need of flood monitoring. The water level gauges will assist local emergency officials, town managers, and community members with planning and preparing for flooding and inundation events. Read all about it here.

• New CDIP Stations on NVS: The Coastal Data Information Program, which monitors wave activity along the coast, recently deployed two new stations off Newport, OR (Newport North and Newport South) in partnership with UCSD Scripps, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Oregon State University.

• Critical Infrastructure for the SCCOOS Automated Shore Stations Replaced at 3 piers in Southern California: The Coastal Ocean Observing Lab has been very busy over last year, replacing critical infrastructure for the SCCOOS Automated Shore Stations at Newport Pier, Scripps Pier. and Santa Monica Pier.
• The Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara station is planned for late summer/fall of 2024. The critical infrastructure upgrades were funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and include replacing the pier clamp, conduit, and power/data cables. Here’s to another 10 years of SASS real-time data! You can access the current observations and the past 20 years of data at the CalOOS Data Portal.
• SCCOOS project scientists, Melissa Carter, Kayla Martin, and Elena Beckhaus, Spent three days in to install a new conduit, new cable, air blaster hose, new pier clamp and new sensor package at SCCOOS Santa Monica Shore Station thanks to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. These data are now back online!

• Harmful Algal Blooms

• PNW HAB sensing robot back in the water! The Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) nicknamed "Friday" was deployed in May about 15 miles off La Push on the Washington shelf, funded via MERHAB and IOOS. The near-real time observations of particulate domoic acid (pDA) provided by ESPfriday are served on the NANOOS Visualization System and Real-time HABs website (click on the ESP Now tab). Newly supported by IOOS, ESPfriday will be collecting and archiving environmental DNA samples three times per week to provide new types of information about food webs and ecosystem functioning.

• 2024 Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom Projection: NCCOS issued an early season projection that Lake Erie will likely experience a moderate-to-above-moderate harmful algal bloom this summer. The projection was developed with support from Heidelberg University and the National Weather Service’s Ohio River Forecast Center. Based on observations available through April 30, the bloom is estimated to be worse than 2023, with a severity between 4.5 and 7.5. This range reflects the uncertainty in forecasting precipitation this far in advance for the late spring and early summer, or June-to-July period. The forecast’s uncertainty will continue to narrow as additional rain and river discharge data are collected. The bloom’s impact on Lake Erie for drinking water and recreation depends on the bloom’s location, toxicity, and duration. The bloom’s severity projections will be issued weekly through mid-June.

• SCOOS Director named to NHC: SCCOOS Director, Clarissa Anderson, is new co-chair of the National HAB Committee.

• NHABON Webinars:
• NHABON Webinar - June 26: Please join us for our next webinar on June 26, 2024 from 3:00-4:00 PM EST on UN Ocean Decade and HABs. Stay tuned for registration. You can watch the latest webinar here!

• Marine Life

• U.S. Rolls Out First National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy: The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy calls for a stronger, more unified and inclusive approach to ocean conservation. Written by a team led by the Smithsonian and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the strategy was announced by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on June 3. It represents the first nationwide strategy aimed at changing course to save marine life and all the services it provides to people. The plan seeks to improve scientists’ ability to gather and share knowledge and use that knowledge for more effective protections. Read more about it and access the strategy here.

• Six student projects for Google Summer of Code 2024! IOOS is pleased to announce that six student projects have been accepted to participate in Google Summer of Code 2024. This year, projects under the IOOS organization range from developing enhancements to ERDDAP in Java to working in Python on topics ranging from virtual dataset generation in kerchunk, accessing ocean modeling inputs and outputs, and visualizing and quality control implementation for underwater glider datasets. Next steps for the GSoC program include the ‘community bonding’ period, where students and mentors can get to know one another and begin discussing their projects, and the start of the summer coding period where student projects officially begin on May 27. Details about 2024 student projects and associated mentors are available here.

• Marine Weather Dashboards and new mobile app: Developed for desktop computers, Marine Weather Dashboards currently display real-time data and forecasts specifically for five regions: Bering Sea, Prince William Sound, Southeast Alaska, Cook Inlet, and Kodiak. The data include tide predictions, temperature, barometric pressure, water levels, wind speed and gusts, and wave height and direction. AOOS is also in the process of developing mobile-friendly versions of the Marine Weather Dashboards. The Marine Weather App is available now for Prince William Sound and can be accessed with a QR code. Read more here.

