Members of the NOPP Office staff also participated in an exhibit booth at the Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference (GMREC), which was held in Washington, D.C. from April 24-26.  The theme of the conference was “Expanding Networks, Lowering the Cost of Energy.”  Opening remarks were provided by U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R – AK) and attendees included regulatory specialists, offshore renewable energy developers and innovators, federal agencies, policymakers, researchers and members of non-governmental organizations.

The Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships (IWG-OP) met on April 10 at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership to discuss the level of engagement the IWG-OP should take in carrying out specific actions within the National Ocean Policy (NOP) Implementation Plan.  In particular, the Priority Objective Coordinate and Support is closely aligned with the goals and capabilities of NOPP and many components of other Priority Objectives also rely on partnerships.  The Biodiversity Ad Hoc Committee, a subcommittee of the IWG-OP, met on April 26, also at Ocean Leadership.  The group received updates on workshops and meetings that have recently taken place including the 5^th International Meeting on Deep Sea Corals that took place in Amsterdam and included over 87 presentations and participants from 27 countries, and the Animal Telemetry Network Workshop that took place mid-March in Washington, D.C. with the goal of developing a strategic plan for establishing a national animal telemetry network.  The Coral Status Review Report and Draft Management Report lists 82 candidate coral species that are at risk of extinction.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service is collecting public comments until July 31.  The full document can be found here.  Additionally last April, an agreement was reached to make the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) operational.  The IPBES Secretariat will be hosted in Bonn, Germany and will be an independent science body with a small Administrative Bureau and an Independent Multi-disciplinary Expert Panel.  The next plenary meeting of the IPBES will be in the spring of 2013.

The Interagency Working Group on Facilities and Infrastructure (IWG-FI) met on April 30 and heard updates from their subgroup, the Subcommittee on Unmanned Systems (SUS), and task force, the Federal Oceanographic Fleet Working Group (FOFWG), on their progress in completing milestones for the NOP.  The FOFWG met twice during the month of April, on April 5 and April 23.  The group continues to make progress in updating the Fleet Status Report and is on schedule to complete the milestone this summer. 

The NOPP Program Office is always looking for opportunities to showcase the research that has been funded through NOPP.  If any NOPP researchers have images or photos, recently published articles, or any other information they would feel comfortable allowing us to share on the NOPP website, on Facebook, and/or on Twitter, the NOPP office would love to highlight it.  Please send any information to Katie Horst at khorst@oceanleadership.org.

In the study, Miyoshi and Kunii implement the local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF) and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, with real data observations. The purpose of this data assimilation study is to maximize the use of available observations and improve initial conditions in prediction models in order to improve the computational capability of predicting large scale and mesoscale environmental system formations such as tropical cyclones.

Click here to read the article abstract.

The citation is as follows:

Miyoshi, T. and M. Kunii, 2012.  The Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter with the Weather Research and Forecasting Model: Experiments with Real Observations. Pure and Applied Geophys., 169, 321-333.

Congratulations again to Drs. Miyoshi and Kunii on their successful project!

The current issue focuses on the status of BOEM’s Renewable Energy Program and their Smart from the Start Initiative.  The issue also includes an article highlighting BOEM ‘s partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study the siting and permitting of offshore wind energy facilities and the impacts to the biological and physical environment surrounding the facilities.  This $5 million collaboration was initiated through a NOPP funding solicitation and will provide vital information needed to make the best possible decisions regarding the development of wind energy facilities, to maximize the benefits of the resource and minimize the effects to the surrounding environment.  NOPP is proud to be a part of this important collaboration to help develop clean, renewable energies.

Click here to view the journal.  Click here to view the archived journals.

 Click here to learn more about BOEM and here to subscribe to BOEM Ocean Science.

The Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships (IWG-OP) met on March 13 at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.  Greg Easson gave a presentation on behalf of the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium.  The goal of the consortium is to build and operate a multifaceted project to better understand the hydrocarbon system in the deep marine environment in the Gulf of Mexico.  Anna Coffey also updated the group on the last Federal Renewable Ocean Energy Working Group (FROEWG) meeting, held on February 27.  The Department of Energy (DOE) announced the release of their wave resource assessment report and their issuance of an Offshore Wind Demonstration Funding Opportunity Announcement.  The next FROEWG meeting will be held in conjunction with the Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference in April.

The Interagency Working Group on Facilities and Infrastructure (IWG-FI) will meet at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership on April 30, and continues work on completing actions related to the National Ocean Policy (NOP).  The Subcommittee on Unmanned Systems (SUS), the subgroup under the IWG-FI, met on March 14.  The group continues to revise the Subcommittee on Unmanned Systems Strategy document and submitted a draft to the IWG-FI co-chairs for their review on March 29.  With approval of the Strategy, anticipated in June 2012, the group is planning to begin developing an Implementation Plan to follow the SUS Strategy.

The Federal Oceanographic Fleet Working Group (FOFWG), a task force under the IWG-FI, also met on March 12 and continues to make progress in revising the 2007 Fleet Status Report (FSR).

Click here to read the article.

The citation is as follows:

K. G. Foote, M. C. Hastings, D. R. Ketten, Y.-T. Lin, J. S. Reidenberg, and K. Rye, “Sonar-induced pressure fields in a post-mortem common dolphin,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 131, 1595-1604 (2012).

Congratulations again to Dr. Foote and his coauthors on a successful project!

(Click to enlarge) : Sunburst Sensor’s Submersible Autonomous Moored Instrument will collect measurements for OOI. (Credit: Photo provided by J. Newton, Sunburst Sensors, LLC)

Sunburst Sensors, an engineering company based in Missoula, Montana that designs autonomous chemical sensors to measure pCO₂ and pH, has been selected to design and manufacture pH and CO₂ sensors for the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI).

The progress of Sunburst Sensors and its technology benefited from a National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) award issued in 2008 to fund projects for the development of sensors to measure biological, bio-optical, or chemical properties of the ocean.  The awarded project was titled “An Autonomous Indicator-based pH Sensor for Oceanographic Research and Monitoring” and was led by PI Dr. Michael DeGrandpre from the University of Montana.

Sunburst’s new sensors are called Submersible Autonomous Moored Instruments (SAMI) and are capable of measuring pH and CO₂ in both sea and fresh water.  The sensors, specifically 77 SAMI-pHs and 35 SAMI-CO₂s, will be used by the OOI in their program to develop a global network of ocean observing systems to collect physical, chemical, geological, and biological information on the ocean and the sea floor.  The data collected will be available online as a resource for researchers and the general public to help increase our understanding of the global oceans.

The OOI is an NSF-funded program housed at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in Washington, DC.  The NOPP Office would like to congratulate Sunburst Sensors on their award.  It is always great to see NOPP-funded projects achieve such wonderful successes!

The Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships (IWG-OP) met on January 10 and February 14 and began to plan for potential funding opportunities to be released later this year.  The group also heard updates from the NSF ArcSEES Program and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI).  The IWG-OP’s Biodiversity Ad Hoc Group met on January 26 and elected three new co-chairs: Gabrielle Canonico (NOAA), Jim Price (BOEM), and Woody Turner (NASA).  Discussion items included the importance of Biological Data Infrastructure, such as OBIS, and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) methods for archiving marine mammal observer data.  The Federal Renewable Ocean Energy Working Group (FROEWG) met on February 28 and received updates on an Offshore Energy Knowledge Exchange Workshop and on the DOE Wave Resource Assessment Report.

The Interagency Working Group on Facilities and Infrastructure (IWG-FI) met on February 27, and received updates on the Subcommittee on Unmanned Systems (SUS) Interagency Strategy on Unmanned Systems and the implementation of the National Ocean Policy.  The SUS met at Ocean Leadership on January 11.  The group named two additional co-chairs, Capt. John Adler (NOAA) and Ms. Brenda Mulac (NASA), to serve alongside Mr. Kim Curry from the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy.  The SUS writing team continues to make progress on drafting the Interagency Strategy on Unmanned Systems.

