It's only mid-May but the first storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is already threatening to form near the Bahamas. If so, it will mark the sixth straight year a tropical or subtropical cyclone has formed before the official June 1 start of hurricane season.
As the Hurricane Hunters fly into this developing system to gather important data, we are reminded to thank our own Gulf of Mexico team that deploys gliders annually to measure ocean heat content throughout the water column— an important factor influencing the intensity of storms.
You can learn more about the GCOOS partners running gliders in the Gulf during a webinar later this month (details below). In the meantime, don't forget to make sure you've got your own hurricane supplies in order and that your generators are working!
And don't forget: June 2 is the deadline for abstract submissions for
Oceans 2020 Gulf Coast
, planned for Oct. 19-22 at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center. GCOOS is proud to sponsor this meeting and we hope to see you there — Covid willing, of course!
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GCOOS Howard Scholarhip Fund Accepting Applications for AGU
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GCOOS is soliciting applications for the Howard Scholarship award. The awardee will receive up to $1,500 in registration and travel support to give an ocean data-related presentation at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. Applicants must be from a
GCOOS-member institution
and be pursuing undergraduate, graduate or post-doctoral work that includes a strong element of collaboration.
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Save the Date: Gliders in the Gulf Webinar
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Did you know that Gulf of Mexico researchers have been running gliders to map ocean heat content during hurricane season for more than five years thanks to funding from Shell Upstream Americas?
Institutions participating in these “glider picket lines” include Texas A&M University’s Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG), the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and the U.S. Navy.
Assistant Research Scientist Dr. Kerri Whilden and Research Assistant Brian Buckingham from GERG will lead a webinar to share the latest news about this effort and plans for the upcoming hurricane season.
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The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will be conducting UxS certificate classes this summer and fall. This two-tiered training provides working knowledge of ocean science to engineering (ocean, electrical and mechanical) for operators and pilots to safely and successfully execute UxS missions.
- For details, call 228.688.3177 or visit this site.
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Assessing the Oceans Sector
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How big and what is the scope of the economic sector supporting and conducting ocean observations, measurement and forecasting? NOAA and IOOS are hoping to answer those questions as they update the
Ocean Enterprise study first published in 2016.
This second study — Ocean Enterprise Study 2020 — will update and expand upon the first and consider recent economic impacts to the sector as well. Any company, large to small, working in this sector is invited to participate in an online survey to contribute to the study.
Input is sought from businesses that provide infrastructure or products that support ocean observation and measurement.
The results will help to inform NOAA and the U.S. Department of Commerce about the sector’s changing needs in a report to be published in 2021.
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Healthy Ecosystems & Living Resources
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Gulf Coastal Acidification Network Webinar Series
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The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Acidification Network (GCAN) is partnering with NOAA's Ocean Acidification Information Exchange (OAIE) to host a webinar tutorial about new items on the
OAIE website. The Exchange has been
advancing its website and will review navigation throughout the site.
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Sound is a fundamental component of ocean life, relied on by marine animals for activities ranging from foraging and finding mates to migration and predator avoidance.
Yet, most meteorological and oceanographic data sets do not typically include passive acoustic information. As the blue economy grows, it's increasingly important to understand whether acoustic changes to the marine landscape are impacting ocean animals and ecosystems. That is one of many reasons why projects like the
Shell Stones MetOcean Observatory and the
Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) that GCOOS is partnering with are so important — both deploy hydrophones as part of their protocols to measure ocean noise levels.
The efforts align nicely and can eventually support NOAA's Ocean Noise Strategy, a 10-year plan to improve management of both species and the places they inhabit in the context of a
changing acoustic environment
.
- Access acoustic data from the Shell Stones MetOcean Observatory (Select ‘browse’ under the Resources heading then choose the acoustic tab.)
As acoustic capabilities in MBON expand, data will support the
SanctSound
: NOAA Navy Sanctuary Soundscape Monitoring Project to monitor sound within the U.S. National Marine Sanctuary System, including Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Standardized baseline information will enable contextualizing both how much sound is introduced within sanctuaries by specific sources and potential impacts to marine taxa and habitats.
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Expanding the Flower Garden Banks Sanctuary
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NOAA is proposing to expand the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary from 56 to 160 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed expansion would add 14 additional reefs and banks to the sanctuary that provide important habitat for recreationally and commercially important fish, as well as threatened or endangered species of manta rays, sea turtles and corals.
- Comments deadline July 3, 2020
- See the proposed rule and more details about the expansion.
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CHOW: Protecting Biodiversity
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This year’s Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) has gone virtual. Organizers with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation have created a virtual conference that includes topics on everything from policy and innovative technologies to restoration and monitoring.