• Assessing Offshore Locations for Wind Development: GCOOS and ESRI have teamed up to create a tool designed to help assess suitable offshore areas for wind energy projects. The GIS-based tool allows users to input thresholds for selectable biophysical variables. The goal of this app is to provide managers and industry with a transparent decision-support tool capable of generating alternate scenarios to identify spatial footprints of future projects. This effort constitutes a collaboration between ESRI, the leader for GIS and geospatial data, and GCOOS in the Gulf of Mexico. The tool will continue to be updated as more relevant data becomes available. Check it out here.

• Successful IOOS Code Sprint 2024 - A hybrid hackathon style event: The IOOS Code Sprint, a 3-day hackathon-style event, was held 21-23 May 2024, organized by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) and the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Office. Throughout the event, teams of developers, academic researchers, and community members worked on projects that addressed pressing data and information challenges. This year’s hybrid event drew 60 participants from 4 countries and 8 different time zones. During the event, participants joined working groups on pre-planned coding and technical topics, including ERDDAP, Xpublish, Metadata, and IOOS Metrics. Attendees also participated in daily standups and lightning talks.

• QARTOD
• No update.

• Artificial Intelligence

• Introducing FathomVerse, the game designed to assist in the analysis of ocean imagery using artificial intelligence. To develop FathomVerse, MBARI software engineers collaborated with game design experts &ranj Serious Games—a Netherlands-based game development studio focused on positive behavioral change through play—and Internet of Elephants—a nature tech enterprise based in Kenya focused on rekindling relationships between people and wildlife. By playing this game, you can help accelerate the analysis of imagery and join the ocean exploration community. Read more about the launch here, and you can download FathomVerse now! https://www.fathomverse.game/

• SeagrassAI Team at Princeton Open AI Hackathon: Hassan Moustahfid, IOOS Office, will be coordinating the SeagrassAI team at the Princeton Open AI Hackathon (Hybrid) scheduled for June 4-14, 2024.

• The NOS Storm Surge Modeling Team at the Office of Coast Survey’s (OCS) Coast Survey Development Laboratory (CSDL) finalized the operational implementation process of the Surge and Tide Operational Forecast System (STOFS) to version 2.1.9 (as of May 14, 2024 at 1200 UTC). The Surge and Tide Operational Forecast System (STOFS, formerly ESTOFS) is a collaboration between the NOAA/NOS/OCS/Coast Survey Development Lab, University of Notre Dame, Virginia Institute of Marine Science and NOAA/NCEP with support from many other agency, industry and academic partners. STOFS contains the two-dimensional depth averaged global component (STOFS-2D-Global) based on the ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) model core. STOFS also includes a three-dimensional (3D) model component for the Atlantic basin (STOFS-3D-Atlantic) based on the SCHISM model core (Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model). The STOFS system runs on NCEP's central computing system (WCOSS2).

• The third issue of UFS Insights, a collaborative effort between NOAA's Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) and the Unified Forecast System (UFS) community was released on May 31, 2024. This edition is packed with exciting updates and breakthroughs in weather forecast modeling, showcasing the power of collaboration across government, academia, and industry. The issue also highlights the recently launched NOAA Data Assimilation Consortium, the UFS webinar series, and updates to the UFS Unified Workflow Tools. More information can be found in the UFS Insights Issue #3. Visit the UFS newsletter landing page for more. UFS also welcomes your ideas, research, or success stories. Contribute here! Together, let's continue to push the boundaries of what's possible in weather, water, and climate prediction.

• SCCOOS and CeNCOOS funded PI Tom Bell, WHOI, updated Landsat Q3 2023 kelp canopy data available on the CalOOS Data Portal.

• A Celebration of Ocean Observing in California: SCCOOS and CeNCOOS organized the first Ocean Observing in California conference from May 14-16, 2024, in San Diego, CA. The conference brought together 275 attendees from academia, non-profits, industry, federal, state, and local governments, as well as international attendees from Baja California. The event aimed to celebrate sustained ocean observing in California, marking CalCOFI’s 75th anniversary and the 20th anniversary for SCCOOS and CeNCOOS. The meeting provided a platform to stimulate meaningful coordination for future ocean observing, sustainable blue economy initiatives, and equitable ocean communities. Watch for the full conference report, coming this summer!

