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2
May 2008 - ASBPA call for abstracts
The American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) announces a
call for presentations for its 2008 National Coastal Conference: "Sustainable
Beaches," 15-17 October 2008, at the Chicago Mart-Plaza Hotel, Chicago,
Illinois. ASBPA is the nation's oldest organization promoting science-based policies
for the protection of beaches and shores. Presentations are invited on topics
related to the ASBPA missions, with preference given to presentations and posters
that fit within one of the four conference tracks: Global coastal issues; Coastal
protection & structures; Federal, state, and local coastal policy; Management,
monitoring and mitigation. Submissions may be oral PowerPoint presentations,
posters, or panels. One page abstracts are due 9 May 2008. For more information,
visit www.asbpa.org.
2
May 2008
- The
draft of the California Coastal Impact Assistance
Plan (CIAP) is now available for public comment.
The draft CIAP assists the state and the state's
17 coastal political subdivisions (CPS) in moderating
the impacts of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil
and gas production. Under the Energy Policy Act
of 2005, California is one of six coastal states
that is eligible to receive funding by the federal
Minerals Management Service to support projects
and activities focused on conservation, protection,
or restoration of coastal areas, including wetlands;
mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife, or natural
resources; planning assistance and costs of complying
with CIAP legislation; implementation of a federally
approved marine, coastal, or comprehensive conservation
management plans; or mitigation of the impacts
of OCS activities through funding of onshore infrastructure
projects and public service needs. In total, California
and its 17 eligible CPSs will be granted approximately
$30 million through four federal funding cycles.
The draft plan is available here.
Comments on the draft CIAP Plan should be sent
to: Chris Potter, California Resources Agency,
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311, Sacramento CA 95814; Chris.Potter@resources.ca.gov.
Comments must be received by May 30, 2008.
7 April 2008 - Making
Use of Ocean Observing Systems Workshop Report
released
The final report for the September 2007 workshop, Making Use of Ocean Observing
Systems: Applications to Marine Protected Areas
and Water Quality,
was released in March 2008 and is available
to download. The workshop was sponsored by
the Coastal States Organization, SCCOOS, CeNCOOS,
California Ocean Science Trust, and California
State Coastal Conservancy and focused on how
observing activities conducted by California’s
regional coastal observing systems—SCCOOS
and CeNCOOS—can address water quality concerns
and monitoring needs of California’s
newly established network of Marine Protected
Areas (MPAs). The State of California is committed
to continuing the process initiated at the
workshop and will be developing a cohesive
plan for how observing systems can meet management
needs.
Southern California participants in the workshop
included SCCOOS, USC, Southern California Coastal
Water Research Project (SCCWRP), Orange County
Sanitation District, California Sea Grant,
and UC Santa Barbara, as well as representatives
from the State Water Resources Control Board
and regional boards, the State of California
Resources Agency and Coastal Conservancy, NOAA,
other university and research institutions,
and regional organizations. To download the
report, click
here.
26 March 2008 - Los
Angeles / Long Beach Harbors theme site
SCCOOS is pleased to annouce
the creation of its first "theme site."
Using data provided by CDIP, SCCOOS developers
have built a web portal that both integrates CDIP's
regional wave-model graphics and allows users to
gather Southern California wave data directly from
regional research buoys. Click
here to access the
site.
18 March 2008 - HF
Radar Best Practices brochure now available
In an effort
to bring together the HF Radar technical community
from around the nation for discussions on field installations,
radar operation, software programming, and site integration,
a workshop was convened by the Radiowave Operators
Working Group (ROWG) in September 2007 at Scripps
Institution of Oceanography. The main goal of the
workshop was to garner input from participants into
a "Best Practices" document to highlight
the many aspects of HF radar operations. The Best
Practices brochure is now available and can be downloaded
as a pdf here.
The document covers siting requirements, communications,
supporting equipment, software settings, data management,
and quality assurance/quality control. Development
of the document was sponsored by the NOAA IOOS program
office and State of California.
17 March 2008 - Comment
period open for NOAA's IOOS strategic plan
On behalf of
the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology-Interagency
Working Group on Ocean Observation's (JSOST-IWGOO),
NOAA's Integrated Ocean Observing System Program
(IOOS) Program has announced a 30-day public comment
period for the five-year IOOS Strategic Plan. The
five year plan will be used by the IWGOO to build
an implementation plan that will describe in more
detail the roles and responsibilities that will
be undertaken by the interagency members. To view
the IOOS Strategic Plan, click here.
17 March 2008 - National
IOOS legislation passes out of committee
The House Natural Resources
Committee passed out of committee H.R. 2342, a
bill that would formally authorize the National
Integrated Oceans Observing System. The program,
designed to continually monitor the global environment
and improve environmental forecasts, would provide
data from U.S. coastal waters and the Great Lakes
into the Global Earth Observation System of Systems.
The bill now awaits a final vote by the full House.
To view the legislation, click here.
20
February 2008 - Abstracts are now being accepted
for the OCEANS’08
MTS/IEEE Quebec conference, 14 to 18 September
2008. The conference website contains a complete
list of technical Areas of Interest for the Conference,
as well as an online
abstract submission form. The abstract
submission deadline is 15 May 2008. For general
information or regarding questions about the technical
program area, contact the Technical Program Chairs,
Joe Czika, jczika@cox.net,
or Georges Fournier, georges.fournier@drdc-rddc.gc.ca.
28
January 2008 - SCCOOS has developed a preliminary
Conceptual Design for the regional ocean observing
system, available for viewing here.
The SCCOOS Conceptual Design v1.0 reflects recent
assessments of user needs conducted as part of
the development of the proposal submitted in December
2007 to NOAA for continued support of SCCOOS as
the IOOS ocean observing system for our region.
(access the proposal here)
Each of the eleven Regional Associations
(RA) has prepared a Conceptual Design for their
RCOOS that describes RA priorities, structures
and needs for observations, models and data management.
Collectively, the Conceptual Designs indicate that
common observing system priorities across the regions
are safe maritime transportations, mitigation of
coastal hazards, and ecosystem health, while the
specific issues and the manner in which they are
addressed vary from region to region. The RAs will
continue to refine and update their Conceptual
Designs as development of their RCOOSs.
19 November 2007 - NOAA IOOS Program
Office has posted the NOAA IOOS Strategic Plan.