Dr. Reg Beach has stepped down from his duties as chair of the Biodiversity Ad Hoc Group, co-chair of the Subcommittee on Unmanned Systems, and member of the IWG-OP and IWG-FI, due to his return to the Office of Naval Research.  His dedication and service to these committees has been invaluable and he will be missed.

Are you attending Ocean Sciences in Salt Lake City this year?  If so, be sure to stop by the following sessions:

• NOPP will be presenting in the 098 Session on Monday, February 20th at 9:15am on the importance of building strong ocean science communities through collaboration with Federal agencies, academia, and industry.
• NOPP will also be presenting a poster titled: Assessing the State of Graduate Programs in the Ocean Sciences.  The poster will be available for viewing all week but will be showcased on Monday, February 20th from 4:00-6:00pm.  Click here to view the poster.
• Also check out the Career-Life Balance Initiatives Town Hall Meetings sponsored by Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention (MPOWIR) and the Association for Women in Science (AWIS).  More information can be found here.

Ocean Leadership and NOPP will also have a booth with information and give aways.  Be sure to stop by and say hello!  We look forward to seeing you there!

Federal agencies were invited to attend the day-long conference with the goal of becoming informed on the activities and research topics occurring within the Environmental Studies Program (ESP) at BOEM, and helping to encourage collaboration and develop partnerships among the agencies.  The Environmental Studies Program was established in 1973 to help provide information to “predict, assess, and manage impacts from offshore energy and marine mineral exploration, development, and production activities on human, marine, and coastal environments.”  In pursuit of these goals, research under multiple disciplines is managed with an ecosystem approach providing science for decision makers both within BOEM and outside regulators and policy makers.  Research topics range from benthic biology, marine and avian biology, and mammals, to social sciences and archeology, atmospheric and oceanographic research, and oil spill research and modeling.  Members of the ESP provided a brief presentation on the activities and research topics associated with each of these divisions.

Science Day was widely attended and provided great insight into the activities occurring within the ESP at BOEM.  If you would like more information about Science Day or ESP, please contact Jennifer Ewald at Jennifer.ewald@boem.gov.  The presentations are linked below.

R. Cluck-Division of Environmental Sciences: Environmental Studies Program Overview

G. Boland-Benthic Community Science: Case Example Discovery to Management

M. Rasser-Marine Biology (Fish and Birds)

J. Price-Marine Mammals

J. Primo-BOEM Social Science

J. Moore-Marine Archaeology

G. Auad-Physical Oceanography

R. Lai-Atmospheric Sciences

W. Johnson-Oil Spill Research and Oil Spill Modeling

The IWG-OP met 10 times this year.  One meeting was held at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to encourage other line offices to participate in the NOPP process.  Dr. Craig McLean from NOAA continued to act as co-chair, and the group welcomed Dr. Rodney Cluck from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as a new co-chair in October.  The group focused the majority of their discussions on partnership efforts across the ocean community, including workshops and funding solicitations.  It developed funding solicitations on two topics: 1) Marine Mammal Detection and Monitoring, and 2) Implementation of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System.  Eighteen multi-year proposals were funded, totaling $234.7 million in contributions from partnering agencies.  The IWG-OP is working to expand partnerships and generate projects focused on Arctic and other oceanographic issues in 2012.

The IWG-FI met on four occasions this year and spent much of their time working on the National Ocean Council’s (NOC) Strategic Action Plan (SAP) #9, Action 1.  Their subgroup, the Task Force on Unmanned Systems (TFUS) met five times this year, including a meeting at Stennis Space Center, where the group toured the Naval Oceanographic Glider Operation Center and the National Data Buoy Center.  Having made significant strides in assisting the IWG-FI on SAP #9 and on drafting an Interagency Strategy on Unmanned Systems, the group was granted permission to be established as an official subgroup under the IWG-FI, to be called the Subgroup on Unmanned Systems (SUS).  In September, TFUS also held a joint meeting with the Interagency Coordinating Committee for Airborne Geosciences Research and Applications (ICCAGRA).  As a part of the SAP #9, which seeks to provide an update on the Federal Oceanographic Fleet Report (2007), the IWG-FI created a small writing team called the Federal Oceanographic Fleet Working Group to update and revise the previous report.  The group aims to complete the update by June 2012.

