The Latest from SECOORA
June 20, 2011
Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association

In this issue:  Upcoming Meetings | OpEd of Interest | Farewell to Sam Walker | NOC Listening Session | Supporting NOE | IOOS at CZ11 | NOAA in the Carolina's Brown Bag Series | Job Announcements | Coming Events

SECOORA/IOOS News

Board Meeting

The SECOORA Board will meet via teleconference July 14, 2011 at 10am to elect new officers for the organization.  If you said you would participate, we are counting on you!  We only have enough Board members to make a quorum currently committed.

 

SECOORA/SAA Meeting 

Save the date for a joint SECOORA Board and Governor's South Atlantic Alliance meeting September 7-9 in Savannah, GA. Details and registration information for the Hilton Savannah DeSoto will follow shortly.

 

SECOORA Board Member Dr. Bob Weisberg's Recent Editorial

View an interesting editorial by Bob Weisberg titled "The Loop Current may not have protected South Florida this year" published in the St. Petersburg Times June 5, 2011.

 

Farewell to Sam Walker

Many of you know Sam Walker from his years at SECOORA as Information Management Coordinator for SECOORA's Ocean Data Partnership.  Sam has most recently been working with the U.S. IOOS Office and was an integral part of the IOOS community response to the Deep Water Horizon spill, spending months at Incident Command and providing leadership on the ground.  Sam's last day at IOOS was June 17, 2011.  He will be joining BP's Safety and Operations Risk team, and will help lead the synthesis and development of their marine and ocean science capabilities in Texas.  Best wishes to Sam from the SECOORA community!

 

Florida National Ocean Council Listening Session

On June 15, the National Ocean Council held one of its National "Listening Sessions"  on the campus of the University of North Florida (UNF), a SECOORA member.  There was a strong turnout of local and regional representatives of individuals and community organizations with ocean interests,  from shrimping to science.   There were also Federal Agencies represented who we do not normally think of as having ocean interests such as the National Park Service, which oversees the nearby Timucuan Preserve and Fort Caroline National Monument, both of which are on the St Johns River estuary.   There was a very strong Navy presence led by Navy Region Southeast Environmental Director Camille Destafney, as you might expect, because of the Navy presence in Jacksonville.  Naval Air Station Jacksonville, also located on the St Johns River estuary, is the first military installation to be recognized by the United Nations non-governmental organization Earth Society Foundation - when it received the Earth Trustee Award for excellence in environmental stewardship this year.  Carolyn Boltin-Kelly represented the Governor's South Atlantic Alliance which includes Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.  UNF's  own Dr. Pat Welsh represented SECOORA by providing discussion with NOC representatives and written SECOORA comments for the record.  Private commercial interests were also represented by local people, including Dr. R. Bruce Taylor, CEO of Taylor Engineering, a large coastal engineering firm with its headquarters in Jacksonville.  Also represented were ocean related groups from shrimpers and fishermen to workers in the Port of Jacksonville.  It was an active evening with many points of view expressed that reiterated the importance of the coastal ocean and estuaries to the Southeast's culture, commerce and daily living.

 

IOOS� Regional Observations and Technology Innovation
Please see the following from the Z-gram, and coordinate with Debra Hernandez if you are interested in responding.
Through the FY12 President's Budget request, NOAA requested $8,500,000 to develop and improve sensors for ocean chemical, biological, and physical parameters at multiple spatial and temporal scales to monitor changing conditions in the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.  This is really exciting for IOOS and the nation.  While the funds are not in hand until the FY12 budget is finalized by Congress, we need to develop the program now to be able to meet agency deadlines for FY12.  This effort is being co-led by CDR John Adler (on detail to the Operations Division from NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO)) and Gabrielle Canonico (US IOOS Program Office).  The team is focusing on these tasks:
-assess existing technology development programs;
-identify candidate technologies for transition to operations and funding;
-develop a program plan;
-develop a vehicle(s) for announcing and distributing funds.


We will see information on programs such as Navy's Advance Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD), NOAA/NSF Comparative Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Organization (CAMEO) and DHS's University Center of Excellence.  WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SETTING UP THIS PROGRAM.  We know many of you have been involved in both conducting and participating in large scale interagency demonstrations and we would like to hear your ideas.  Please send John Adler, [email protected] and Gabrielle Canonico, [email protected] your ideas or availability to set up a time to talk with them.

