The Latest from SECOORA
January 18, 2011
Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association

In this issue:  Proposal Update | SECOORA Ventures into Social Media | GCOOS Call for Nominations | Oil Spill News | Request for Proposals | Conference and Workshop Updates | Job Announcements | Coming Events

SECOORA News

Update on NOPP-IOOS Funding Opportunity

SECOORA received the following update from NOPP on January 14, 2010.

The review panels have been held for all of the Topic Areas in the announcement, and the federal agencies have received the panelists' recommendations for project funding.  As you may be aware, most federal agencies are unsure of their budgets due to the Continuing Resolution passed by Congress, so final funding decisions are still pending.  We will provide further updates as details about the FY2011 budget emerge. 

 

SECOORA Ventures into the World of Social Media 

SECOORA now has a Facebook page and Twitter account.  Visit us for the latest news!

 

Find us on Facebook     Follow us on Twitter

 

GCOOS Call for Nominations

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) Regional Association is seeking nominations for candidates for election to the GCOOS-RA Board of Directors. Terms are for three years and begin with the summer Board meeting. The Board meets twice annually. It also meets by telephone every two months, as well as when priority situations arise. More regarding the activities of the Board, including copies of the minutes of past meetings, can be seen at the GCOOS web site (http://www.gcoos.org).

 

The Board consists of a balance between representatives of the government, academic, industry, and education/outreach sectors. This year five members are up for re-election. Sought are candidates representing each of these sectors. Three of the current Board members, whose terms expire in summer 2011, will be standing for re-election, but the members representing the Private and Governmental sectors will not. Those standing for re-election are: Nancy Rabalais (Academic), John Dindo (Education and Outreach) and Barb Kirkpatrick (Education and Outreach).

 

If you wish to nominate one or more candidates, please check to be sure that the nominee is willing to serve if elected. If so, send your nomination and the sector to which you are nominating them to Landry Bernard ([email protected]), Chair of the GCOOS Membership Committee, with a copy to Susan Martin ([email protected]). Nominations must include the nominee's affiliation, email address, telephone number and one or two paragraphs detailing their work and interests as related to the GCOOS Regional Association for use as information on the ballot; nominations without all of this information will not be considered. Self-nominations are accepted.

 

Nominations will close on Monday, 14 February at 5 p.m. Central Time. The election ballot then will be prepared and emailed to the GCOOS-RA voting Parties on Friday, 18 February 2011. Voting will close Monday, 28 February 2011 at 5 p.m. Central Time. The electronic votes will automatically go to Landry Bernard. Results will be announced on 2 March 2011 at the Annual Parties meeting in Houston, TX.

Oil Spill News

University of Georgia-Georgia Sea Grant Gulf Oil Spill Symposium 

The University of Georgia/Georgia Sea Grant Gulf Oil Spill Symposium will bring scientists, government officials, Gulf coast community leaders and journalists from across the nation to Athens on January 25-27 to examine communication during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Symposium will explore how these groups collaborated in research and response efforts and coordinated information flow throughout the nation's worst maritime oil spill. For more information, visit http://oilspill.uga.edu, where you can register to attend the Symposium.

 

Gulf Coast Restoration Act Introduced in the House

From the Coastal States Organization Weekly Report 1.14.10

On January 5, 2011, Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) introduced the "Gulf Coast Restoration Act" (H.R. 56), which would provide for restoration of the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Specifically, the bill would establish a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. The Task Force Chair, to be appointed by the President, would be charged with reviewing and approving or disapproving State Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Plans submitted by the Governors that provide for the restoration of the Gulf Coast ecosystem. The bill would also require that at least 80 percent of the fines assessed to BP under the Clean Water Act be directed to Gulf States for the purpose of coastal and ecosystem restoration. The full text of the bill is available online at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr56ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr56ih.pdf.

Requests for Gulf of Mexico Regional Pre-Proposals

University of Georgia-Georgia Sea Grant Gulf Oil Spill Symposium 

NOAA, the Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant programs, and EPA Gulf of Mexico Program are pleased to announce a request for pre-proposals for 2012-2013 funding. Funding sources include: Ocean Research Priorities Plan, NOAA Coastal Storms Program, NOAA Coastal Services Center, Florida Sea Grant, Louisiana Sea Grant, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Texas Sea Grant and the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program. Other funding sources may be added prior to final selection of proposals.  The deadline for pre-proposals is 4 p.m. Central on Friday, Feb. 25, 2011.  More information:  http://www.masgc.org/page.asp?id=609

 

Conference and Workshop Updates

Cooperative Institute for Climate & Satellites Summer Institute on Climate Change

The Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites-North Carolina (CICS-NC) is pleased to announce the Summer Institute on Climate Change (SIC2). In collaboration with North Carolina State University and NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, the Summer Institute is created to provide science and services to establish an informed society capable of anticipating and responding to climate change and its impacts. The theme of the 2011 Summer Institute is: Turning Adaptation into Action - Define Your Strategic Advantage.