NOAA considers the Strategic Plan a living
document that it uses to outline FY08
activities and milestones. download as
a pdf here
8
November 2007 - Applications are open for the
California Sea Grant College State Fellowship
Program. The program is an opportunity for a
graduate student interested in marine resources
and policy to receive a nine-month paid fellowship
in the Ocean Resources Management Program of
the California Resources Agency located in Sacramento,
CA. The fellowship begins in January 2008. The
full request for applications and application
guidelines are due by 28 November 2007 and are
available on California Sea Grant's State Fellows
Program website here.
Contact Russ Moll at rmoll@ucsd.edu or
858-534-4440 for more information or if you intend
to apply. For more information about the Ocean
Resources Management Program, click here.
29
October 2007 - West Coast Governors Draft Action
Plan Following the West Coast Governors’ Agreement
on Ocean Health, the states of Washington, Oregon,
and California have released a draft plan containing
proposed actions relating to clean water, improved
habitat, ecosystem-based management, alternative
energy development, research and monitoring,
ocean literacy, and sustainable coastal communities.
The review and comment period is open until 1
December 2007. California's regional IOOS components,
SCCOOS and CeNCOOS are referenced in the draft
plan. To view the plan, click here.
For additional information about submitting comments,
view at here.
24 October 2007
- SCCOOS has created a fire
weather support page for
Southern California.
8
October 2007 - EPA Region 9 Request
for Proposals on West Coast Estuaries Initiative
for the California Coast. U.S.
EPA Region 9 is soliciting proposals for projects
that conserve, restore and protect the water
quality, habitat and environment of California
coastal waters, estuaries, bays and near shore
waters through comprehensive approaches to water
quality management. The emphasis is on supporting
implementation activities based on existing plans,
such as Comprehensive Conservation Management
Plans (Clean Water Act Section 320), State programs
such as the Integrated Regional Water Management
Plans, and local watershed plans. States, local
governments, public and private nonprofit institutions/organizations,
federally recognized Indian tribal governments,
U.S. territories or possessions, and interstate
agencies are eligible to apply. EPA anticipates
awarding approximately 2 to 5 assistance agreements
for the California Coast with awards ranging
from about $500,000 to no more than $1,000,000
each. The total amount anticipated to be awarded
under this announcement is $2.5 million. The
West Coast Estuaries Initiative for the California
Coast is a focused effort under EPA's Targeted
Watersheds Grant Program (TWG). Proposals must
be received by November 15, 2007. For more detailed
information including eligibility, submittal instructions
and selection criteria, please refer to: http://www.epa.gov/region09/funding/wcei.html.
4
October 2007 - SCCOOS participates in Southern
California Bight '08 Regional Monitoring Program kick-off
meeting The 2008 Bight Regional Monitoring
effort kicked-off on 19 September 2007 at a
meeting convened by the Southern California
Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) in
Costa Mesa, California. Over 130 attendees
participated in breakout group discussions
to identify interested organizations and develop
a set of preliminary monitoring questions within
the areas of coastal ecology, offshore water
quality, beach water quality, areas of special
biological significance, rocky habitat, and
wetlands. Planning committees will further
refine monitoring questions and work to develop
the study design for these issue areas. For
more information, contact SCCWRP at sccwrp.org or
714-755-3200.
4 October
2007 - Radiowave Operators
Working Group (ROWG) meets at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
A workshop was conducted 10-13 September 2007
at Scripps Institution of Oceanography for representatives
of the HF radar technical community from around
the nation. The main goal of the workshop was
to garner input from participants into a "Best
Practices" document highlighting the many aspects
of HF radar operation including siting requirements,
communications, supporting equipment, software
settings, data management, and quality assurance/quality
control. The workshop was supported through IOOS
funding as part of an effort to bring the HF
Radar technical community together for discussions
on field installations, radar operation, software
programming, and site integration.
1
October 2007 - West Coast Governors Release draft Action Plan
Following the West Coast Governors' Agreement
on Ocean Health, the states of Washington, Oregon,
and California are expected to release a draft
action plan the first week of October 2007. The
draft plan contains proposed actions relating
to clean water, improved habitat, ecosystem-based
management, alternative energy development, research
and monitoring, ocean literacy, and sustainable
coastal communities. The plan will be open for
public comment for the month of October. The
final plan is anticipated for release in December
2007. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Minerals Management Service, and NOAA are the
Federal co-leads for the action plan, with the
Northwest Fisheries Science Center serving as
the NOAA lead. NOAAŐs Coastal Services Center
and Northwest Fisheries Science Center are providing
staff support and technical assistance to both
Federal and State efforts. The draft plan will
be available online at www.westcoastoceans.gov.
For more information, contact Usha.Varanasi@noaa.gov or Rebecca.Smyth@noaa.gov.
11 September 2007
- The Sixth National
Monitoring Conference - Monitoring:
Key to Understanding our Waters is being
held 18-22 May 2008 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Abstracts are due 24 September 2007. To view
a flyer of the conference announcement, click
here.
Information also is available on the website.
There is interest in having the IOOS community
participate and/or help organize Session 2 on
observational systems and measurement technologies.
If you are interested in participating, contact
Dr. M.J.
Hameedi.
11
September 2007 - The Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal
Network (MARINe) Workshop is being held 19-20
October 2007, in Crissy Field, San Francisco,
hosted by the the Gulf of the Farallones Marine
Sanctuary. The workshop begins Friday 19 October
at 1:00 pm and ends Saturday, 20 October at
4:00. The keynote speaker is Bill Douros, Manager
for the Marine Sanctuaries off California. Additional
small group meetings are being planned. The MARINe
Database meeting will be on Friday morning 8:30-12:30;
the Rocky Intertidal Health meeting is planned
for Friday evening. For more information about
the workshop, contact Mary Elaine Helix, MARINe
Program Manager at MaryElaine.Helix@mms.gov or
Jack Engle, MARINe Coordinator at j_engle@lifesci.ucsb.edu.
For more information about MARINe, click here.
10
September 2007 - The California Ocean Protection
Council (OPC) is soliciting nominations for the
new Science Advisory Team (OPC-SAT). The goal
of the OPC-SAT is to ensure that the best available
science is applied to policy decisions made by
the OPC. Members of the OPC-SAT will develop
recommendations on scientific issues and facilitate
discussion of research priorities. The deadline
for submission of nominations is September 14.
2007. More information about the OPC-SAT and
the nomination process can be found on the OPC
web site here.
12
AUGUST 2007
- Network of Channel Islands federal waters marine
zones now in effect. NOAA has completed a network
of marine zones in the federal waters of Channel
Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The zones,
designed to protect marine habitats and sensitive
species, went into effect 29 July 2007 and complement
an existing network of marine zones established
in 2003 for the area by the State of California.
