Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing
 Regional Association
Weekly News Update    May 24, 2010
 
In This Issue: SECOORA News | Oil Spill Updates | NOAA, NFRA, and Other RA News | Job Announcements | Coming Events
SECOORA News
SECOORA Board and Members Meeting Materials Available
Speaker presentations and Webcast recordings are now available.

SECOORA at The Coastal Society
On Wednesday, June 16, SECOORA will be hosting a panel at the 22nd International Conference of The Coastal Society, being held in Wilmington, NC.  The panel is entitled "Supporting Regional Coastal and Ocean Managers: Linking Ocean Observing Tools and Capabilities to the Priority Needs of Managers and Users in the Southeast Region".
 
Presenters include: Debra Hernandez, SECOORA, Harvey Seim, UNC-Chapel Hill, Susan Libes, Coastal Carolina University, and a representative of the Digital Hurricane Consortium. The panel will focus on three of SECOORA's priority areas: Ecosystems, Marine Operations, and Coastal Hazards.
 
SECOORA will also be sponsoring a booth throughout the conference in coordination with NFRA, ACT, NERACOOS, and MACOORA.  
 
Membership Drive for SECOORA
SECOORA's current fiscal year is coming to an end on June 30, and we are ramping up for another membership drive! Many of you already received membership information from Cliff Merz, SECOORA Treasurer and Finance and Audit Committee Chairperson. If not, please contact him at [email protected] for information on how to join our organization. Administrative questions may be directed to Susannah Sheldon at [email protected]. If you know of any individuals or institutions that may be interested in joining, please have them contact us as well!  We appreciate your assistance in reaching out to the coastal and ocean observing community in the Southeast, and your continued interest in our success.
 
Note: The next SECOORA Weekly News Update will be delivered June 7, 2010.
Oil Spill Updates
Latest Oil Spill Monitoring and Recovery Activities
SECOORA members continue to monitor the oil spill in the Gulf. 
Some recent press includes: 
White House OSTP Meeting
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy asked Ocean Leadership to be the conduit for a meeting with the academic research community on the fates and effects of the oil leak. With less than a 36-hour notice, over 50 people representing 12 member institutions, including some in the Gulf Coast, were able to participate.  The meeting was an opportunity for the Federal government to hear from the academic community on the short-term and long-term research needs of the oil spill and its aftermath. Dr. John Holdren, Science Advisor to the President, and Dr. Marcia McNutt, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, moderated the half day long meeting. 
 
SECOORA was well represented by to Dick Dodge, Mitch Roffer, John Proni, and Frank Mueller-Karger.  Discussion at the meeting was focused on three areas: talking about the fate of the oil, the effects of the oil, and needed research.
 
Much of the meeting focused on what we need to know, including the following:
  • Toxicity of what's been put into the environment including more information on surface and subsurface oil with and without dispersants
  • Seafood safety 
  • Rate/volume of oil released
  • Long term effects of the oil
  • Best use of satellites and sensors to detect and map oil in environment 
  • How can we declassify secret assets, perhaps by degrading, to bring these to bear to see the oil
  • How can we best use tools available from the military and from academic institutions?
  • Human dimensions: consequence and  communicating risk
  • Partnerships: what are best mechanisms?
 View materials from the meeting:
Florida Delegation Letter to President
The Florida Delegation sent a letter to the President of the United States titled Urgent Data Collection Needs Related to Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Plume.  
 
Rutgers Web Portal
Rutgers has developed a web portal to provide a gathering place and social network to optimize efforts in the Gulf.  The system includes 1) an email distribution list 2) a series of links to other extremely useful web sites (federal, academic, and commercial), 3) a library (that will hopefully grow) of Google Earth KMZ produced by many partners (these KMZ files can be downloaded to work on your computer), 4) a blog site which is open to everyone to use (note: you must register to get access to the Word Press blogging software.  The link is at the top right of the page), and 5) a scraping tool for media reports which will go to an archive.
NOAA, NFRA, and Other RA News 
Funding Opportunity for Oil Spill
NFRA has learned that mini-grants for academia to support the spill efforts are being managed by each state's Sea Grant office.  Keep your eyes open at your respective state sea grant offices for opportunities that come available.
NOAA IOOS Z-Gram
Read the NOAA IOOS Z-Gram for May 14, 2010
Job Announcements
NOAA Coast Survey Lab Vacancies
The Coast Survey Development Lab/Marine Chart Division have 2 IT Specialist vacancies open in Silver Spring.  Do a search on the announcement number (NOS-OCS-2010-0018) at http://www.usajobs.gov/.

Coming Events 
May 23-26, 2010 Pattullo Conference, Charleston, SC
 
 
June 2-3, 2010 SECOORA DMCC Meeting, Columbia, SC
 
June 8-10, 2010 ENERGYOCEAN 2010, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
 
June 9, 2010 Forum on Earth Observations, Washington, DC
  
June 9-10, 2010 Gulf of Mexico Alliance Monitoring Forum, St. Petersburg, FL
 
June 13 - 16, 2010 22nd International Conference of The Coastal Society, Wilmington, NC 
 
November 3-5, 2010 Sustainable Ocean Energy & the Marine Environment, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
 
November 13-17, 2010 Restore America's Estuaries, Galveston Island, TX Poster Deadline Extended to April 2

February 13-18, 2011 ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Send us your news!
If you have news to contribute, email [email protected]. Examples of newsworthy items include upcoming meetings, employment opportunity announcements, and major project news.
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Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association
Are you interested in ocean observations, ecosystem management, marine operations, or coastal hazards? Then you should know about SECOORA, the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association. SECOORA is the regional solution to integrating coastal and ocean observing in the Southeast United States. Commitment to ocean observing technologies in our region is critical. Your input, guidance, support, and membership will insure that SECOORA continues to develop the products and services that you need. Join SECOORA and be a part of the Southeast's future. Contact Executive Director Debra Hernandez ([email protected]) for more information.
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