• GLOS Annual Meeting: The 2024 GLOS Annual Meeting was held last week, Wednesday May 22, in Windsor, Ontario.The meeting kicked off with a virtual greeting from Michigan representative Lisa McClain, a GLOS update from CEO Jennifer Boehme and Board Chair Tom Rayburn, and an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) update from Deputy Director Krisa Arzayus. The meeting consisted of two separate sessions. Session 1 focused on activities in Citizen Science, while Session 2 gave us updates on Observation Technology.

• Recapping the 2024 SECOORA Annual Meeting: The SECOORA Annual Meeting was held in Charleston, South Carolina on May 7 – 8. The meeting brought together coastal ocean scientists, community representatives, and students from around the Southeast to learn about ongoing coastal observing activities, network with professionals in the field, and prepare for new opportunities focused on community engagement and product development. Read the full overview of the Annual Meeting on the meeting page, or read a quick summary here.

• GLOS Director receives Large Lake Champion Award: GLOS CEO Jennifer Boehme was honored at this year’s International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) Conference on Great Lakes Research. Jennifer was awarded the Large Lake Champion Award, while being recognized for her “committed efforts to address Great Lakes water quality and pollution issues to protect human health, collaborating across borders, organizations, and agencies.” Jennifer was one of three recipients of the Large Lake Champions Award, and was also recognized for her time on the IAGLR Investment Committee this week with the IAGLR Committee Chair Appreciation Award.

• New Video: What It Takes to Understand the Great Lakes Part 2 is live! Learn about the Real-time Aquatic Ecosystem Observation Network and their observing work with GLOS! GLOS staff had the opportunity to visit RAEON's lab at the University of Windsor awhile back. Katelynn Johnson (Research and Operations Director) and Lydia Paulic (Researcher and Glider Pilot) showed us around and gave us an in depth walkthrough of one of their G3 Slocum Gliders.

• New papers & reports:
• Análisis de los riesgos de estrés térmico en los ecosistemas marinos y de un blanqueamiento masivo de corales durante el 2024
• Experimental Weekly Sargassum Inundation Risk Status: April 30-May 6, 2024
• Experimental Weekly Sargassum Inundation Risk Status: May 7-13, 2024
• Experimental Weekly Sargassum Inundation Risk Status: May 14-20, 2024
• Experimental Weekly Sargassum Inundation Risk Status: May 21-27, 2024
• Outlook of 2024 Sargassum blooms (May 31, 2024)
• Experimental Weekly Sargassum Inundation Risk Status: May 28-June 3, 2024

• IOOS Enterprise in the News:
• Extending and Improving Observational Capacity on Lake Superior’s Minnesota North Shore (GLOS), Sea Grant Minnesota, 5/10/24
• Meet the European Marine Observation and Data Network (U.S. IOOS), Hydro International, 5/13/24
• App Using NASA Data Alerts Beachgoers to Toxic Red Tides (GCOOS), NASA, 5/14/24
• Watch: Monmouth Student Researchers Present Posters at Mid-Atlantic Ocean Forum (MARACOOS), Monmouth University News, 5/16/24
• North Atlantic right whales are in trouble. Is technology ready to save them? (SECOORA glider work), The Post and Courier, 5/17/24
• Understanding the Line in the Sand (GCOOS), NewsWise, 5/22/24
• Belhaven Prepares for future flooding with new technology (SECOORA), WITN, 5/29/24
• Algal Blooms Transform California’s Clear Lake into a Green Canvas as Seen from Space (SCCOOS), Nature World News, 5/30/24
• How to Account for Offshore Wind Impacts on Oceanic Wildlife? Make a Plan. (U.S. IOOS), The Revelator, 6/3/24

• Deep Ocean Exploration and Mentoring Program in the Pacific Region: Ocean Discovery League has launched a new training and mentoring program for early-career individuals in the Pacific region. Participants will receive comprehensive online training in technical and oceanographic knowledge, followed by mentoring from international deep-sea science experts. The course will focus on low-cost, accessible approaches to exploring waters deeper than 200m, and participants will craft research proposals incorporating accessible tools and solutions for localized deep-sea exploration. Applications are due June 14, 2024. The program will begin on July 25. Find out more information at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/odl-training-2024.