The federal action adds nine new marine zones,
eight of which are no-take marine reserves and
one limited take marine conservation area. Marine
reserves prohibit all extractive activities and
injury to sanctuary resources, and marine conservation
areas allow commercial and recreational lobster
fishing and recreational fishing for pelagic
species. NOAA's action creates a marine protected
area (MPA) network of about 318 square miles,
the largest network in the continental United
States. To read the press release, click
here.
For more information and to view a map of the
marine zones network, click
here .
31
JULY 2007 -
The California
Ocean Protection Council (OPC) is soliciting
nominations for members of the California Ocean
Protection Council Science Advisory Team (OPC-SAT).
The OPC-SAT provides a unique opportunity for
scientists to help incorporate the best available
science into statewide decisions made by the
OPC. The OPC is a high level council established
by the California Ocean Protection Act of 2004
to ensure that California maintains healthy,
resilient, and productive ocean and coastal ecosystems
for the benefit of current and future generations.
The council consists of the Secretary for Resources
Mike Chrisman (Chair); State Lands Commission
Chair, Lieutenant Gov. John Garamendi; Secretary
for Environmental Protection Linda Adams; two
public members, Susan Golding, CEO and president
of the Golding Group, and Geraldine Knatz, executive
director of the Port of Los Angeles; and two
non voting members, Sen. Darrell Steinberg and
Assemblyman Pedro Nava.
The OPC’s principal mandates
are: (1) to establish policies to coordinate
the collection and sharing of scientific data
between agencies on coast and ocean resources,
and (2) to improve the effectiveness of state
efforts to protect ocean resources. In order
to carry out these provisions, the OPC developed
a Five-Year Strategic Plan that calls for the
establishment of a Science Advisory Team.
For more information about the nomination process,
click
here.
9 JULY 2007 -
As part of a series of public meetings on the
West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health,
a meeting will be held on 25 July 2007, in conjunction
with the Coastal Zone '07 conference in Portland,
OR. The meeting will include presentations and
question and answer sessions about the West Coast
Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health, as well
as opportunities to hear suggestions and priorities
for actions to implement the agreement. The WCGA
meeting is open to the public; you need not be
registered for the conference to attend. A public
workshop will be held in California in October
2007.
July 25, 2007, 3:30-5:30pm
Hilton Hotel, 921 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland,
OR
For more information, visit westcoastoceans.gov.
27 JUNE 2007
- A special session on ocean observing will be
held at the PICES (North Pacific Marine Science
Organization) Annual Meeting 26 October - 5 November
2007, in Victoria, BC, Canada. Abstracts are
due 1 July 2007. Papers are welcome on: scientific
discoveries made possible by ocean observing
systems; observed climate impacts on ocean ecosystems
and fisheries; advanced ocean sensors; autonomous
platforms; data management and exchange; and
interoperability among ocean observatories. The
intention is to have a mixture of scientific
and technical talks on ocean observing systems.
For more information, see the PICES web site here.
24
MAY 2007 - The Coastal Response Research Center
has released its 2007 Annual Request for Proposals
(RFP). Applicants are required to submit a letter
of intent as a prerequisite to the proposal submission.
Priority topic areas for this year are: Biologically/Ecologically-Driven
Spill Response; Habitat Metrics; Submerged Oil;
and Human Dimensions. The full RFP is available
at the Center's website here.
The
Coastal Response Research Center was established
as a partnership between the National Oceanic
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the
Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R),
and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in
2004. The Center is administered by and located
at the UNH campus in Durham, NH. The primary
purpose of the Center is to bring together the
resources of a research-oriented university and
the field expertise of OR&R to conduct and
oversee basic and applied research, conduct outreach,
and encourage strategic partnerships in
spill response, assessment and restoration. Contact
information and details on the Center's funded
research, workshops, and new initiatives can
be found on the Center's website here.
18
MAY 2007 - SCCOOS provides rapid response data
support for ocean outfall repairs. The Orange
County Sanitation District (OCSD) requested data
and product support from SCCOOS as part of a
monitoring contingency plan developed for a facilities
maintenance project that was conducted on Friday,
May 18, 2007. Repairs took place in the early
morning during low flows, and OCSD diverted and
stored incoming and treated wastewater within
the delivery and treatment systems during the
repair. SCCOOS provided local views of modeled
surf zone waves and currents, near real-time
meteorological observations, and surface currents
for use by OCSD and the Orange County Health
Care Agency. Programmers also initiated a plume
tracking simulation at the inshore location for
tracking surfacing discharge in the event a diversion
was necessary. For more information, click here.
16
MAY 2007 - Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI),
Inc., has selected UC San Diego to design and
construct information technology and networking
for the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI).
The initial $29 million Cyberinfrastructure (CI)
award is for six years, and total funding may
reach more than $42 million over the course of
the planned 11-year project. The University of
Washington was awarded $2.2 million for the first
year planning phase of the Regional Cabled Node
of the OOI off the Washington and Oregon coastlines.
For more information, click here.
13 APRIL 2007
- Scripps
Institution of Oceanography co-hosted a meeting
with NOAA on 6 April, to develop recommendations
for standard operating practices for surface
current mapping HF radar systems. The meeting
was attended by HF radar experts from around
the country as well as the principal operators
of the growing HF radar network which comprises
the State of California Coastal Ocean Currents
Monitoring Program (COCMP). The operators of
the network are the Southern California Coastal
Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) and the Central
and Northern California California Ocean Observing
System (CeNCOOS). To learn more about COCMP,
see www.cocmp.org.
13 APRIL 2007 -The California
Coastal Coalition (CalCoast) will conduct its
Sacramento Forum: The Coast
and California's Watersheds: Investing in our
Natural Infrastructure,
24-25 April 2007. The focus of this
year's CalCoast/Wetlands Recovery Project Sacramento
Forum will be the status of bond proceeds, particularly
from Proposition 84, a major coastal, parks and
water bond initiative passed by voters in November
2006, and state budget and legislation that could
create funding for natural resources. The state's
FY 07-08 budget proposes drastic cuts in natural
resource funding (the Resources Agency budget
was cut by 35%) and overall, natural resource
programs only comprise budget roughly 1% of the
total budget. For more information, visit CalCoast
at www.calcoast.org.
13 APRIL 2007 - Registration
is now open for Coastal
Zone 07: Brewing Local Solutions to Your Coastal
Issues, being held
in Portland, Oregon, 22-26 July 2007.
