18 August 2009 - The Coastal Observing Research and Development Center (CORDC), part of the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) is providing a portable application programming interface (API) for access to HF radar derived surface currents from the National Network. The interface allows web programmers to integrate a standard, interactive Google Maps display into any web page: http://cordc.ucsd.edu/projects/mapping/api/.

Funding for development of this application has been provided through the NOAA IOOS program office and the California State Coastal Conservancy. Visual display and functionality are subject to expansion with code revisions. The api is fully customizable for any web template. This application can be used freely; best efforts will be provided for support without compromising priority tasks. Please direct questions regarding the interface to info@sccoos.org.

Please include the following citation on web displays using this application: "surface current mapping visualization and api provided by CORDC www.cordc.ucsd.edu and SCCOOS www.sccoos.org."

16 June 2009 - Weather Research & Forecasting Model (WRF) wind and precipitation forecasts provided by UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Climate Sensitivity Research Lounge can now be found at http://www.sccoos.org/data/winds/.

SCCOOS operations team has received many inquiries regarding the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) wind and precipitation forecasts. The product has been offline due to a Navy contract procurement lag for available hardware. We plan to enable this product as soon as the model output is available.

26 May 2009 - Due to the ongoing California state budget crisis, the upcoming Ocean Protection Council (OPC) meeting scheduled for 16 July in the Bay Area has been cancelled. Proposed projects, initiatives, and planned discussions will be carried over to the next meeting, as appropriate, scheduled to take place 13 November 2009 in San Diego. The specific location will be posted to the OPC Web site once details are available.

21 May 2009 - A widespread domoic acid poisoning event is taking place as a result of a Pseudo-nitzschia bloom in the waters off southern California. Over the last few months Pseudo-nitzschia has been consistently detected in samples from the Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Orange County regions. Domoic acid has been detected in low concentrations throughout the region from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, based on monitoring from piers. More extensive sampling in coastal waters in the San Pedro Shelf area during April and early May confirmed a domoic acid event with significant levels of domoic acid and Pseudo-nitzschia detected. There have been a substantial number of marine mammal and bird strandings and deaths in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas especially during the past few weeks, and approximately half of the marine mammal samples that have been analyzed were positive for domoic acid.

USC Webb Gliders have shown a subsurface chlorophyll maximum in the thermocline in San Pedro Bay south of Newport Beach and samples confirmed a large population of Pseudo-nitzschia and significant levels of domoic acid. More recently, the gliders have detected a subsurface chlorophyll maximum on the eastside of Catalina Island (no water samples have been obtained). Although the gliders do not measure domoic acid directly, barnacles taken from the gliders after a multi-week deployment showed high concentrations of domoic acid in their tissue. This is further evidence of the prevalence and persistence of domoic acid-producing Pseudo-nitzschia in the region.

This update comes from the efforts of the SCCOOS HAB monitoring team, the NOAA-funded MERHAB RADPALERT project at USC, the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing project at USC, the Orange County and Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, the Fort MacArthur Marine Mammal Care Center, the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center and the International Bird Rescue Research Center.

5 May 2009 - A number of bird and marine mammal strandings have occurred in the past week in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas with a possible link to domoic-acid (DA) poisoning. Significant numbers of the domoic-acid producing diatom Pseudo-nitzschia have been detected at SCCOOS Harmful Algal Bloom study sites at Stearn's Wharf, Newport Pier, and Scripps Pier over the past week. USC Webb Gliders running transects around Catalina Island also show a significant subsurface chlorophyll maximum. Additionally, low levels of domoic acid were detected in and around the Los Angeles Harbor at the end of April.

Scientists from USC will be coordinating with the Los Angeles and Orange County Sanitation Districts to collect seawater samples this week to verify the extent of this event. Further updates will follow as analysis is completed on seawater and marine mammal samples.

14 April 2009 - The next meeting of the California Ocean Protection Council will be held at the California Environmental Protection Agency, Coastal Hearing Room, 2nd Floor, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, CA on 23 April 2009. The meeting agenda is available online here. Additional supporting documents will be posted prior to the meeting date.

