The Executive Committee of PacIOOS' Governing Council met on Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI),

this past month. U.S. IOOS Program Director, Zdenka Willis, and U.S. IOOS Association Executive Director, Josie Quintrell, as well as the RMI liaison and PacIOOS management, joined the meeting. 

Participants reviewed program updates and budgets, and also discussed aspects of PacIOOS' future direction. Local partners and stakeholders were invited for an evening reception to further collaborative efforts, identify potential future initiatives, and talk story. The unique meeting location allowed for experiencing atoll living in the insular Pacific and helped to increase the understanding of challenges and opportunities in the low-lying atolls.  

PacIOOS is the first U.S. IOOS regional association to apply to become a certified Regional Information Coordination Entity (RICE) under the authority of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009. 

Integration into the System formally establishes the role of the RICE in the U.S. IOOS and ensures that the data collected and distributed by the RICE are managed according to the best practices, as identified by NOAA.  NOAA now has 90 days to review PacIOOS' application and to issue a decision. 

Throughout 2014 and early 2015, unusual ocean weather and climate trends were observed across the North Pacific basin. Extreme conditions are occurring in many locations, affecting physical and biogeochemical parameters, which appear to be impacting pelagic ecosystems.  To understand the timing and scale of these anomalous oceanographic conditions and to identify research and development questions, a first workshop will be held in San Diego at Scripps on May 5-6, 2015. The goal is to maximize global and coastal ocean observing systems to deliver information to meet societal needs. A follow up workshop will be held in 6-9 months.

PacIOOS participated in the  8th  Annual  Mauka  to Makai Event at the Waikīkī Aquarium, featuring hands-on water quality activities to measure parameters such salinity, turbidity, and water temperature. A total of approximately 1000 kids, parents, and community members stopped by PacIOOS' busy booth, to get their hands wet and to learn more about water quality efforts in the Pacific. 

It was a fun-filled event with more than 25 educational booths, live shows, family oriented activities, and special prizes. For more information about water quality in the Pacific, visit the PacIOOS website to learn more.

Daren Martin is an undergraduate student majoring in Electrical Engineering at the 

University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. As a Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (CMORE) Scholar, Daren works closely with water quality sensors under the supervision of Dr. Margaret McManus and Gordon Walker at the CPhOAME. His tasks include maintaining the water quality sensors on the south side of O'ahu and conducting data analysis, which provide data to the PacIOOS Water Quality webpage.

 

Daren is currently working on a project titled "Variance Between Data Collection Devices" with the goal of comparing data analysis using a YSI and a Sea-Bird sensor. With both sensors located at the mouth of the Ala Wai Canal, Daren conducts a routine maintenance check on the sensors' data collection. After graduating, Daren hopes to become an ocean engineer and start his career in Hawai'i.