NFRA News May 2012


National and Regional
Coastal and
Ocean Observing News

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NFRA and IOOS News

Submit a Community White Paper for IOOS Summit
The deadline for community white papers for the IOOS Summit is June 30th.  The purpose of the white papers is to provide input for the summit from the broader observing community.  The white papers will be reviewed by the chapter leads and will undergo a peer review process and included in the Summit Proceedings.  The IOOS Summit is scheduled for November 13-16, 2012 in Herndon, VA.  For more information, please see: http://www.iooc.us/summit/ioos-summit/.

 

New US IOOS Training Website 

The US IOOS Office has added a training portion to the Outreach and Education portion of their web site. The training resources aim to help users understand what coastal data and information is available via websites and mobile devices and how to use them. Check it out and be sure to check back as more resources are added to the site! http://www.ioos.gov/training/welcome.html 

 

Dr. Libby Jewett Briefs RAs on Monthly Call 

Dr. Libby Jewett, head of NOAA's Ocean Acidification (OA) Program, briefed the IOOS Program Office and Regional Association staff during a monthly call. She reviewed the 6 theme areas the OA Program is focusing on which include Changing Ocean Chemistry, Biological/Ecosystem Response, Socioeconomic Impacts, Adaptation Strategies, Education And Outreach, and Data Management. She also highlighted the strong ties the OA program has to US IOOS and some of the collaborative efforts, including in the Northwest and Caribbean. 

 

NFRA Executive Director Briefs SECOORA Board of Directors
Josie Quintrell attended the SECOORA Annual Meetings May 7-8, 2012. She was invited to a portion of the Board meeting to talk about IOOS Messaging: Improving Impact to Affect Funding. There was a lot of positive discussion around this topic. View Josie's presentation

 

 

Regional Spotlights
This section of the newsletter highlights various activities across the regions. 

 

AOOS News:  Release of iMovie of the buoy deployment

AOOS recently release an iMovie of the wave buoy deployment in Lower Cook Inlet.  Check out the story and video!

 

Integrating Coastal Water Quality Data:

Jan Newton Presents at National Conference
Dr. Jan Newton, Director of NANOOS, and an expert in coastal water quality,  participated in a panel at the National Water Quality Monitoring Conference in Portland OR in early May.  The panel, led by Dr. Bernice Smith of EPA, brought together experts from EPA, USGS, NOAA and regional efforts to discuss "Advancing the implementation of a National Water Quality Network for US coastal waters and their tributaries."  Jan's presentation highlighted how IOOS is a key part of the Network, through its federal mandate to integrate and serve federal and non-federal data streams. She highlighted how NANOOS and the other IOOS regions are monitoring coastal waters and integrating data from a many sources and that these are available regionally as well as nationally.   Dr. Tony Olsen, a participant on the panel from EPA, noted that "While  additional data integration of monitoring programs is needed, the IOOS RAs have taken significant step forward. Still more attention is required to enable users to access all coastal data."    Jan will be serving on a working group to determine the path forward with colleagues from USGS, EPA and NOAA.    View Jan's presentation.

Regional Staff Changes

There have been a number of changes in staff in the Regions recently.  Welcome to these new staff members!

 

Danielle Williams joins SCCOOS as Program Coordinator.  Danielle will provide project coordination and programmatic support for SCCOOS and is excited to get to know the position inside and out!


CeNCOOS is proud to announce that Janine Scianna has been hired as Program Manager. Janine joins us from NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and has a background in oceanography, congressional affairs, and policy.

 

Jennifer Patterson is also new to CeNCOOS and will be filling the role of Information Manager. Previously working with PacIOOS and NOAA CO-OPS she has a background in ocean observing sensors, data and web development.

 

MARACOOS is proud to announce its new Stakeholder Liaison, Mr. Peter Moore. Peter has devoted much of his career to the ocean and coastal industries, primarily in Alaska and the Northeast US.  As a former seafood business owner, Peter has a keen interest and awareness of the importance of oceanic processes on those who make their livelihoods from the sea.  "Hiring Peter Moore as the Stakeholder Liaison is MARACOOS' first step in the development of a stakeholder liaison service that will significantly contribute to our vision of actively engaging stakeholders in the development of MARACOOS over the next ten years," stated Dr. Gerhard Kuska, MARACOOS' Executive Director.


The new GCOOS Data Portal Systems Architect strengthens ties with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.  Felimon 'Nonong' Gayanilo has accepted the position of Systems Architect for the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) at the Harte Research Institute (HRI), Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Mr. Gayanilo is the System Architect of the GCOOS Data Portal, which is based at Texas A&M University in College Station and supported by the U.S. IOOS Program. HRI and the GCOOS Regional Association reached an agreement to enable Mr. Gayanilo to continue his services with GCOOS when he moves to his new post. 

 

GLOS Posts Job Opening

The Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) is searching for an outgoing, user-oriented individual to serve as the GLOS Outreach and Communications Program Coordinator.   View the details
About NFRA
NFRA is a non-profit organization formed by the Regional Associations for Coastal and Ocean Observing in support of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). 
 

 

The NFRA mission is to:

  • Develop Regional Associations for coastal and ocean observing to deliver scientific data and information on the nation's oceans;
  • Promote the integration and coordination the regional systems into a integrated national system to enhance observational and predictive abilities in ocean science;
  • Develop regional programs through capacity building, exchange of technical information, and sharing of facilities and infrastructure; and
  • Educate the public about ocean observing and its importance to the nation.

Please contact Josie Quintrell, NFRA Director, for more information.

Upcoming Events

CeNCOOS/SCCOOS Annual Meeting

June 4, 2012

 

Capitol Hill Ocean Week

June 5-8, 2012

Washington, DC

 

NFRA Board Call

June 19, 2012 at 3pm ET

 

National Marine Educators Conference,

June 24-28, 2012 Anchorage, AK

 

Deadline for submitting community white papers for IOOS Summit
June 30, 2012

 

GCOOS Annual Meeting

Sept 26-27

Corpus Christi, TX

 

OCEANS 2012 MTS/IEEE

October 14-19, 2012
Hampton Roads, VA

 

IOOS Summit

November 13-16, 2012

Herndon, VA

  

 

  
Links
  

 

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