23 March 2009 - Want to know how we're using radio waves to monitor the oceans? We've put together a booklet about these questions and more. The booklet is a scenic tour of California's coastline with from an ocean scientist's perspective. We hope you'll take a look.Inside, you'll read about how surface currents are used to track oil spills. We'll demonstrate how and why monitoring platforms are staggared along the coast for optimal coverage. Finally, we'll review the many uses of surface current mapping, from fishing and wildlife preservation to beach contamination and other public health concerns.

11 March 2009 - CBS San Diego featured SCCOOS researcher Eric Terrill in a story about beach water quality testing in San Diego. You can view the video clip here.

19 December 2008 - SCCOOS is seeking to fill a Product Developer position; details about the position and how to apply can be found here.

Graphic generated by OSPR using COCMP radar data. click on image to enlarge.

7 December 2008 - Approximately 1,100 gallons of crude oil was released from a hole in a pump line in the Santa Barbara Channel. California's Office of Spill Prevention & Response (OSPR) contacted SCCOOS the following day to access HF radar data for on-scene support. SCCOOS provided HF radar derived surface current data that was integrated by OSPR into their GIS-based support products and provided to the first responders assembled at the command center established in Carpenteria. Online products of wind and ocean wave conditions were also communicated to OSPR to assist the marine operations. In parallel, the NOAA HAZMAT Seattle office accessed the surface current data for incorporation into their spill trajectory models. The small spill was effectively contained by 9 December. The spill occurred at the same location as the historic 1969 spill that released 4.2 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, and is often credited with initiating the modern day environmental movement.

Earlier in the week, the same coastal current information was used by NOAA HAZMAT to assess risk of the 10,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled south of San Clemente Island by a US Navy vessel. Coastal currents are publicly available in near-realtime off the coast of California as a result of the State's Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program (COCMP).

18 November 2008 - 14 November: Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Executive Order Directing State Agencies to Plan for Sea Level Rise and Climate Impacts. For more information click here.

28 October 2008 - The Marine Life Management Act (MLMA) Lessons Learned Study – Request for Proposals (RFP) is now available; the RFP can be downloaded from the California Ocean Protection Council website and the Department of General Services website.

14 October 2008 (**VENUE CHANGE**)- A Public meeting on climate change adaptation for ocean and coastal resources will be held at Preservation Park Ginn House, "Large Parlor" Room (1233 Preservation Park Way Oakland 94612), 30 October 2008 Oakland, CA from 1:30-3:30 pm. For more information, click here.

29 September 2008 - Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) South Coast Regional Stakeholder Group Meeting will be held 6 October 2008. For more information, click here.

29 September 2008 - Ocean.US is closing down as of 30 September. The International Working Group on Ocean Observations (IWGOO) will oversee coordination of IOOS, and will be housed at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. For more information, click here.

16 September 2008 - The Ocean Protection Council 10-11 September meeting review information is now available. New funding guidelines and OPC program priority documents are also posted for public comment. For more information, click here.

9 September 2008 - 20 September 2008 is the 24th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, organized by the California Coastal Commission. To learn more about the event, and how you can participate, click here.

18 August 2008 - The Ocean Protection Council has announced that the next OPC meeting will be held over two days:10 September 1-5 pm and 11 September 9 am-4 pm at the Oceano Hotel in Half Moon Bay, CA. The meeting agenda and supporting documents will be posted here 10 days prior to the meeting.

18 August 2008 - The draft Ocean Protection Council Program Priorities are available for review and public comment. Click here to access the document. Click here for more information about the program.

5 August 2008 - Two public meetings to discuss the California Ocean Protection Council's future program priorities will be held on 19 and 22 August. For more information, click here.

31 July 2008 - NOAA Announces Funding to Support Ocean Observing in Southern California
NOAA is awarding $853,785 to support ocean observing efforts in Southern California. For more information, click here.

29 July 2008 - West Coast Governors Launch Ocean Action Plan
The Governors of California, Oregon and Washington today joined together via satellite to launch a plan to address challenging ocean and coastal management issues along the West Coast. To learn more about the West Coast Governors’ actions and to read the action plan in its entirety, go to www.westcoastoceans.gov.

28 July 2008 - 2008 Headwaters to Ocean (H2O) Conference
The 2008 "Headwaters to Ocean (H2O)" Conference is being held 28-30 October at the Westin Long Beach. The conference is organized by the California Shore and Beach Preservation Association, California Coastal Coalition, Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project and Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) - Western Chapter. A call for presentations is posted at here. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Monday,18 August. Online registration is available here.