Many GCOOS partners are invited speakers, including IOOS Association Executive Director Josie Quintrell, who will moderate “Innovative Approaches for Restoration and Monitoring,” a session that includes speakers Demian Chapman, Florida International University, and Frank Muller-Karger, University of South Florida. Neil Hammerschlag, University of Miami, will talk about global initiatives to understand and track biodiversity changes and GCOOS Board Member Ruth Perry, Marine Scientist and Regulatory Policy Specialist for Shell Upstream Americas, will educate participants about the value of area-based management and new ideas to maximize protection impacts.
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Leatherback Nesting in the Gulf
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Researchers with GCOOS member organization the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation recently came across a rare sight: A nesting leatherback sea turtle on Sanibel Island, Florida. This endangered species rarely nests on Gulf coast beaches, though this is the second leatherback nest SCCF biologists have recorded this nesting season. Leatherbacks are the largest sea turtle in the world and this animal’s carapace measured more than 5 feet long.
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Photos by the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.
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Oceans 2020 Gulf Coast: Call for Abstracts
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Oceans 2020 Gulf Coast
— the event for global maritime professionals to learn, innovate and lead in the protection and utilization of the world’s largest natural resource — our oceans will be in the GCOOS backyard this year at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center. The meeting is scheduled for Oct 19-22. The abstract deadline submission has been extended to June 2, 2020.
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Bays & Bayous: Call for Abstracts
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The
2020 Bays and Bayous Symposium Program
Committee has released a call for abstracts for the Dec. 1-3 event in Biloxi, Mississippi. This year’s theme is “Sound Science, Sound Policy: A 2020 Vision for the Future.” The event’s organizers are hopeful the symposium will be held despite the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) invites you to join their Science Exchange Webinar Series.
- The next webinar, which takes place at noon EDT on May 20, is “Mapping the Distribution and Habitat Use of Soniferous Fish on Cox’s Ledge, with a Focus on Atlantic Cod Spawning Aggregations.”
This BOEM- funded study aims to provide baseline information about important commercial fish species in the Southern New England area to help address potential changes caused by offshore wind development. Researchers will collect data over a three-year period — which began in October 2019 — on spawning Atlantic Cod and other soniferous fish species in and around Cox’s ledge, including the Southfork wind energy lease area.
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A new report “Vision 2030” lays out what the National Science Board believes the U.S. must do to fuel an innovation economy and remain preeminent in science and engineering.
Motivation for the vision came from the realization that the United States’ contributions to research and development are decreasing as global science and engineering research grow, meaning the United States must make plans to keep up with that global growth.
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Nominations Sought for NOAA Science Advisory Board
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The deadline has been extended for nominations to the NOAA Science Advisory Board. The Board is seeking people with expertise in tsunami science; extreme weather prediction (including tornadoes); social sciences (including geography, sociology, behavioral science); Great Lakes research; cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data management; unmanned, autonomous system technology; `omics science and eDNA; weather modeling and data assimilation; and ocean ecosystem science.
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Hurricane Season Just Around the Corner
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Hurricane season is just around the corner — it runs from June 1 through Nov. 30 — and some groups, including
Colorado State University, are predicting a busier than normal year for the Atlantic region. (NOAA will announce its
predictions on May 21.)
Do you know that GCOOS provides a “one-stop-shop” for tracking hurricanes and finding regional responding agencies, along with pre-and-post storm hurricane tips?
Speaking of hurricanes, the National Weather Service is seeking input on a survey about the use of its tropical cyclone forecast track graphic — a.k.a. "the cone of uncertainty" — in operational decision making.
The survey is targeted for partners from the following sectors: marine, transportation, energy and utilities and tourism and recreation. (If you’re not employed in one of these sectors, please do not take the survey. For our emergency managers, please feel free to pass the survey along to any contacts you have in the targeted sectors in your parish/county.)
This survey is an opportunity to provide feedback on how the cone graphic is used as well as influence future efforts to enhance the graphic.
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New Red Tide Human Health Study
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The Roskamp Institute based in Sarasota, Florida, has received a $400,000 grant through a competitive, peer-review process from the
National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences to study the effects of the Florida red tide neurotoxin on human brain health.
GCOOS Executive Director Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, whose background includes overseeing the first long-term study of the effects of Florida red tide on human respiratory health, is a key investigator in the study.
Roskamp Institute scientists have studied the causes and potential cures for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease for two decades.
The new funding will allow the team to continue work already being undertaken by Roskamp examining the neurological effects of Florida red tide in a clinical study and builds on previous work by Kirkpatrick and colleagues that recorded an excess of emergency room admissions for neurological complaints during Florida red tide blooms between 2005-2009.