The conference will feature oral and poster presentations
that use case studies, lessons learned, and success
stories about coastal environment issues. To
view the conference flyer, click
here. Conference
information and registration are available
here.
9 APRIL
2007 - The next meeting of the Ocean Protection
Council will be held 17 April 2007, at 12:00
noon, at the Beach Resort Monterey, in Monterey,
California. The meeting agenda and other information
are available at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/04-17-07_meeting.
26
MARCH 2007
- Public Workshops on California Marine Life
Protection Act Initiative
Public workshops are
being held in the North Central Coast on March
26 and March 27 to discuss the second phase of
the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative.
The focus of the workshops is the MLPA North
Central Coast Study Region. The study region
is bounded in the north at Alder Creek (Mendocino
County) and in the south at Pigeon Point (San
Mateo County). The MLPA Initiative is a public-private
partnership designed to help the State of California
implement the Marine Life Protection Act. Each
workshop will begin with a brief presentation
to describe the second phase of the MLPA Initiative,
followed by discussions about the challenges,
opportunities, and expectations of the upcoming
process. More information and meeting details
are available here.
Questions may be directed to Melissa Miller-Henson
at 916.654.2506 or Melissa@resources.ca.gov.
7 FEBRUARY 2007
- The California Ocean Protection Council's (COPC)
next meeting will be held 8 February 2007 in
Santa Monica at the Doubletree Guest Suites.
The meeting agenda may be accessed here.
This meeting may be viewed via live webcast here.
Additional information about the meeting may
be found on the COPC meeting site here.
Coastal
GeoTools ‘07 Conference - The
early registration discount deadline is 8 January
2007, for the GeoTools '07 Conference, being
held 5-8 March 2007, in Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina.
Coastal GeoTools ‘07 is a conference for
coastal management professionals to share technical
knowledge and experiences, discover promising new
tools and techniques, and learn about available
training, data, and technology resources. Participants
in GeoTools ‘07 will share best practices
in the areas of geospatial data access, interoperability
standards, and application development, all in
an inspiring environment that encourages collaboration
and partnerships. For registration and important
dates, visit: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/geotools.
27
NOVEMBER 2006 - SCCOOS
collaborates with City of Los Angeles to provide
environmental data support for the Hyperion
Discharge SCCOOS was contacted by the City of Los Angeles
City of Los Angeles Environmental Monitoring
Division to provide ocean data support for
a discharge scheduled for 28-30 November 2006
one mile off the coast of Santa Monica Bay.
Organizations coordinating the data support
for this event include City of Los Angeles
Environmental Monitoring Division, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, University of
Southern California, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
and University of California, Los Angeles.
Surface
current maps, derived from an array of HF radars,
are being used to assist in tracking the discharge
plume offshore of the beaches. The California
State Coastal Conservancy has funded the installation
of the HF radars array as part of the statewide
ocean currents monitoring program, COCMP, with
additional operational support received from
NOAA. Wave-driven currents within the surf
zone are being forecasted to provide estimates
of how far down-coast the sewage may move once
it reaches shore. The research vessel R/V Seaworld
will conduct boat-based tracking of the discharge
plume, in addition to phytoplankton and nutrient
sampling. Remote sensing data from satellites
(clouds permitting) will be made available
to optically track
the spatial extent of the discharge's surface
plume. Up-to-date wind and rain observations
and forecasts also are being conducted. A link
to this environmental data support on the
SCCOOS web site is available here.
To learn more about the Hyperion Treatment
Plant, click here.
12
NOVEMBER 2006 - Near-realtime data from the
SCCOOS San Diego Buoy, located off-shore
of Del Mar, California are now streaming to
the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) online
archive. Current observations include wind
speed, water temperature, and salinity. The
data are updated every 20 minutes on the NDBC
site and are available here.
The data are also available from the SCCOOS
website here.
NDBC is a
program within the National Weather Service
(NWS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).
7
NOVEMBER 2006 - SCCOOS and CDIP representatives
attended the IOOS Regional Coordination
Workshop in Chicago, IL, on 7-9 November.
The workshop focused on coordination of
the efforts of regional ocean observing
associations, such as SCCOOS, with the
development of the federal Integrated Ocean
Observing System (IOOS). Among the participants
were the eleven Regional Associations,
NOAA, Ocean.US, Office of Naval Research,
Army Corps of Engineers, NSF, and SAIC.
A presentation was provided on SCCOOS's
coastal water quality monitoring program
to address public health. Check back for
workshop notes and publications.
24
OCTOBER 2006 - The next California Ocean
Protection Council meeting will be held 28
November at 9:30 a.m. in Room 4203 of the
State Capitol, Sacramento, California. The
meeting agenda will be available here by
November 18 and briefing documents will be
posted by the meeting date.
21
OCTOBER 2006 - A SCCOOS presentation was given
at the Mutli-Agency Rocky Inter-tidal Network
(MARINe) during its two-day workshop conducted
at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and
attendees explored opportunities to collaborate
and exchange data with SCCOOS. MARINe, a network
of scientists from 23 public agencies,
universities, and private and volunteer organizations,
monitors important shoreline resources,
provides needed data, and fosters a better
understanding of the dynamics of rocky intertidal
communities in the Southern California Bight.
Sites are monitored from San Luis Obispo
County to San Diego County on the mainland
and offshore Channel Islands. More information
about MARINe can be found here.
19
OCTOBER 2006 - Huntington Beach demonstration
underway and online
Huntington Beach 06, a significant nearshore
and surfzone demonstration project is underway. The demonstration is funded principally by the Coastal Conservancy’s
Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program, but has grown in scope through sponsored
research programs funded by the Orange County Sanitation District, Office of
Naval Research, USGS, and California Sea Grant. In addition, NOAA recently conducted
a high resolution bathymetry survey to support the efforts in the region. The
San Pedro bay area was selected because of its chronic water quality problems
and availability of historic data. The demonstration is looking at factors
affecting nearshore transport and mixing of pollutants and test models of simulated
pollutant dispersal.
Components
of the study include surfzone currents, transport,
and modeling, AUV mapping, nearshore drifters,
and nearshore moorings. Augmenting components
are HF radar, remote sensing, offshelf gliders,
pier-based sensors, ROMS modeling, and underway
CTDs. Objectives of the demonstration are to
improve predictive capability for transport
in the nearshore region, improve pollutants
management, and foster generation of a variety
of products for coastal users.