Accomodations are available at the Westin and the nearby Courtyard by Marriott. The Courtyard is offering a government rate at the prevailing per diem. For information about the hotels, click here. Presentations from previous H2O conferences can be viewed here.

21 July 2008 - The California Ocean Protection Council seeks the services of a consultant firm or team to develop a report on how the ocean observing system in California can better support ocean management decisions made by resource and environmental regulatory agency managers. For more information, download this pdf.

21 July 2008 - The North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) announces its Seventeenth Annual Meeting, to be held 23 October through 2 November 2008 at the Kempinski Hotel in Dalian, People’s Republic of China. For more information, go to http://www.pices.int/meetings/annual/PICES17/background.aspx.

15 July 2008 - Ocean Protection Council has issued an open invitation to a special meeting scheduled for 24 July 2008 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. This meeting is being held to discuss U.S. House of Representatives’ bill Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 21). The Council will hear a short briefing on the contents and status of the bill and then will consider voting to support the principles of the bill.

This meeting will be held as a teleconference. The public is invited to participate in person at several locations:

• Sacramento Resources Agency Department of Fish and Game Conference Room, Room 1206 1416 Ninth Street Sacramento, CA 95814
• Bay Area Coastal Conservancy 11th Floor Conference Room 1330 Broadway Oakland, CA 94612
• Los Angeles State Controller’s Office 777 South Figueroa St, Suite 4800 Los Angeles, CA 90017
  NOTE: Please allow 30 minutes at this location to go through security
• San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography Martin Johnson House (T-29) 8840 Biological Grade La Jolla, CA 92037
• This meeting will be held as a teleconference. The public is invited to participate in person at several locations:

The meeting's agenda is available as a pdf here.

7 July 2008 - The Fifth Annual California Climate Change Conference is inviting researchers to submit proposals for posters. Download the event's Call for Posters as a pdf for more information.

30 June 2008 - SCCOOS supported an industry-led oil spill response exercise conducted June 10-12 off the coast of San Diego. More than 200 participants were involved in National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (NPREP) including representatives from US Coast Guard Sector San Diego, US Navy, Department of Interior, California Department of Fish and Game, California Oil Spill Prevention and Response, PacArea Strike Team, Incident Management Assistance Team, San Diego Harbor Police, City and County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services, Port of San Diego, and others. The exercise focused on effective communications and response in the event of a marine oil spill. SCCOOS provided near real-time surface current measurements to feed into the NOAA HAZMAT operational models, as well as particle tracking based on optimally interpolated currents. The currents were measured using the array of HF radar presently being installed through California's Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program - a Prop 40/50 program managed by the State Coastal Conservancy. The particle tracking model indicated the speed and direction of surface waters off the San Diego coast, and was found to be consistent with a dye release conducted offshore as a surrogate for spilled oil. SCCOOS effectively displayed transport and fate of the simulated spilled oil. Shape files were also created on an automated basis for the California OSPR GIS specialist team so they could include maps of ocean currents with their integrated on-scene GIS products. As a result of the success of the exercise, NOAA HAZMAT has invited SCCOOS to participate in future California training exercises to help raise awareness of surface current mapping technology for oil spill response.

26 June 2008 - Public Workshops being held on MLPA Initiative South Coast Project A series of workshops are being conducted in Southern California to introduce the public to the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative's South Coast Project. The MLPA South Coast Study Region encompasses state waters from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County south to the California border with Mexico, including offshore islands. The focus of the workshop is to describe the MLPA planning process, generate nominations for a regional stakeholder group, invite questions, and solicit input on the process.

The workshops will use an "open house" format where attendees may choose to visit at any time during the three hours and walk through a number of informational stations. Key information stations include an overview of the MLPA Initiative process and timeline; the status of marine protected areas in California; and how the public can get involved. Staff will be available at each station so that attendees may ask questions and provide feedback.

