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October 30, 2015 
PacIOOS' Trick-or-Treat!
Boo! It's Halloween, and PacIOOS has some special treats for you. No tricks -- we promise! Scroll down to check out the October updates, or visit our website or Voyager .
PacIOOS Instruments and Tools
Ocean surface currents are now available for a
large portion of O'ahu's south and west facing shores.
Surface Currents Mapping Expanded


PacIOOS increased its mapping coverage of ocean surface currents for the south and west facing shores of O'ahu. Speed and direction of ocean surface currents are updated hourly on PacIOOS Voyager. The expanded coverage reaches up to 50 miles offshore and provides valuable data for a stretch of coastline that is highly frequented by ocean users, including commercial operators, surfers, and paddlers. The near real-time data is valuable to support the U.S. Coast Guard's search and rescue operations. The expanded data set also helps to support marine navigation, and to enhance modeling capacities. The National HFRNet provides maps of surface currents for U.S. coastlines.
PacIOOS wave buoy off Kāneʻohe
records real-time wave conditions.
Wave Buoy Maintenance off Windward O'ahu


PacIOOS successfully swapped the mooring of the Mokapu wave buoy   and replaced the Kāne'ohe wave buoy off O'ahu's windward side. PacIOOS maintains a  network of 13 wave buoys  throughout the Pacific, serving real-time data on wave height, direction, period and sea surface temperature.  Regular maintenance of the buoys is necessary to ensure continuous operation and data streaming.  Data are managed by the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Long-term partnerships with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and CDIP enable data streaming into the PacIOOS  website  and PacIOOS  Voyager .
PacIOOS Updates
Governing Council members from across the Pacific came together at Pier 38 in Honolulu.
PacIOOS Governing Council Meeting

PacIOOS held its annual Governing Council meeting in early October in Honolulu. Members from across the Pacific Islands region provided valuable feedback and ideas for advancing the program. The two-day meeting was filled with program updates, partner and expert presentations, as well as discussions on PacIOOS' Strategic Plan. The Council provides policy guidance and strategic directions to the PacIOOS program and offers valuable insights and perspectives to help set program priorities. The Executive Committee of the Council will meet in March 2016.
PacIOOS is Hiring a New Student Assistant 

We are looking for a new student assistant to support our data team up to 20 hours per week! As the Marine Data Specialist, the student will be working with various ocean data sets, including tiger shark tracking, wave buoy, and water quality data. If you know of a University of Hawai'i student who might be interested in this exciting job opportunity on Mānoa campus, please be sure to share this announcement. To find out more, please visit https://sece.its.hawaii.edu/sece and search for "PacIOOS."
PacIOOS Activities
PacIOOS and JIMAR staff explain the set-up of a wave
buoy and its mooring line to a group of school kids.
Students were able to generate waves in the tank 
to simulate ocean conditions. 
Wave Buoy Fun at SOEST Open House 
 
The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology ( SOEST) opened its doors to students, teachers, families, and community members for the 13th biennial SOEST Open House. Approximately 6,000 people participated in the two-day event and learned about various ocean and Earth sciences. From earthquakes to volcanoes, from fossils to marine mammals, SOEST students, staff, and faculty offered more than 100 interactive learning stations. PacIOOS and the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research ( JIMAR) shared insights about the network of 13 wave buoys across the Pacific with a hands-on wave tank and a real wave buoy on display.  
PacIOOS Voyager offers numerous data sets
to explore environmental conditions.
Teaming Up with Marine Educators 
 
The Waikīkī Aquarium ( WAQ) hosted its annual Marine Educator's Night in early October. Over one-hundred enthusiastic and dedicated K-12 teachers from across the islands attended the event to learn about new education resources, and to discover new teaching ideas. PacIOOS proudly participated and explained to teachers how PacIOOS Voyager provides a platform for in-class assignments and activities for high school students. PacIOOS Voyager allows students to easily visualize complex data sets. In addition, the wide array of data available on PacIOOS Voyager enables students to see interactions between more than one environmental condition. 
IOOS News Updates
U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Unveils New Logo

The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System ( IOOS) launched its new logo during the MTS/IEEE Oceans '15 conference in Washington D.C. The new emblem is a symbol of the mission and culture of the IOOS  with an emphasis on integration, highlighted by the interweaving of the I-O-O-S.  The blues stand for the dark blue of the deep ocean and great lakes, and the bright clear blue for the coastal and shallow waters. The shape itself represents a signal moving out, and the "S" reminds us of the open culture of the IOOS with its many partners. 
PacIOOS People
Welcome On Board, Ian!

Ian Quino Fernandez joined the PacIOOS team in July 2015, as a Marine Instrumentation Technician. Before moving to Hawai'i, Ian received his Master's degree in Marine Science from the University of the Philippines, focusing on Physical Science. During his graduate degree, Ian worked with the Physical Oceanography Laboratory, both as a researcher and technician, to study sea surface currents and to conduct ocean surveys. 

As a Marine Instrumentation Technician at PacIOOS, Ian supports Dr. Pierre Flament's team to map ocean surface currents in near real-time. On a daily basis, Ian works in the lab or in the field to make sure that all required instrumentation is operational and data is being transferred. He recently contributed to expand the mapping coverage of ocean surface currents to include additional portions of O'ahu's south and west shores. Ian enjoys making new sites operational and optimizing existing components to improve the overall system. Understanding how instruments actually work and building some of them from scratch is one of his passions. While not set in stone, Ian is considering to get his doctorate degree in oceanography or ocean engineering. However, for now he enjoys his new position and is eager to solve technical challenges as they arise
Based within the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, PacIOOS is the Pacific Islands regional component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System ( IOOS® ). PacIOOS is a partnership of data providers and users working together to enhance ocean observations and develop, disseminate, evaluate, and apply ocean data and information products designed to address the environmental, economic, and public safety needs of stakeholders who call the Pacific Islands home.  For more information on PacIOOS, please visit www.pacioos.org . 
PacIOOS | 808-956-8784 | fiona.langenberger@hawaii.edu | www.pacioos.org
1680 East-West Road, POST 815
Honolulu, HI 96822