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

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, John.Adler@noaa.gov and Gabrielle Canonico, Gabrielle.Canonico@noaa.gov 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.

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