Workshops are scheduled for:

• Huntington Beach, Tuesday, July 8, 2008: Huntington Beach Harbor View Club House, 16600 Saybrook Lane, 714-536-5486
• Encinitas on Wednesday, July 9: Facility to be determined (check the MLPA website)
• San Diego on Thursday, July 10: Holiday Inn Express Old Town, 3900 Old Town Avenue, 619-299-7400.

All workshop times are 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The MLPA Initiative is a public-private partnership designed to help the State of California implement the MLPA, which was enacted in 1999. The MLPA directs the state to reexamine and redesign California's system of marine protected areas (MPAs) with the goal of increasing its coherence and effectiveness at protecting the state's marine life and habitats, marine ecosystems, and marine natural heritage, as well as to improve recreational, educational and study opportunities in marine ecosystems that are subject to minimal human disturbance. MPAs are discrete geographic marine or estuarine areas designed to protect or conserve marine life and habitat. A regional approach is being used for the state's 1,100-mile coastline which has been divided into five study regions. The California Fish and Game Commission presently is considering the plan for the north Central Coast MPAs, while the MLPA Initiative moves to the south coast study region. For additional information about the MLPA Initiative, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa.

26 June 2008 - The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) is seeking technical help in developing and drafting climate change adaptation polices related to coastal development, infrastructure, habitats, and resources.

We are looking for a consultant who will prepare written summaries of expected climate change impacts in the coastal region of California, drawing from the current literature and certain ongoing projects. The consultant will also be expected to research adaptation strategies that have been promoted in other states, regions, or nations, and tailor these strategies to application in California. This work will be completed in close consultation with OPC staff and a team of coastal managers in California.

The consultant must have previous experience researching and developing climate change-related adaptation policies for coastal regions. The successful candidate will also have experience (1) developing climate change adaptation strategies at the statewide level (work on previous coastal states’ adaptation plans is highly desirable) and (2) writing policy documents for a general audience including state managers, legislators, and the public.

We would like to hire someone as soon as possible and would expect the bulk of the work to be completed by October or November 2008. If you are interested and possess the required experience, please contact Chris Blackburn at 510-286-3709 or cblackburn@scc.ca.gov before July 8, 2008.

24 June 2008 - EPA Seeks Comment on Proposed NPDES Permits
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing two separate National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permits to cover discharges incidental to the normal operation of commercial and recreational vessels, such as engine cooling water and deck runoff (73, Federal Register, p.34296, June 17). The first proposed NPDES vessel general permit (VGP) would cover incidental discharges from all commercial and recreational vessels longer than 79 feet. The second proposed NPDES recreational general permit (RGP) would cover vessels less than 79 feet long, and includes sailboats, motorboats, fishing boats, and non-motorized small craft like canoes. Comments are due 1 August 2008. For more information, click here.

16 June 2008 - The International Conference on Water Scarcity, Global Changes, and Ground Water Management Response will be held December 1-5, 2008 at University of California, Irvine. This conference is convened by UNESCO, UC Irvine, and USGS. Abstracts are due on 30 June 2008. For more information please visit: http://www.waterunifies.com

13 June 2008 - The June update of the National Federation of Regional Associations for Coastal and Ocean Observing (NFRA) is now available. To view or download, click here.

5 June 2008 - Though a partnership between SCCOOS and NAVAIR, the SCCOOS COAMPS wind forecasts are back online: www.sccoos.org/data/winds/48hr/

27 May 2008 - A draft Summary of the Ecological Conditions in the California Current LME for the first quarter of 2008, developed by PaCOOS, is available here (pdf).

22 May 2008 - Heal the Bay has released it's Annual Beach Report Card for 2007-08. The full report, as well as press releases, can be accessed here: www.healthebay.org

16 May 2008 - Senator Boxer signs IOOS support letter
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer has signed a letter initiated by Senator Olympia Snow (ME) to the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of a $96 million request in FY 2009 for the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and regional ocean observing associations. The NOAA IOOS is a principal funder of SCCOOS, as the regional component of IOOS for Southern California. The letter highlights the importance and benefits of a truly integrated coastal ocean observing system and the impacts of reduced funding on the development of IOOS and the regional systems over the last several years. The letter can be viewed here.

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. NOAAÕs 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 management.

The five-member California Ocean Protection Council was formed as part of the implementation of the 2004 California Ocean Protection Act. Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman serves as council chair. To view the live Web cast and access the meeting’s agenda and briefing documents please visit the Ocean Protection Council's Web site at: resources.ca.gov/copc.