The
Huntington Beach site was visited on 22 September
2006, by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, whose
46th District includes the Pacific coastline
of Orange County and Los Angeles from Huntington
Beach to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the
Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. SCCOOS
representatives Dr. Robert Guza, Dr. Burt
Jones, Dr. Carter Ohlmann, George Robertson,
and SIO Government Relations staff Kathleen
Ritzman and Chris Cohen participated in the
site visit.
The
SCCOOS HB06 group web site is
now up and receiving data feed from the demonstration.
The site is useful as both a data portal and
for an overall descriptor of the activities
taking place. The site provides a project
description, description of activities, calendar,
and an interactive map of deployed assets (subsetted
into surfzone, nearshore region, and San Pedro
Bay region). Access the Huntington Beach demonstration
web site including a description of the program
and realtime data displays can be found here.
Data
now online at the HB06 site are:
- nearshore
waves, surfzone current predictions,
and shoreline bathymetry
- realtime
currents, temperature, and salinity observations
from two nearhore ocean moorings
- coastal
meteorological observations in the area
- high
resolution COAMPS and MM5 surface winds
and precipitation nowcasts and forecasts
for HB and SCB
- shoreline
water quality data from Orange County Department
of Environmental Health
- AUV
operations
- ocean
glider operations and near realtime data
- drifter
operations
- ocean
simulations
- satellite
imagery (ocean color, sst, and visible, IR)
- HF
radar surface currents for the HB06 domain
at 6km and 2km
20
SEPTEMBER 2006 - SCCOOS
at California and the World Ocean ’06
(CWO) Conference
The
importance of ocean observing in the state
was underscored at the California and the World
Conference ’06 held 17-20 September 2006
in Long Beach, California, beginning with the
opening plenary featuring remarks by retired
Navy Vice Admiral and NOAA Administrator Conrad
Lautenbacher. SCCOOS was a co-sponsor of the
conference, provided numerous oral presentations
and posters, and featured a joint exhibit with
CeNCOOS highlighting the existing capabilities
and applications of California’s ocean
observing systems.
John
Orcutt chaired a session on California's Ocean
Observatories, with talks given by Heather
Kerkering and Toby Garfield (CeNCOOS), Stephanie
Peck (SCCOOS), John Largier (Bodega Marine Lab),
and Jonathan Phinney (PacCOOS). A session on
Management Applications of Ocean Infrastructure
and Technology was chaired by Margaret Davidson
of NOAA and featured several presentations focusing
on coastal observations and management issues
in Huntington Beach, California’s dispersed
oil monitoring plan, efforts of the Central Bight
Water Quality Group to integrate data with SCCOOS,
and the development of new products to address
shoreline water quality issues. To view these
presentations, click
here. Web
casts of several of the conference sessions
are available here.
An
interactive, joint SCCOOS and CeNCOOS exhibit
drew the attention of many conference attendees.
The exhibit featured SCCOOS and CeNCOOS activities,
research, and data products on a new display
system for high resolution scientific visualization.
The display consisted of 15 24" panels arranged
in a 5 wide and 3 tall grid. The cumulative resolution
of the display wall is nearly 30 million pixels
and was built by the Scripps Visualization Center
with support from the Center for Earth Observations
and Applications. For more information and to
view photos of the exhibit at the CWO ’06
Conference exhibit, click
here.
20
SEPTEMBER 2006 - Senior Advisory Committee holds inaugural
meeting
The
inaugural meeting of SCCOOS’s Senior
Advisory Committee was held during the CWO ‘06
conference in Long Beach. The committee membership
includes representatives of 18 local, state,
and federal agencies and industry. At the meeting,
SAC members received an orientation folder, information
about their role and expected activities, and
had the opportunity to meet and talk with other
members and with the SCCOOS Board of Governors.
To view a list of Senior Advisory Committee members, click here.
31
AUGUST 2006 - Two SIO SCCOOS moorings were
deployed at Huntington Beach in support
of the HB06 field experiment. Data are
now flowing from the sensors aboard the
two moorings to the SCCOOS data system
at SIO via a wireless network link. A
public website serving the data will
be published in the near future.
16
AUGUST 2006 - Abstracts for the upcoming American
Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco
are due 7 September. We encourage SCCOOS PI's
and participants to participate if possible.
Some relevant sessions are listed here, although
there are many others more discipline specific
that can be viewed through the conference
website - here.
Abstract
submission guidelines can be found here. If you are not an AGU member, you will need
a sponsor to submit as first author. Please
contact Carolyn Keen at cskeen@ucsd.edu if
you need assistance with this.
10
AUGUST 2006 - Draft concurrent sessions are
now available for the upcoming California
and the World Ocean Conference '06, to
be held in Long Beach on 17-20 September.
A session on California's Ocean Observatories
will provide an overview of the various
observatories underway in California.
All draft sessions can be viewed here.
Oral
presentations about and/or related to
SCCOOS can be accessed here.
29
JULY 2006 - The National Weather Service is
sponsoring a Tsunami Workshop from 9:30 am
until 12:30 pm at the Town and Country Convention
Center in Mission Valley, San Diego. The workshop
is open to the public. For more information,
you can view the invitation here.
27
JUNE 2006 - California Ocean Protection Council
8 June meeting highlights are now available
here.
 21
JUNE 2006 - The Joint Ocean Commission's "From
Sea to Shining Sea: Priorities for Ocean Policy
Reform," a report to the United
States Senate, is now available online here.
16
JUNE 2006 - SCCOOS has compiled post-conference
materials for the 24-25 April 2006 Southern
California Marine Monitoring Conference IV. Click
here to access the event documents.
13
JUNE 2006 - Registration is now open
for the California and the World Ocean ‘06 Conference (CWO ‘06).
CWO ‘06 will be an opportunity
to hear from leaders and innovators working to
address ocean and coastal issues in California
and around the world. The conference will emphasize
the need to move from planning for future actions,
to taking action to protect our ocean and coast.
Online registration and updates can be found
on the CWO ’06 Web site at resources.ca.gov/ocean/cwo06.
8
JUNE 2006 - The California Ocean Protection
Council's (COPC) next meeting will be held
in Monterey at the Hyatt Regency. The meeting
agenda can be accessed here [link to attached
agenda]. The COPC's Five-Year Strategic Plan
and briefing documents are available online
at http://resources.ca.gov/copc/6-8-06_meeting/.
25
MAY 2006 - Heal the Bay's Annual California
Beach Report Card for 2005-06 has been released,
and can be accessed here: http://www.healthebay.org/brc/annual/default.asp.
An article by the San Diego Union Tribune on
the report's assessment of San Diego beaches
is also available here
as a pdf.