FROEWG met four times in 2011 with the purpose of providing feedback to participating agencies regarding specific ocean renewable energy-related research projects and as well as providing a platform to discuss policy issues.  Based on the input from members of FROEWG, the Department of Energy (DOE) hosted four webinars featuring current research efforts to assess potential environmental impacts of marine and hydrokinetic energy development.  Members of FROEWG met to exchange information; to coordinate meetings, workshops, and other activities related to Offshore Wind Resource Assessment and Design Conditions; and to review supported research and other relevant projects to assure that work was complementary across agencies.  Partnering agencies, DOE, NSF, BOEMRE, and NOAA, hosted the information exchange Offshore Renewable Energy: Public Meeting on Information Needs for Resource Assessment and Design Conditions.

The Biodiversity Ad Hoc group also met four times this year and released their report, Attaining an Operational Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (BON), which was the culmination of the workshop hosted in 2010 on the same topic.  The report was disseminated at various conferences and a roundtable discussion was hosted on the report at the National Conference for Science and Environment in January 2011.

The NOPP Office was also able to participate in several outreach opportunities and conferences in 2011.  In January, NOPP staff attended the National Conference on Science and the Environment and helped support the Biodiversity Ad Hoc group’s roundtable discussion.  Also in support of the Biodiversity Ad Hoc Committee, NOPP staff attended the International Marine Conservation Congress meeting in May in Victoria, Canada to disseminate materials, including the Attaining an Operational Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (BON) report.  In September, NOPP staff traveled to Kona, Hawaii to present on the NOPP program and process and host an exhibit booth to disseminate NOPP-related materials at the MTS/IEEE Oceans ’11 Conference.  In October, NOPP and the IWG-OP co-chair, Craig McLean, met and presented to the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) of China, and in December, the NOPP Office hosted the BOEM Science Day in which members of the Environmental Studies Program at BOEM presented research activities led by their offices to help encourage and develop partnerships with other federal agencies.  NOPP also further developed social media pages, such as Facebook and Twitter, and continued to write articles to post to the website.

The Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) welcomed new leadership for 2011, with Dr. Margaret Leinen, Executive Director of Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, stepping in as Chair, and Dr. Robert Weller, Senior Scientist of Physical Oceanography at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, serving as Vice-Chair.  Dr. Steve Ramberg, Distinguished Research Fellow at the National Defense University, remained as Vice-Chair.  From 2006-2011, the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) operated as the Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP), but will now conduct business again as the Ocean Research Advisory Panel

The ORAP held several meetings in the first half of 2011 to review and develop input to the outlines for the nine Strategic Action Plans of the National Ocean Policy.  This input was submitted to the National Ocean Council and is available on the NOPP website.  The ORAP also held a regular meeting on April 25-26, 2011.  Topics for discussion included the Strategic Action Plans Outlines and data management.

In April, the ORAP released the Ocean Acidification Task Force (OATF) Report, a summary of work completed and recommendations for ORAP to convey to the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification (IWGOA).  Specifically, the report offers additional details and emphasis on the National Research Council (NRC) report, “Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean,” which reviewed the current state of scientific knowledge on ocean acidification, and identified gaps in that knowledge, particularly with respect to information useful to policy makers and federal agencies.

In May, the ORAP Industry Sub-panel convened a workshop entitled, “Ocean Renewable Energy Workshop: Accelerating the Decision-Making Process.”  The workshop brought together individuals with real-world experience to discuss pervasive impediments throughout the timeline of project events, beginning with consideration of a site for development and concluding with receipt of final approval to begin in-water operations.  The final report is pending approval.