The Latest from SECOORA
August 30, 2010 
Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association
SECOORA's Proposal Update in Response to the IOOS FFO
After a comprehensive review by SECOORA's Expert Panel, 14 of 26 Letters of Intent submitted were selected to move to the next step in the process, integration into a single coordinated regional proposal for SECOORA.  The final proposal will clearly articulate how the proposed activities will support continued development and evolution of an effective regional observing enterprise for the Southeast coastal region.
 
The final proposal is due to the NOAA IOOS Program Office on October 1, 2010.  The following dates outline the schedule over the coming weeks.

September 10 Deadline for Draft Proposal
September 17 Deadline for comments from Expert Panel and Committee Chairs
September 21 Final Draft
September 24 Board Approval
 
SECOORA Fall Meeting Update
SECOORA's Fall Meeting will be held September 29-30, 2010 at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Ybor Historic District.  ROOM RESERVATIONS NEED TO BE MADE TODAY (8/30/2010) TO GET THE SECOORA RATE.  The group name is SECOORA and the cut-off date for reservations is 8/30/10. Please contact the hotel at 813-769-9267 to make your reservation.
 
View the agenda and register now. Note that members and stakeholders are welcome!
BOB News
Basic Observation Buoy (BOB) III - Focus on Applications and Outreach
Workshop Announcement
 
December 13-14, 2010
Jacksonville University Marine Science Research Institute, Jacksonville, Florida
 
Two interactive workshops (BOB I-Jan. 2009 and BOB II-Mar. 2010) have introduced the concept of a scaled-down, functional platform for collecting information on water conditions and chemistry to more than ten university scientists and informal and formal educators in FL, GA, SC, NC and VA. The first workshop was hosted by Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and the second one by University of North Carolina-Wilmington Center for Marine Science. Co-sponsors included NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Office, IOOS, SECOORA and COSEE SE. The goals were to test various design platforms, to advance the next generation of BOBs with a focus on sensor instrumentation, and to develop regional strategies for outreach.
 
The goal of the BOB III Workshop is to expand on the previous workshops by exploring applications of the BOB platforms.  BOBs have been implemented in High school through Graduate School settings, for STEM activities and actual research investigations. This participant driven workshop will present case studies, "BOBs in Action," and provide the opportunity to expand the range of sensor options.  This is a forum for outreach to broader communities.  View the announcement with registration information.  
 
BOB in Action
Highlights the BOB work of Kennesaw University and Hilton Head Prep.
(The Island Packet, August 23, 2010)
Review of SECOORA's New Interactive Map
SECOORA's DMCC members have been working on an updated interactive map that is modeled after the Carolina RCOOS interface.  We are at a point where would like feedback on the product, specifically:  
  • Are there critical datasets that are missing?
  • Are the datasets binned in a user friendly way?  Would it be helpful to have them by provider (or some other parameter?)
  • What should we use as the inland extent of the "Land Stations" - Coastal Counties, Watersheds?
  • Is the help intuitive?
  • Please note any technical errors or changes.
The draft interactive map is available here:   http://rcoos.org/carolinasrcoosrev2/secoora_interactive.html
Please send any comments to Megan Treml ([email protected]) by 9/8/2010.
In the coming year we will be focusing on making the download options more integrated with the map, and streamlining access via the web site menu.
Gulf of Mexico Workshops
NOAA is hosting three regional workshops next week pertaining to the goals, strategies and implementation of the sub-surface oil and dispersant monitoring plan being developed by the Unified Command. Attached is a letter that explains the objectives of the meetings, how they will be framed and details of logistics and points of contact. 
 
For our region, please use the following contact information should you have any questions. 
 
Hosted by University of South Florida
Date: Tuesday, 31 August, 2010
Time: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Place: University of South Florida, MSL Conference Room located at 140 Seventh Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida
POC: Bill Hogarth (
[email protected])
 
NOAA's formal announcement and meeting details are also available on the Consortium for Ocean Leadership website.  
NFRA News
Certification Town Hall at Oceans 2010
Josie Quintrell will attend the meeting along with Ray Toll, Jan Newton and Dave Martin and will report back to NFRA on the conversation.
 
Conference Call with RAs to Discuss Certification
Tentative Dates -  Tue Oct 5th from 3-5 pm (ET) OR Wed Oct 6th from 3-5 pm.   
Since many RAs cannot attend the Town Hall Meeting in Seattle IOOS will hold a 2-hour conference call with the RAs to discuss certification. More information to follow.
 
Washington DC Trip -  Oct 5-7, 2010
Members of the NFRA Executive Committee will be traveling to DC on Oct 5-7 to continue our series of meetings.  This will be the last week that Congress is in session before they break for fall recess.  As part of the trip, we will be hosting an IOOS Advocacy Meeting with lobbying representatives from our university, industry, state and NGO partners to discuss the strategy for FY12.
Other News and Events
Packard Foundation Ecosystem-based Management (EBM) Initiative
At the end of 2003, the Ecosystem-Based Management Initiative for Sustainable Coastal and Marine Systems was launched by the Packard Foundation Board as a $30 million, five-year strategy. The goal of the strategy was "to create, and ensure the use of, the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to manage coastal-marine systems sustainably." This EBM Initiative formally came to a close at the end of 2009 and a  summary of the EBM Initiative, the EBM Evaluation Report, and additional information about the Science program's new direction are now available at www.packard.org.
 
2010 Regional Sediment Management/Beach Nourishment Design
The Annual Regional Sediment Management (RSM) Program Workshop will be held September 14-16 2010 at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida.  View more information
 
American Geophysical Union Manager, Education & Public Outreach Job Opportunity
AGU is now accepting applications for the job of Manager, Education and Public Outreach. For more information on this job and for details on how to apply please visit the following webpage: https://jobs.agu.org/ext/detail.asp?jobid=aguorg128
Coming Events 
September 19, 2010 GEOSS Workshop XXXVIII - Evolution of Ocean Observing Systems, Seattle, Washington
September 20-23, 2010  OCEANS 2010 MTS/IEEE, Seattle, Washington
 
September 27-October 1, 2010 Ninth Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction and Processes, Annapolis, Maryland
 
September 29-30, 2010 SECOORA Board Meeting, Tampa, FL
 
October 1-2, 2010 South Carolina Marine Educators Association (SCMEA) Annual Conference, Charleston, SC
 
 
October 22-24, 2010 Georgia Association of Marine Educators (GAME) Annual Fall Conference, Skidaway Island, GA
  
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.  
 
November 15, 2010 NFRA Board Meeting, Washington, D.C. 
 
November 16-17, 2010 IOOS Regional Coordination Workshop, Washington, D.C.
 
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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