15
MAY 2006 - The California Ocean Protection
Council (OPC) has announced the next OPC meeting
to be held 8 June 2006, 9a.m., Hyatt Regency
Monterey, 1 Old Golf Course Road, Monterey,
California. The meeting agenda and other
information will be available here
on May 26.
Power
plants' toll on marine life has state panels
set to consider legislation
14
April 2006, San Diego Union Tribune
Each day, the
21 power plants along California's coast pull
in nearly 17 billion gallons of seawater.
The ocean water is used as a kind of radiator fluid to help cool the systems
that generate 40 percent of the state's electricity.
But the practice has killed billions of fish
eggs, larvae and other marine life. Such depletion
of the ocean food chain – 80 square miles of coastal habitat are affected daily – has
gone on for decades. On
Monday, the State Lands Commission will
consider a resolution to deny new leases for power
plants that use once-through cooling.
Three days later, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's year-old Ocean Protection Council
will examine the issue and possibly recommend
legislation to address environmentalists'
concerns.
Click
here to view the full story
5
APRIL 2006 - The Coastal Data Information
Program (CDIP) dedicated a web display program
to the Ocean Institute in Dana Point on 25
March 2006. This exhibit (which includes an
actual wave buoy) accesses data from the CDIP
buoy deployed approximately 4 miles west of
Dana Point. The exhibit will be used as an
educational tool for all generations to further
understanding of the principals of physical
oceanography. The web display may be accessed here.
 5
APRIL 2006 - The Ocean Observation System
Coalition Legislative Update is now available
online. The Update includes recent information
on the Senate IOOS approps letter and
other legislative activity in support of IOOS. Click
here to download as a pdf.
4
APRIL 2006 - The California Ocean Protection
Council (OPC) has announced
the next OPC meeting to be held April
20, 2006, 8:30 a.m., Coastal Hearing
Room, CalEPA Building, 1001 I Street,
Sacramento, California. The meeting agenda
and other information will be available
here by
10 April.
3
APRIL 2006 - 53rd annual Eastern Pacific Ocean
Conference (EPOC) will held 27-30 Sept 2006
at Timberline Lodge, Oregon. For more information
about this event, click
here.
3
APRIL 2006 - Time
Series of the Northeast Pacific: A symposium
to mark the 50th anniversary of Line-P will
be held 5-8 July 2006 at the Victoria Conference
Centre in Victoria, BC, Canada.For more information
about this event, including deadlines, click
here.
28
MARCH 2006 - The public comment period on the
development of the Ocean Research Priorities
Plan (ORPP) is now OPEN. Interested
parties are encouraged to review the planning
document and provide input (click
here to do so). In
addition to the public comment period, the
National Science and Technology Council Joint
Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology
is holding a public
workshop on April 18-20, 2006 in Denver, CO,
to solicit input and guidance from the ocean
science communities on the development of the
ORPP.
Called
for in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan, the ORPP,
in conjunction with a follow-on Implementation
Strategy, will describe a vision for U.S.
ocean science and technology, describe the
challenges to be addressed, identify key themes,
specify goals for each theme and a time frame
for their achievement, and address implications
for the use or prioritization of resources.
The draft Ocean Research Priorities Plan will
be formulated using the input from both the
workshop and the public comment period,
Members
from the research community, ocean educators,
government representatives (federal, state,
tribal, and local), industry groups, international
representatives, non-governmental organizations,
and any individuals interested in helping guide
national ocean research are invited to attend
the workshop and contribute to the public comment.
Contact: Shelby E. Walker (swalker@usgcrp.gov).
27
MARCH 2006 - State health officer advises consumers
not to eat some shellfish and viscera of sardines,
anchovies, and crab from southern California
coast. The official release can be viewed here
as a pdf.
23
MARCH 2006 - 17 US Senators send letter supporting
the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)
to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The
letter can be accessed here
as a pdf.
23
MARCH 2006 - The UNOLS Scientific Committee
for Oceanographic Aircraft Research (SCOAR)
is hosting a conference on the use of airborne
platforms in oceanographic and marine meteorological
research, to held at the Moss Landing Marine
Laboratories 24-25 May 2006. More information
on the meeting can be accessed here.
22
MARCH 2006 - The Coastal Data
Information Program (CDIP) installed a wave buoy SW of the Coronado Islands.
This buoy is a great asset to the CDIP program, as it will be an excellent
indicator of south swell, resulting in improved nowcasts/forecasts models. The
data from this buoy are accessible at
cdip.ucsd.edu.
 22
MARCH 2006 - Potentially toxic Pseudo-nitzschia
bloom off of Scripps Pier on 13 and 16 March
2006. Phytoplankton samples from Scripps
Pier showed high numbers of the potentially
toxic marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia australis.
SIO SCCOOS researchers observed cell numbers
of 7.0 x 104 cells l- Pseudo-nitzschia australis.
The researchers do not yet have assay results
for the toxin domoic acid (DA), which is
associated with this species. However, one
sea lion with possible domoic acid poisoning
was rescued in Encinitas on 18 March 2006 from
the Seaworld rescue team. On 9 March 2006,
a toxic Pseudo-nitzschia bloom was reported
from San Pedro Channel in Los Angeles, with
associated poisoning of 18 sea lions (Schnetzer & Caron,
USC). Toxic levels for California are~ 5
x 104 cells l-1 Pseudo-nitzschia australis,
the concentration at which mussels and fish
reach average toxin levels considered unfit
for human consumption (Silver, unpubl. data). Click
here to download the report as a pdf.
20
MARCH 2006 - The California Ocean Protection
Council looks forward to public participation
in its workshops next week on the OPC’s
Draft Five-Year Strategic Plan (online
here).
To submit written comments
on this draft, follow
the instructions here to
do so by March 29. The
Council will
be seeking public feedback on the mission
and role of the Ocean Protection Council
as described in Sections I and II, as well
as on the potential goals, objectives, and
actions that have been identified in Section
III. Tthe workshops have been structured
to maximize the opportunity for partcipants
to provide their thoughts and recommendations.
2
MARCH 2006 - National Federation of Regional
Associations (NFRA)
spring meeting will be held Thursday, March
9 and Friday March 10, 2006 at the CORE
Offices, 1201 New York Avenue Washington, DC.
The NFRA Spring March Meeting Agenda is now
available. Click
here to download the pdf.