• Teaching Great Lakes Literacy: GLOS met with Michigan’s Ogemaw Heights High School teachers and students as part of the Teaching Great Lakes Literacy program to share their career path stories and talk about various observation technologies being used in the Great Lakes. This presentation is part of a broad set of lessons currently being developed by our teacher partners on observation assets and harmful algal blooms. Next month, the complete set of lessons will be finalized for use by others. We will be sure to share where those resources reside in the next few months.

• SCCOOS marks Earth Day: Danielle Muller, SCCOOS Program Coordinator, hosted a booth with a close collaborator, MERITO foundation, at the Earth Day Festival in ventura Californial. SCCOOS and MERITO have plans to create education and outreach sources of all kinds that include real-time ocean observing data. To see more about our event go to SCCOOS’ Facebook, X, or LinkedIn page.

• UN Decade of Ocean Science For Sustainable Development Updates:

• New UNESCO self-paced online course: Co-design for the Ocean Decade: Launched by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA) of the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, the self-paced online course ‘Co-design for the Ocean Decade’ aims to equip ocean scientists and the broader ocean science community with the skills needed to co-design the science we need for the ocean we want. Learn more and enroll here: https://oceandecade.org/news/ocean-decade-launches-new-online-course-on-co-design/

• New UNESCO Report: Rate of Ocean Warming Doubled in 20 Years, Rate of Sea Level Rise Doubled in 30 Years: With contributions from more than 100 scientists from nearly 30 countries, UNESCO’s State of the Ocean Report 2024, published with the support of Iceland, reveals alarming new data on threats facing the ocean. This comprehensive assessment provides an evidence-based review of challenges including ocean warming, rising sea levels, pollution, acidification, de-oxygenation, blue carbon and biodiversity loss. Read more here and click here to download the report.

• Decade Advisory Board Leverages Vision 2030 Outcomes to Identify Priority Actions for the Ocean Decade: One month following the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference, the new Decade Advisory Board members convened for their first in-person meeting from 21 to 23 May 2024 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. The discussions centered on updates on Ocean Decade implementation, its prospects, and strategic orientation, guided by the outcomes of the Ocean Decade Vision 2030 process.

• Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) News:

• Call for Members: GOOS Biology and Ecosystems Expert Panel: The Biology and Ecosystems Expert Panel (BioEco Panel) is one of three panels providing scientific advice and expertise to GOOS on sustained observations of ocean variables across physics, biogeochemistry and marine life. It coordinates 12 BioEco EOVs focused on monitoring key taxa and habitat groups and a cross-disciplinary EOV focused on ocean sound.To fulfill the Panel’s responsibilities and commitments, two expert members take on voluntary leadership roles within the Panel in relation to each BioEco EOV. Applications from countries within the Southern Hemisphere, Asia and developing nations are encouraged. More information can be found here. Applications will close CoB UTC on 14 July 2024.

• Job opportunity: Ocean Best Practice System Project Manager: The Ocean Best Practices System is a global initiative aimed at improving and standardizing practices for collecting, analyzing and sharing ocean data and information. In the framework of the GOOS 2030 Strategy, the IODE work plan, and the vision, mission, and work plan of Ocean Best Practice System, IOC seeks an ocean professional to undertake a consultancy contract to support the Ocean Best Practice System Project. The position is for an ‘Ocean Best Practice System Project Manager’ and this role will focus on contributing to the development of the Ocean Best Practice System through supporting the implementation of its work plan, and working with the OBPS team and partners. Proposals should be submitted by e-mail to e.heslop@unesco.org (with c.maisonneuve@unesco.org in copy) no later than close of business (18:00 CEST) 24 June 2024. More info.

• Vacancy: Co-Design Programme Support Officer: The Ocean Decade provides a common framework to ensure that ocean science can fully support actions to sustainably manage the ocean and contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Through its flagship Ocean Decade programme on ocean observing co-design, GOOS is working to co-design an expanded and fit for purpose observing system. The Co-Design Programme Support Officer will focus on contributing to the development of the co-design approach in areas relevant across the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and to link to the WMO Rolling Review of Requirements (RRR) process, as well as areas contributing to supporting the Ocean Observing Co-Design programme in general and GOOS’s activities in the Ocean Decade. Learn more here. Closes 10 June 2024.

• Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) News:

• Two OOI Expeditions in Two Oceans: In June, the 11th recovery and deployment of both the Global Station Papa and Irminger Sea Arrays will be undertaken. Two OOI Global Scale and Nodes (CGSN) teams are working simultaneously, but in different waters on opposite sides of the United States during June. The first CGSN team left Seward, Alaska aboard the R/V Sikuliaq on May 29 for a 17-day expedition to recover and re-deploy the Global Station Papa Array in the Gulf of Alaska. On June 2, a second CGSN team will depart from Woods Hole, MA to travel to the Irminger Sea Array aboard the R/V Neil Armstrong for a month-long expedition to recover and re-deploy this array. The biofouling evident in the picture above is but one reason these arrays need to be refreshed each year. Read more here: https://oceanobservatories.org/2024/05/two-ooi-expeditions-in-two-oceans/

• Save the Date: Marine Biodiversity TechSurge Conference, October 1 & 2 in Baltimore, MD: Join NOAA’s Chief Scientist for the upcoming Marine Biodiversity TechSurge Conference, an essential gathering for the global community of technology innovators, industry, Blue investors, policy makers, and scientists! Framed in a global context and building off the momentum of the United States National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy, this conference will focus on technologies to address the challenge of biodiversity loss, and the market drivers to aggregate supply. Join us for insightful panels followed by leading edge presentations on valuing Biodiversity, Culture, Conservations, Markets and the Blue Economy. Stay tuned for more details, registration information, the Call for Abstracts, technology showcase, and sponsorship opportunities.

• New NOAA Ocean Podcast on Hurricane Preparedness: In this podcast, learn what you can do now to be ready — and how NOS supports preparedness for, response to, and recovery from these powerful storms. Listen here: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/may24/nop74-hurricane-preparedness.html

• CO-OPS Leads Water Level Datum Briefings: CO-OPS led two congressional briefings on water level datums with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, and other partners. Thirteen staffers representing coastal and Great Lakes states attended the briefings, which focused on ongoing updates to the National Tidal Datum Epoch, or NTDE, and the International Great Lakes Datum, or IGLD. CO-OPS presented about what water level datums are and the critical role they play in federal, state, and private sector coastal zone activities. CO-OPS also explained the need to update these datums as water levels along our coasts shift in response to climate change, sea level rise, and the Earth’s crust movements. USACE and other partners discussed how the forthcoming NTDE and IGLD updates — slated for release after 2026 — will impact their work along the coasts.

• CO-OPS Launches Charleston Currents Survey: CO-OPS is in South Carolina this month for the 2024 Charleston Currents Survey. As part of the survey, CO-OPS will deploy current sensors at 40 locations at the Charleston Harbor entrance and surrounding waters. Following the end of the field season, CO-OPS will remove the sensors and work to ingest, quality control, and analyze the collected tidal current velocity data. This data will inform future updates to NOAA’s tidal current predictions and will be used to support the development of an operational forecast system for the Southeast Atlantic. The data will also be used to advance systems developed and maintained at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and North Carolina State University. This survey supports NOAA’s National Current Observation Program. The program provides oceanographic expertise and leadership to conduct marine studies and develop data products that increase understanding of circulation along our nation’s coasts and estuaries.

• NGS Introduces Four New Online Tools: NGS released four new online tools to the public on the geodesy.noaa.gov website after the tools were extensively tested on the NGS Beta site. The release enhances access to NGS products, including DSWorld Web, which enables users to submit updated information on survey marks available on NGS datasheets; the Leveling Projects Page that simplifies searches for mark and observation information for an entire leveling project; the Calibration Base Line, or CBL, Web Map that provides quick and easy access to the latest CBL information; and the Passive Mark Page that offers user-friendly datasheet access — including photos, graphics, maps, and project information.

• NOAA Survey Vessel Showcases Uncrewed Systems Operations: OCS accompanied NOAA Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations’ Uncrewed Systems Operations Center director to Savannah, Georgia, where they met NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson while the ship was underway conducting hydrographic survey work. The ship and crew are operating in the approaches to Savannah, using the DriX uncrewed system and focusing on the acquisition of hydrographic survey data to help update NOAA’s nautical charts and identify any dangers to navigation during the course of survey operations. This project will update survey data from the 1970s and 1990s for the Port of Savannah, the third busiest port in the U.S. that regularly accommodates Post-Panamax container ships — a class of vessels that exceed the original size limits of the Panama Canal. The visit was an opportunity to highlight the synergies between the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and NOS’s mapping and charting mission.

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