4 JANUARY 2006 - The Aquarium of the Pacific's Marine Conservation Research Institute (MCRI) has issued an open invitation to its 3rd Southern California Marine Monitoring Conference. Co-Hosted by the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, SCCOOS and Catalina Conservancy Divers, this event will take place 24-25 April 2006 at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Additional information will be posted as it comes available. Click here for the flyer.

3 JANUARY 2006 - The results of the SCCOOS Data Provider and Users Group Meeting held at the Headwaters to Ocean's Conference in Huntington Beach 27 October 2005 are now available online here. The stakeholders from marine and coastal industries, state and local government, and coastal resource organizations who participated in the meeting provided SCCOOS representatives with product development feedback. A list of meeting participants is available here.

SCCOOS extends its gratitude to those who participated.

16 DECEMBER 2005 - SCCOOS has been invited to provide comments to help establish a framework for monitoring Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) along the entire west coast. A public workshop will be held in 2006. To view the PaCOOS report "Observation System for Early Warning of HAB Events" as a pdf, click here.

15 DECEMBER 2005 - 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.

8 DECEMBER 2005 - Julie Thomas attended the Oceanside Beach and Harbors Advisory Committee Meeting. Presentations included SCCOOS instrumentation location and types, and CDIP/SCBPS projects that affect Oceanside mariners and coastal zone management. As one of CDIP's wave monitoring buoys is located 4 miles west of Oceanside, the wave data is critical to local boating operations. The SCBPS project has collected nine LIDAR surveys over the past 5 years, covering the Oceanside littoral cell. All of the wave and LIDAR data are available at cdip.ucsd.edu. The Advisory Committee, headed by Don Hadley, Oceanside Harbor Master, is very supportive of future SCCOOS efforts. They are looking forward to potentially housing a SCCOOS shore station and CODAR site.

5 DECEMBER 2005; updated 4 JANUARY 2006 - Mike Chrisman, Chair of the California Ocean Protection Council, has issued an invitation to the next meeting of the council on Jan. 13, 2006, 10 a.m., Administration Building, Board of Supervisors Hearing Room - 4th Floor, 105 E. Anapamu Str., Santa Barbara, California. The meeting agenda is now available online here.

2 DECEMBER 2005 - The UCOP Office of Research and the UC Marine Council are pleased to announce the availability of research funding through the Coastal Environmental Quality Initiative (CEQI) for AY 2006-2007.

Proposals are being solicited in the following categories: 1) Multicampus Research Projects; 2) Graduate Student Fellowships; and 3) Workshops, Conferences or Planning Meetings.

With this competition, UCOP is pleased to introduce a new paperless, on-line application processing system. The Call for Proposals, guidelines and application processes can be found at the program website: www.ucop.edu/research/coastal

Submission Deadlines: Pre-proposals for Multi-campus Research and Graduate Student Projects must be submitted by 1 March 2006. All full proposals are due by 1 May 2006. In addition, please be reminded that when Program funds are available, the Rapid Response Program provides funding of up to $5,000, on a short turnaround basis and outside the normal proposal submission cycle, for research-related events such as workshops, conferences and symposia.

2 DECEMBER 2005 - Mike Chrisman, Secretary for Resources Chair for the California Ocean Protection Council has issued an open invitiation for "California and the World Ocean '06." The conference will take place 17-20 September in Long Beach, California. With this event, California will bring together representatives from all states, including 35 coastal states, academia, government, industry, and the public to positively influence the course of ocean and coastal protection.

The California Ocean Protection Council will open this conference with a new vision for action to protect and manage ocean and coastal resources. The conference will focus on evaluating achievements since the release of the U.S. Ocean Commission report, and on the necessary steps for moving forward. A CWO '06 Web site with more information will be announced soon. In the interium, questions should be directed to Marilyn Hauck (email or phone: 916.922.7032).

29 NOVEMBER 2005 - CalCOFI has issued a Call for Papers for its 2005 Conference. The 5-7 December 2005 conference will take place at Scripps' Sumner Auditorium. More information is available on the event website.

