SECOORA @ Ocean Sciences Meeting 2012
The 16th Ocean Sciences conference, a joint meeting of The Oceanography Society (TOS), the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) had over 3,000 oral and poster presentations, plenary talks, workshops and town halls. Vembu Subramanian, SECOORA RCOOS Manager, attended the meeting and presented a poster on "Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (RCOOS) for the Southeast Region of the US" in the Ocean Observing Systems (OOS) - Regional and Global session of the conference. In the poster, SECOORA highlighted the region's RCOOS observing, modeling, data management, education and outreach, and governance subsystem components as well as some of the products and services we offer to the stakeholders and end-users. The poster also outlined the development of SECOORA Regional build out plan that describes the region's observing system needs for the next 10 years. Dr. Harvey Seim, SECOORA Board member, co-chaired the Ocean Observing Systems - Regional and Global oral and poster session, which also included a panel discussion. Dr. Lynn Shay, University of Miami, represented SECOORA at the National IOOS High Frequency Radar Technical Steering Team meeting that was held during the conference. Several SECOORA RCOOS Principal Investigators were also at the conference showcasing their scientific work and results via oral presentations and posters.

 Suzanne Skelley, Deputy Director of US IOOS, with SECOORA's Ocean Sciences Poster

ICOOS Act Reauthorization Working Group

The IOOS Office is creating an The Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (ICOOS) Act reauthorization working group. This group will work with Jenifer Rhoades of the IOOS Office to examine the existing ICOOS Act, discuss possible changes, present those changes to the RAs and others for discussion.  Thanks to SECOORA Board Member Bob Weisberg, who has volunteered to serve on this committee. 

Only 3 Weeks Left for Special Hotel Rate for Annual Meeting 

SECOORA's Annual Meetings will be held May 7-9, 2012 at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS).  Please register via the SECOORA Web site and view the preliminary agenda for May 8th.  The Board of Directors meeting agenda and PI meeting agenda are still in development.

A block of rooms is being held at the Mayfair Hotel, 3000 Florida Avenue Miami, Florida 33133. For reservations please call 1.800.433.4555 by April 9, 2012 and ask for the SECOORA rate ($125/night).

From the National Federation of Regional Associations (NFRA) for Coastal and Ocean Observing March 2012 Newsletter

President's FY13 Budget Cuts Regional Association (RA) Grants by $2.5m

In the President's Budget for FY13, the overall regional line for IOOS increased from $23m in FY12 to $29.52m. However, the competitive regional grant program, which sustains the regional network, was cut by $2.5 million.  A cut of this magnitude would mean assets would need to be removed and critical information products would not be supported.  The increase is from the addition of a $10 million technology innovation program that is part of a larger NOAA's R&D initiative.

Regional Associations Visit Congressional Members

NFRA Board members and regional representations conducted a series of meetings on the Hill on March 1st, visiting many members of Congress to discuss the importance of coastal and ocean observing to constituents and to highlight the impacts of funding cuts.

House Letter Supports IOOS

Rep Capps (D-CA) and Rep Pingree (D-ME) recently co-sponsored a Dear Colleague Letter in the House for IOOS. Over 30 House members signed, up from 22 last year.  This is a success and NFRA appreciates the support of members who reached out to their delegations!  Special thanks to Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Brad Miller (D-NC), and Mike McIntyre (D-NC) from the SECOORA region for signing on to this letter.   

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