This two and a half week course offers professionals, researchers, policy makers and practitioners the opportunity to learn practical methods for integrating climate knowledge and adaptation mechanisms into their decision-making processes. The course will be held from June 15, 2011 until July 1, 2011.  The training course is a combination of expert lectures, special seminars, focused discussions and practical exercises. The application deadline is March 11, 2011. For more information, visit  http://si.cicsnc.org/assets/pdfs/SIC2_SavetheDate_2011.pdf.

 

URI Coastal Resources Center & RI Sea Grant Holding CMSP Workshop
The University of Rhode Island (URI) Coastal Resources Center and the Rhode Island Sea Grant College Program are hosting a training opportunity for participants to learn firsthand about the Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) lessons, tools and techniques that Rhode Island is employing through the Ocean Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP). The interactive workshop will take place May 3-5, 2011, at URI. Participants will be able to personalize the content for their own CMSP initiatives and gain valuable and constructive feedback from peers and key members of the Ocean SAMP team. Post-training mentoring will also be available for participants. The workshop reflects the current standards for CMSP policy, including the framework outlined in the National Ocean Policy. For more details and to register, visit: http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/coast/msp_training.html.

 

NOAA Ocean Exploration and Research Program Announces How Do We Explore? An Online Professional Development Workshop for Educators of All Grade Levels
January 24 - February 11, 2011
in partnership with the College of Exploration

Join NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) for the latest educator professional development opportunity based upon the voyages of NOAA's new ship and America's Ship for Ocean Exploration, the Okeanos Explorer. This offering introduces the second volume of the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, How Do We Explore? Topics include searching for anomalies, selecting sites for exploration, communication tools, telepresence technology, mapping techniques, water column study and operating remotely-operated vehicles. This course contains inquiry-based lessons for all grade-levels, and facilitated online reflective conversations about how we approach the study of our largely unexplored ocean.

Participants will include formal and informal educators, ocean explorers, scientists, and other interested members of the public. There will be opportunities to engage with ocean explorers and other participants. The How Do We Explore? lessons, a wealth of other supporting resources, and optional graduate extension credit will be provided.

Speakers will include:

* Dr. Steve Hammond, Chief Scientist, NOAA OER * Lieutenant Nicola VerPlanck, Operations Officer, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer * Catalina Martinez, NOAA OER Regional Manager and Expedition Coordinator * Mashkoor Malik, Physical Scientist, NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, NOAA OER * Sharon L. Walker, Oceanographer, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory * Dave Lovalvo: Founder/Owner, Eastern Oceanics; Adjunct Professor, Institute for Exploration; ROV Team Lead, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer

The workshop is free for all participants and will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Educators will have the option to receive one graduate extension credit ($100) or obtain a certificate of completion.

Registration is open at http://www.coexploration.org/oe

Job Announcements

Technical Coordinator Position at Great Lakes Observing System

The Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) is searching for an outgoing, user-oriented individual to serve as Technical Coordinator, working out of our offices in Ann Arbor, MI. GLOS was established to provide public access to critical, real-time and historical information about the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and interconnecting waterways for use in managing, safeguarding and understanding these freshwater resources. GLOS is focused on identifying and meeting user needs and therefore GLOS staff work closely with multiple Great Lakes user communities. GLOS modeling and assessment efforts are focused on the development of a multi-agency, multidisciplinary ecosystem forecasting modeling framework to support management activities and decisions on the Great Lakes on a lake-by-lake basis, in conjunction with the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative and other collaborative efforts.  For more information:  http://glos.us/pdf/GLOS_Technical_Coordinator.pdf

 

Social Science Position at Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston SC

NOAA's Center for Human Health Risk (CCHR) lab is seeking a social scientist specializing in environmental/natural resource sociology, social epidemiology, public health or a related discipline/field for a research project investigating the community aspects of well-being associated with coastal ecosystem health and the provision of ecosystem services. The successful applicant will have primary responsibility for locating, procuring, consolidating and preparing county-level, secondary data for detailed statistical analysis. Forward resumes to [email protected] or  [email protected].  Include your last name in subject line in the title of your resume/CV.

Coming Events 

January 25-27, 2011 University of Georgia-Georgia Sea Grant Gulf Oil Spill Symposium, Athens, Georgia

 

February 9-11, 2011 NFRA Spring Board Meeting, Washington, D.C.

 

February 13-18, 2011 ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

February 28-March 3, 2011 Coastal Program Managers' Meeting, Washington, D.C.

 

March 15-17, 2011 National Beach Conference, Miami, FL  

 

March 21-24, 2011 GeoTools Conference, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

 

May 3-5, 2011 Applying Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning as a Tool to Site Offshore Renewable Energy & other Future Uses Workshop, Narragansett, Rhode Island 

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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