23 NOVEMBER 2005 - On November 15, California Ocean Protection Council Chair, Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman submitted the California Ocean and Coastal Information, Research, and Outreach Strategy (IRO Strategy) to the White House Committee on Ocean Policy. In a letter accompanying the IRO Strategy, Chair Chrisman asked that the IRO Strategy priorities be included in the national Ocean Research Priorities Plan that is currently being developed.

Admiral James Watkins and the Honorable Leon Panetta, leaders of the new bipartisan Joint Ocean Commission Initiative (JOCI), followed California’s submission with a letter commending the California Ocean and Coastal Information, Research, and Outreach Strategy. JOCI lauded California’s “progressive efforts to protect, restore, and maintain its coasts and oceans.” They urged the federal government to include these priorities in the national Ocean Research Priorities Plan and to use the IRO Strategy as a model in reforming ocean policy.

Please see resources.ca.gov/copc or links below to access the letters and reports referenced above.

• Joint Ocean Commission Initiative commends California's ocean research strategy - 11/21/05 (pdf)
• California Ocean and Coastal Information, Research, and Outreach Strategy adopted - 9/23/05 (pdf)
• Letter from OPC Chair to U.S. Committee on Ocean Policy - 11/15/05 (pdf)
• Letter from Joint Ocean Commission Leaders to U.S. Committee on Ocean Policy - 11/17/05 (pdf)

10 NOVEMBER 2005 - Underwater gliders designed to autonomously sample the ocean for durations of weeks to months continue to operate in Southern California. Fabricated and operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Spray glider provides SCCOOS the ability to continuously monitor the ocean in an efficient manner. The data will be used to improve ocean model forecasts for the region. As of November 10th, a Spray glider continues to operate off the coast of Santa Barbara and is returning to shore for eventual recovery. Having conducted over 310 dives, the vehicle flew offshore approximately 180 miles before returning back to the coast.

9 NOVEMBER 2005 - The First IOOS Development Plan was approved by the Interagency Committee on Ocean Science and Resource Management (co-chaired by OSTP and CEQ) at its meeting on 3 November. It is now the official federally sanctioned plan for the initial IOOS. The plan can be found on the Ocean.US web site at http://www.ocean.us/ioosplan.jsp.

2-4 NOVEMBER 2005 - Quality Assurance of Real-Time Data (QARTOD) Workshop held at Scripps. This is an IOOS community effort to address the challenges related to the distribution and description of real-time ocean data. One of the primary challenges facing the ocean community is the fast and accurate assessment of the quality of data streaming from the IOOS partner systems. The third QARTOD Workshop continued the development of quality descriptions for waves, in-situ currents, remote currents and CTDs. Additonal information is available at qartod.org.

4 NOVEMBER 2005 - Ocean color products from the 300m resolution Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) sensor aboard Oceansat were made available once again 1 November 2005. The data complements 1km resolution ocean color products and sea surface temperature (SST) obtained by the MODIS sensor aboard Aqua. Recent imagery from both OCM and MODIS may be seen under the Satellite Imagery link in the Data Access & Information section of the SCCOOS site.

4 NOVEMBER 2005 - The COASTAL OCEAN CURRENTS MONITORING PROGRAM (COCMP) in Southern California (Grant # 04-078) 2005 Annual Report and 2006 Annual Work Plan is now online. download as a pdf

31 OCTOBER 2005 - NOAA's Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCSOR) has announced the re-issue of the solicitation of proposals for the FY 2006 Ecological Forecasting Program. This program was originally solicited in the Federal Register on June 30, 2005, as part of the June, 2005 NOAA Omnibus solicitation. The original deadline for receipt of proposals was 3 p.m., EST, on October 25, 2005. The ECOFORE component of that Omnibus solicitation did not include commercial organizations as eligible applicants. NOAA has determined that expanding the pool of potential applicants to include commercial organizations would enhance the program's ability to make financial assistance awards to recipients with the highest level of expertise in atmospheric forecasting. The new deadline for the receipt of proposals is 3 p.m., EST, on November 18, 2005, for both electronic and paper applications. For more information, click here.

31 OCTOBER 2005 - The ORION Project Office is encouraging participation in its ORION Design & Implementation Workshop (Salt Lake City, 27-30 March 2006). Workshop participants will have the opportunity to provide input to the final design of the Ocean Observatories Initiative infrastructure. Download the poster/invitation as a pdf.