 2
MARCH
2006 - Registration is now available for Southern
California Marine Monitoring Conference
IV to
be held 24-25 April 2006 at the Aquarium
of the Pacific in Long Beach. Co-hosts for
this event include: USC's Wrigley Institute
for Environmental Studies, SCCOOS and Catalina
Conservancy Divers. Click
here to view the full invitation (as
a pdf). Note:
Online registration was closed 17 April.
Late registration will be permitted on an
as available basis the day of the event
at a cost of $50. To find out how to register
for this event, click
here.
28
FEBRUARY 2006 - The California Ocean Protection
Council invites applications for the position
of Executive Policy Officer for the California
Ocean Protection Council (OPC). The Executive
Policy Officer of the California OPC will
report to the Council Chair and will be the
primary policy analyst for the OPC. The Executive
Policy Officer assumes the lead role for strategic
planning and implementation of the OPC’s
policies, initiatives, and programs as well
as coordination among all State entities
associated with the purview. Please view
the job announcement pdf on the OPC website
for more information: click
here.
28
FEBRUARY 2006 - The California Ocean Protection
Council (OPC)
has issued an open invitation to its
Science Focus Session on the
OPC Strategic Plan on
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 from
3-5pm
in the auditorium (first floor)
of the San Jose State Building (address:
100 Paseo de San Antonio
San Jose, California).
The OPC staff is soliciting early input on the issues and goals that should
drive the OPC’s strategic initiatives for the next five years as well as feedback
on the proposed strategic plan framework (pdf).
The OPC
encourages interested parties—who are unable
to participate in the meeting—to submit written comments (see
instructions here).
This session will focus on the Draft Strategic Plan Outline: Mission and Goals
(pdf).
The OPC has adopted the California Ocean and
Coastal Information, Research, and Outreach
Strategy that will be integrated into its strategic
plan. For more information, visit http://resources.ca.gov/copc/strategic_plan.html.
22
FEBRUARY 2006 - As
co-chairs of California and the World Ocean
Conference 2006 (CWO ’06), Secretary
for Resources Mike Chrisman, State Controller
Steve Westly, and Secretary for Environmental
Protection Alan Lloyd invite you to submit
an abstract for an oral or poster presentation.
This international conference, organized
by the California Resources Agency, the
California Environmental Protection Agency,
and the Coastal Conservancy Association,
will be held September 17-20, 2006 at the
Hyatt Regency, Long Beach, California,
U.S.A. For more information, click
here.
13-14
FEBRUARY 2006 - A
SCCOOS planning meeting was held at UCLA.
Minutes and other meeting materials will
soon be made available at this site. The
agenda, and other pre-meeting information
can be accessed here.
 6
FEBRUARY 2006 - The Ocean Observatories Initiative
is included as a new start in the President's
FY07 budget, with a total of $309.5M
over the life of the program. The MRE-FC
budget can be accessed here
(pdf).
2
FEBRUARY 2006 - SouthEast Atlantic Coastal
Ocean Observing System (SEACOOS) has
announced it will host a Southeast
Regional Data Management Workshop, March
9-10, 2006 in Chapel Hill, NC entitled
Data Sharing and Data Quality
of Ocean Currents and Temperature towards
an Operational Data Management System
for the Southeast Region.
The
main goal for this two-day workshop is to discuss
data sharing, translation, and quality assurance
of ocean currents and ocean temperature in
context of a Regional Assocation (RA). The
focus will be on data formats, processes, and
tools to share data. This
workshop is part of a larger effort to move
towards building data management infrastructure
for the future Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (
SECOORA).
This event is hosted by the Data
Management Coordinating Committee (DMCC)
of the SouthEast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing
System (
SEACOOS).
Travel is paid for the first forty registrants. You can register
here.
 1
FEBRUARY 2006 - In
late January of 2006, a potential harmful
algal bloom (HAB) was visible in La Jolla
and Del Mar
coastal waters. The Scripps Pier Chlorophyll
Program and Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)
researchers have produced a brief report on
this bloom. To access the
report, click here: Documenting
a dinoflagellate bloom off Scripps pier - a
report from the Pier Chlorophyll Program. Chlorophyll
and HAB data will soon be available at the SCCOOS
web site.
1
FEBRUARY 2006 I.M.
Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG) (www.imsg.com)
is looking for a motivated individual to join the
Coastal Management Services branch of the NOAA
Coastal Services Center (Center), a federal facility
in Charleston, South Carolina. Click here for the
full job description.
30
JANUARY 2006 - The
California Ocean Protection Council announces
initiatives on ecosystem-based management.
For more information visit www-csgc.ucsd.edu and www.usc.edu/org/seagrant.
30
JANUARY 2006 - The
California Sea Grant College Program is now
soliciting preliminary proposals for projects
to begin February 1, 2007. Faculty and academic
staff members from universities throughout
California are invited to apply. For more information,
access the California Sea Grant website here.
30
JANUARY 2006 - The
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
is hosting its second Forum on
Earth Observations 15-16 Feb.
15-16 in La Jolla, California.
The Forum is a premier event for networking
within a diverse community of Earth observations
providers and users. This two-day event will
convene business, academic, non-government
and government leaders to address key issues
in the planning and implementation of a global
Earth observation system. For more information,
access the Forum website here.
15
DECEMBER 2005 updated
25 JANUARY 2006 - The
next SCCOOS planning meeting will be held
at UCLA's Institute of the Environment on
13 and 14 February (Monday and Tuesday) 2006.
The format and agenda are under development,
but please hold the date.
A
summary of the draft agenda:
- Monday:
Overview of, discussion and vote on SCCOOS
bylaws; Overview of, discussion and vote on
appointment of SCCOOS Senior Advisory Committee;
Operational update; Federal and state update;
SCCOOS Executive Steering Committee update;
SCCOOS working group reports; Overview of SCCOOS
strategic plan
- Tuesday:
Continued review of strategic plan; Strategic
planning for next steps (possibly w/break out
groups); Presentations on and discussion of
potential future projects; Working lunch
23-25
JANUARY 2006 - Eric Terrill
presented at the JOSS sponsored Public
Health Risks: Coastal Observations For Decision
Making in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Attendees at the workshop included a nationwide
gathering of health officers and beach managers,
representatives from NIH, NIEHS, NSF, NOAA,
and USGS, as well as Paul diGiacomo (JPL),
Steve Weisberg (SCCWRP),
Mark Gold, (Heal the Bay) and
Larry Honeybourne (Orange County Department of Environmental Health) from the
Southern California region. Eric's presentation
can be accessed here
(pdf). An
agenda can be accessed here
(pdf). A
poster presented by SCCOOS can be accessed here
(pdf).