  

SECOORA Supports National Endowment for the Oceans (NEO) Act Reintroduction

SECOORA has joined many other organizations in supporting the National Endowment for the Oceans (NEO) Act.  Senator Whitehouse and Senator Snowe introduced the National Endowment for the Oceans (NEO) Act as a bi-partisan effort to ensure that present and future generations benefit from the ecological, economic, educational, social, cultural, spiritual, nutritional, and recreational resources of our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.  NEO provides for grants to states, regional, tribal, and federal entities, as well as non-profit organizations and academic institutions, using funds primarily from offshore energy activities and a portion of fines from violations of federal law in offshore waters. NEO grants will fund activities to conserve and restore ocean resources as well as to develop the baseline science, monitoring, and observation data to facilitate sustainable uses that will create jobs and support coastal economies.

Other News of Interest

IOOS Sessions at Coastal Zone 2011 

U. S. IOOS will be the focus of three sessions at the Coastal Zone 2011 Conference in Chicago, IL July 17 - 21.  Regional Association successes will be featured in two separate panel sessions and a third, informal "caf�" will discuss the role of IOOS and the RAs in supporting CMSP efforts.  The first panel session will highlight benefits of IOOS coastal observing, modeling, and monitoring tools, providing insights to coastal managers searching for tools to better manage our coastal communities and our estuarine, marine and Great Lakes environments.  The second panel session will focus on water quality and will highlight some of the efforts of the different RAs to work with resources and public health agencies to provide improve information through observations, data management and product development.  The caf� will present examples of how regional IOOS efforts are currently supporting CMSP and discuss the role RAs can play in regional integration of data.  Please contact Susannah Sheldon, who is coordinating with IOOS and NFRA, for more information.

 

NOAA in the Carolinas Brown Bag Series

NOAA in the Carolinas (NinC) is introducing a "Brown Bag Lunch" on-line speaker series. NinC plans to sponsor 4 Brown Bag lunch events during the year, in which speakers will cover NOAA topics of interest in the Carolinas. Our first "Brown Bag Lunch" will highlight the 2011 Hurricane Season. Darin Figurskey, with the National Weather Service, will provide a 30 minute overview of the 2011 Hurricane forecast and then field your hurricane related questions. The Brown Bag Lunch will be held on June 30 and the call starts at 12:30 PM ET. Please mark your calendar and use the Go-to-Meeting call in number and website listed below to join in the event.


1. Please join my meeting, Thursday, June 30 at 12:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time.
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/572857544


2. Join the conference call: Dial +1 (312) 878-3071, Access Code & Meeting ID: 572-857-544
 

Natural Resource Damage Assessment for the Gulf

On November 2nd-4th, the National Aquarium Conservation Center, Johns Hopkins University, and Mote Marine Laboratory will host a symposium titled "NRDA for the Gulf: Improving Our Ability to Quantify Chronic Damages." Join scientists, researchers, NGOs, policy makers, and government leaders at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, where professionals will gather to hear the latest research outcomes and discuss approaches that will redefine standards for future NRDA practice and implementation. Additional information is available here.

Job Announcements

NFRA Seeks Consultant to Assist with Synthesis of Regional Build Out Plans

The National Federation of Regional Associations for Coastal and Ocean Observing (NFRA) seeks qualified contractor to provide facilitation, analysis, and writing support to the development of a national synthesis of regional gaps analysis for coastal, ocean and Great Lakes Observing.  View the Request for Services.

 

Australian Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Positions

The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS, www.imos.org.au) is an Australian Government initiative to enhance Australia's marine research infrastructure in support of climate and marine science.  IMOS deploys and coordinates a nationally distributed set of instrumentation, and data and information services, which collectively contribute to meeting the needs of marine research and other users in Australia for ocean observing systems.  They are seeking a Data Services Specialist (HGN 184/11); Information Systems Architect (HGN 186/11); Software Engineer (HGN 185/11); and Project Officer / Data Scientist (2 positions) (HGN 183/11).  Visit the Web site for more information.

Coming Events 

 

June 21, 2011 Public and Stakeholder Session of the National Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Workshop, Washington, DC


July 13-14, 2011 National Business Forum On Marine Spatial Planning, Washington D.C.

 

July 17-21, 2011 Coastal Zone 2011, Chicago, IL

 

September 19-22, 2011 OCEANS '11 MTS/IEEE,  Kona, Hawai'i 

 

October 19-21, 2011 American Shore & Beach Preservation Association conference, New Orleans, LA 

 

November 4-7, 2011 NRDA for the Gulf: Improving Our Ability to Quantify Chronic Damages, Baltimore, MD
 

November 7-9, 2011 Using Modeling to Solve Engineering and Environmental Assessment Problems, St. Augustine, Florida

 

November 14-17, 2011 NFRA/IOOS Regional Coordination Workshop, New England

 

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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