This workshop will present to the ocean research community the preliminary design of the global, regional and coastal ocean research observatory networks to be implemented under the ORION Program. The preliminary design is being developed based on the ideas submitted in the recent Request for Assistance Proposals, previous workshop reports and advice from ORION's scientific, technical and engineering advisory committees. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for collaborative groups to begin developing integrated research projects. This effort will lead to the realization of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, the National Science Foundation's ambitious plan to develop and deploy observatory infrastructure in the oceans to enable novel research and expand educational opportunities. We strongly encourage participation in implementing these community facilities.

For more information, please visit the ORION website oremail oriondi@joiscience.org.

20 OCTOBER 2005 - SCCOOS is hosting a working group meeting for data providers and users at the 2005 H20 Conference in Huntington Beach. The 27 October 2005 meeting will be held at the Huntington Beach Waterfront HIlton at 5:30 pm in Salon A (agenda as a pdf). This overview of SCCOOS, will include moderated discussion on optimal monitoring activities and data products, as well as an individual question and answer session with SCCOOS data managers. Working group categories include: water quality, marine life resources, and coastal mazards. RSVP: dduckworth@ucsd.edu. Download the invitation as a pdf.

20 OCTOBER 2005 - SCCOOS sponsored and had a booth at the American Shoreline & Beach Preservation Association conference in San Francisco on October 10-12, 2005. Attendees from Scripps were Holly Celico, Debbie Duckworth, David Castel and Julie Thomas.

The highlight of the Conference was attendance by Orville Magoon and Dr. Ropbert Wiegel as honorary co-chairs. Dr. Scott Ashford's graduate student from UCSD, Adam Young, presented his theory on coastal seacliff morphology. His research indicates that a majority of the sand on the beach comes from the cliffs. His data are collected both from a horizontal-looking ground-based LIDAR and the Scripps Southern California Beach Processes Study airborne LIDAR. This theory captured the attention of many researchers who, up until now, have concluded that streams and rivers were the main source of sediment on the beaches.

Supervisor Pam Slater-Price represented San Diego, with an excellent presentation on "A Regional Perspective on Managing Beach Water Quality." Additional attendees included City Officials from SANDAG, Carlsbad and Oceanside.

Sifting county's shifting sands
13 October 2005, San Diego Union Tribune
UCSD scientists have completed two studies showing that cliff erosion produces far more sand for local beaches than previously estimated. A six-year study by engineering professor Scott Ashford and graduate student Adam Young found that bluff erosion accounted for 68 percent of the fresh sand that nature provides to the county's eroding beaches.
Click here to view the full story

5 OCTOBER 2005 - The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) met at Scripps Institution of Oceanography on Friday, 23 Sept. 2005. Below is a summary of the actions taken by the council at this meeting.

Meeting Highlights

• Voted to send a letter to members of Congress and the President stating, “Any pending federal legislation regarding Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leasing must retain all protections from the Congressional leasing moratorium and should seek to make these protections permanent.” The letter sent 27 Sept is posted here (pdf) .
• Voted on a motion for the chair to work with staff to frame the issues regarding once-through cooling for coastal power plants and hold a special meeting, if necessary, on this issue.
• Directed staff to investigate options for developing a long-term vision for the council, establishing a science advisory team, hiring an executive director and staff, developing integrated financing mechanisms, and establishing a process to review state legislation.
• Adopted the California Ocean and Coastal Information, Research, and Outreach Strategy (pdf).
• Released the Preliminary Strategic Plan for the California Coastal Ocean Observing System (pdf). Please submit comments on this draft plan by 28 Nov. 2005. (See resources.ca.gov/copc/documents_for_comment.html for more information)
• Requested public input on the priority areas proposed for the State Water Resources Control Board’s $10 million commitment to the OPC. The two priority areas proposed by State Water Board staff are Areas of Special Biological Significance and Rapid Indicators. Please submit comments on these priorities by 28 Nov. 2005. (See resources.ca.gov/copc/comment_instructions.html for more information)

Projects

• Dedicated $1 million to ocean and coastal research through a partnership with California’s Sea Grant programs.
• Became the major sponsor of the California and the World Ocean Conference 2006, hosted by the California Resources Agency and California Environmental Protection Agency, to be held 17-20 September 2006 in Long Beach, California by committing $150,000.
• Authorized the use of $2 million of state funds to contribute to the public/private partnership focused on the removal the Matilija Dam on the Ventura River.
• Funded a $101,300 planning grant to develop a revolving loan fund for sustainable fisheries.
• Authorized the use of $50,000 to conduct a study to analyze options for permanent funding for ocean and coastal protection.