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Red Tide Grant Proposals Sought
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The 2nd Request For Proposals for the Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative is open through 5 p.m. June 30. The Initiative is a partnership between Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute that establishes an independent and coordinated effort among public and private research entities to develop prevention, control and mitigation technologies and approaches that will decrease the impacts of Florida red tide on the environment, economy and quality of life in Florida.
FWC-FWRI's HAB Grant Program 2020-21 has also opened a Call for Proposals and is seeking applications to support projects that address needs identified by the Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force Consensus Document #1:
Initial Recommendations Regarding Red Tide (
Karenia brevis
) Blooms. Eligible projects will address two distinct red tide information gaps and priority needs related to communications and research.
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Restoring Living Shorelines
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The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is seeking sealed bids for the Restoring Living Shorelines and Reefs in Mississippi Estuaries – Deer Island Subtidal Reef Construction Project. The purpose of the Project is to construct approximately 90 acres of subtidal reef near Deer Island.
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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine invites you to nominate experts to serve on the committee to guide the Ocean Studies Board to provide an update of the 2003 report: Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. Oil in the Sea IV aims to identify, categorize, and quantify sources of hydrocarbons (and their chemical composition) with an emphasis on North American waters and assess the state of the science on the fate and effects of fossil fuel hydrocarbons in the marine environment.
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In 2010, the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon resulted in the largest man-made disaster in U.S. history. Today, each Gulf state administers restoration funds and programs. Additionally, other agencies and organizations are also tasked with administering programs designed to restore Gulf habitats and better understand Gulf ecosystems.
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GCOOS maintains a jobs listing for positions and fellowships in the ocean observing community. Want to advertise a position? Email
Laura Caldwell
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- Executive Director, Harte Research Institute (HRI) for the Gulf of Mexico Studies
- HRI Endowed Chair for Biodiversity and Conservation
- HRI Chair for Ecosystem Science and Modeling
- AOOS — Regional Data Sharing Coordinator
- University of South Florida — Dean of the College of Marine Sciences
- Mote Marine Laboratory — Ocean Technology Program; HAB Mitigation and Ecology; Stranding Investigations Program; Grants Administration
- New England Aquarium — Vice President for Development
- NOS; NCCOS — Supervisory Environmental Scientist
- Florida International University — Open-rank faculty position in Phycology
- The Water Institute of the Gulf — Data Architect for Environmental Resources
- Postdoctoral Positions: Florida Atlantic University, University of Southern Mississippi; NRC
- Fellowships: Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship
- Louisiana State University Phytoplankton Ecology Lab; graduate student
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GCOOS maintains a listing of funding opportunities. Have an opportunity you'd like to advertise? Email
Laura Caldwell
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- FY 2020 Ocean Technology Transition Project
- Gulf of Mexico Alliance Funding Calendar
- Microsoft's AI for Earth
- NEP Coastal Watersheds Grant Program
- Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholarship
- SECOORA Grants
- DARPA BAA
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Many Meetings have been postponed or canceled due to covid-19. We've tried to provide updates below.
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1: GCOOS Members Meeting. New Orleans. Details not yet available.
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1-3:
Bays and Bayous Symposium
, Golden Nugget Biloxi Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. “Sound Science, Sound Policy: A 2020 Vision for the Future." Begins at noon on Tuesday, Dec. 1; ends at noon on Thursday, Dec. 3
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GCOOS is the Gulf of Mexico regional component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and the only certified system dedicated solely to the Gulf of Mexico. Our mission is to provide timely, reliable and accurate information on the open ocean and coastal ocean waters of the Gulf of Mexico to ensure a healthy, clean, productive ocean and resilient coastal zone.
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Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick
, Executive Director
•
Bill Lingsch
, U.S. Glider User Group Coordinator
•
Dr. Chris Simoniello
, Outreach & Education Coordinator •
Felimon Gayanilo
, Interim DMAC Co-Manager & Systems Architect •
Dr. Shinichi Kobara
, Assistant Research Scientist, Product Developer •
Bob Currier,
Interim DMAC Co-Manager,
Research Specialist & Product Developer •
Marion Stoessel
, Senior Research Associate •
Dr. Steven Baum
, Associate Research Scientist •
Jennifer Vreeland-Dawson
, Research Associate •
Grant Craig
, Program Coordinator •
Nadine Slimak
, Public Relations & Content Marketing, Vetted Communications, LLC •
Dr. Chuan-Yuan Hsu
, Post Doctoral Research Associate •
Robbie Iles
, Graduate Research Assistant
•
Laura Caldwell
, Program Assistant
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In Memoriam: Matt Howard, 1952-2018
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