25
JANUARY 2006 - The NFRA Spring March Meeting
will be held 9-10 March 2006 in the Washington
DC CORE Offices. It is recommended participants
planning to attend the meeting consider
making travel reservations as soon as possible. Cick
here for a list of area hotels.
Meeting
Schedule:
- Thursday,
March 9th 9:00 to 5:00 (NFRA only session)
- Friday,
March 10th 9:00 to 2:00 p.m. (Meeting
with Ocean.US and other federal agencies)
Probable
agenda items include: Adoption of NFRA
by-laws; Communication Plan; Ocean.US Certification
Criteria Review (very important! Draft
is expected soon); IOOS DMAC and NFRA; Update
on the Ad Hoc Ocean Coalition’s
Legislative Efforts; and other relevant
issues.
24
JANUARY 2006 - The Science Advisor/Executive
Director will serve as lead scientific
staff to the OPC by coordinating all scientific
aspects of the planning and implementation
of COPA. The position will also serve as the
lead administrator for the CalOST and will
provide creative leadership to the trust in
its efforts to apply the best science available
to California ocean management. The Executive
Director/Science Advisor will manage the creation
and ongoing activities of the Science Advisory
Team to meet the science-based management requirements
of COPA.
The
OPC Science Advisory Team (SAT) will be established
to develop scientific recommendations on issues
identified by the OPC through soliciting expert
testimony and synthesizing information for
the generation of policy by OPC. It will seek
to implement the California
Ocean and Coastal Information, Research, and
Outreach Strategy and
to ensure that projects brought before the
OPC meet scientific standards and established
OPC funding guidelines. The SAT will provide
technical advice on applicable agenda items;
and perform other duties as requested by the
OPC. The OPC Science Advisor will perform
the following duties under direction of the
OPC Executive Officer and Chair and in conjunction
with Council Secretary:
- Operations: Assume overall responsibility
for all operational aspects of the OPC Science
Advisory Team.
- Strategic Planning: Provide technical advice
on the development and implementation of
a strategic plan for the OPC.
- Funding: Provide technical advice on OPC
funding priorities and projects.
- CalOST Executive Director Responsibilities
- The CalOST Executive Director will perform
the following duties under direction of the
CalOST Board.
- Operations: Assume overall responsibility
for all operational aspects of CalOST.
- Strategic Planning: Implement the adopted
strategic plan for the CalOST.
- Funding: Seek sources of monies for CalOST
projects and activities. Develop priorities
for CalOST projects.
Desired Qualifications. M.S. or PhD in ocean/coastal
related field. Five years or more experience
in managing organizations and applying science
to resource management. Experience in fundraising
and budget management is desirable.
- Location: Oakland, California
- Timing: Position will remain open until filled,
but applications will be evaluated on Feb.
15, 2006.
- Compensation: $100,000 to 120,000 per year
contract
Application Instructions. Please mail a cover
letter and resume/CV addressed to Brian Baird,
Assistant Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy,
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311, Sacramento, CA
95814. Email submissions to penny.harding@resources.ca.gov will be accepted, but please follow with hard
copy.
24
JANUARY 2006 - A
Santa Monica Bay Observatory/San Pedro Channel
Data meeting will be held at USC on Wednesday
February 15 from 1-6:00 pm. The goal of
the meeting is to bring together scientists interested
in sharing research and exploring potential
collaborations in biogeochemical/ecological
timeseries research in the waters off Los Angeles--in
particular those involved with the Santa Monica
Bay Observatory (SMBO) and the San Pedro
Ocean Timeseries (SPOT) programs. For more
information, to RSVP (the meeting is open,
but RSVP's are requested), or if you are interested
in presenting, please contact Niki Gruber
at ngruber@ucla.edu.
23
JANUARY 2006 - Dolores Wesson, outreach coordinator
for NOAA's Coastal Storms Southern California
pilot, and Senior Analyst for PaCOOS, will
present an overview of SCCOOS at the The
Third Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts,
and Islands held at UNESCO in Paris, France
23-28 January, 2006. The conference aims to
mobilize high-level policy attention, topical
working groups, analytical papers and other
contributions to provide a review of progress
achieved and obstacles faced in the implementation
of international targets on oceans, coasts,
and small island developing States. www.globaloceans.org/paris3/index.html
19
JANUARY 2006 - SCCOOS briefed Katie Whelan,
Special Advisor to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,
and Carolyn Henrich, Legislative
Director for Education at UCOP's Office
of Federal Government Relations, to discuss
the State and Federal partnerships that
support the development of ocean observing
activities in the State. Of particular
interest was leveraging SCCOOS NOAA COTS
funding with the State Wide California
Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring program
that is managed by the State Coastal
Conservancy.
12
JANUARY 2006 - The California Ocean
Protection Council (OPC) will meet 13 January
to consider ecosystem protection, invasive
species, and coastal ocean floor mapping projects.
The meeting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. will be
held at the Administration Building, Board
of Supervisors Hearing Room, Santa Barbara,
Calif. A live broadcast of the meeting will
be shown on the council’s
Web site.
“All
of these projects and programs are innovative
approaches that continue support for ecosystem
based management of California’s
ocean and coastal resources,” said Secretary
for Resources and Council Chair Mike Chrisman. “Both
the U.S. and Pew ocean commissions have emphasized
that ocean protection must address relationships
among all parts of the ecosystem, including
humans and their environments. The proposals
we’ll
be looking at can help California take bold
new steps in protecting our spectacular coastline.”
The council will consider four projects and
one grant program:
- Morro Bay Ecosystem Based Management
Program
To establish a better
understanding of the ecosystem’s
physical, chemical, biological, and socio-economic
indicators and develop a model that could
be used to monitor other ecosystems in California,
the nation, and the world.
- San Francisco Bay Subtidal
Habitat Goals Project
To create a comprehensive, long-term management
vision for the protection, restoration, and
appropriate use of the subtidal system in
the San Francisco Bay.
- California Aquatic Invasive
Species Management Plan
This proposed statewide
plan would address the introduction of aquatic
invasive species into California waters that
threaten the ecological, social, and economic
well-being of the state’s
water resources.
- Coastal Seafloor Mapping
The proposed mapping of the seafloor off
the northern Central Coast would be used
to support future ecosystem management
efforts, including the Marine Life Management
and Marine Life Protection acts.
- Water Quality Management
The council will consider priorities for
$10 million in State Water Resources Control
Board funds to help implement ecosystem based
water quality
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