30 SEPTEMBER 2005 - SCCOOS is a sponsor of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association fall conference (link) and will be on hand as an exhibitor for the 10-12 October 2005 event at Fisherman's Wharf.

Ocean council targets state waters: Panel's mandate to protect, manage
22 September 2005, San Diego Union Tribune
The five-member Ocean Protection Council will meet tomorrow at Scripps Institution of Oceanography to address a wide-ranging agenda: It will review the state's ability to respond to offshore oil spills, adopt guidelines on how it will award grant requests, review the $26.2 million it has gathered from various sources to fund special projects, and begin drafting a "long-term vision."
Click here to view the full story

22 SEPTEMBER 2005 - Senate Votes to Approve $109 Million for IOOS
On 15 September 2005, the full Senate passed H.R. 2862, the Fiscal Year 2006 Appropriations for Commerce and Justice, Science and related agencies. The measure was approved by a vote of 91 yeas, 4 nays. The Senate bill retained $109,680,000 for Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observations as recommended by the CJS Appropriation Subcommittee.

20 SEPTEMBER 2005 - Mark Moline has convened a special session for the 2006 AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting. The session, entitled "New Results From Science Programs Employing Autonomous and Lagrangian Platforms," will accept abstracts through 20 October 2005.

Description: Results from early science programs employing autonomous and Lagrangian platforms and sensors (ALPS) are now becoming available, making this an excellent time to review how these technologies have been applied to address compelling science questions and present advances in understanding that have resulted from these programs. This session solicits contributions focused on the ALPS theme with a particular emphasis on science applications and results. Many ALPS technologies have matured and transitioned from specialized engineering/science teams into the larger oceanographic community. The resulting broad user base has driven diverse applications in physical, chemical and biological studies focused on a wide range of scales. This class of instruments facilitates sampling at relevant temporal and spatial scales while providing the continuous presence needed to capture multiple realizations of episodic events and characterize longer-term seasonal and interannual changes. Profiling floats, autonomous underwater vehicles and gliders offer a combination of high-resolution spatial coverage, vertical sampling through the water column and extended (days to years) deployments that cannot be easily achieved with other technologies. Novel applications of these new observational capabilities exploit the combination of spatial coverage and continuous presence to advance our understanding of physical, chemical and biological processes.

20 SEPTEMBER 2005 - The IMT Lab in the Marine Physical Laboratory has installed an underwater junction box approximately 50m NW of the SIO Pier. The box is mounted approximately 1m above the bottom and has a multi-conductor armored cable that terminates at a patch panel in the Dry Lab on the pier end. This installation is to facilitate both the quick deployment of instruments in the nearshore as well as support the long-term deployment of sensors. The junction box houses wet-pluggable Impulse bulkhead connectors allowing access to Ethernet, 12 and 24 volt regulated power, 50 ohm coax conductors, and 4 sets of shielded, twisted pairs for serial or other data requirements. To use or inquire about this facility, contact Dale Stokes (dstokes@ucsd.edu).

1 SEPTEMBER 2005 - The Wrigley Marine Science Center, located at Two Harbors on Catalina Island, celebrated its 40th anniversary on Saturday, 27 August 2005. The day also marked the 10th anniversary of USC's Wrigley Institute of Environmental Sciences. Over 800 guests, including members of the Wrigley family, were on hand to celebrate the occasion. The event included demonstrations, presentations by researchers and displays representing the various efforts of USC and the Wrigley Institute in Marine Sciences. Burt Jones and Matthew Ragan (USC) manned the SCCOOS booth, which attracted many visitors, and provided an opportunity to individually discuss SCCOOS efforts in the Southern California coastal ocean.

NEWS ARCHIVES: 2004 - All • January - April 2005 • May - August 2005