With the holiday season in full swing, the PacIOOS team would like to thank you, our partners and users, for your continued support of the program. Your engagement, feedback, and guidance have led to another successful year of ocean observing in the Pacific Islands region.

We are wrapping up a very busy year with new collaborations and projects that resulted in an increased number of observation assets, new and improved forecasts, and user-friendly tools to make data easily accessible. The international, decadal OceanObs'19 conference came to Honolulu -- an outstanding opportunity for PacIOOS and the U.S. IOOS system to showcase the work we are doing and to learn from others across the globe. 

We are already looking forward to 2020 as we are gearing up for a series of capacity building workshops throughout the Pacific Islands. We will also focus on developing our next 5-year proposal, striving towards the goals of our Strategic Framework. Your input will be much appreciated in order to help identify and prioritize local needs.

Below you will find a few snapshots, summarizing our year in review. We wish you and your families a restful holiday season and a very Happy New Year. 

With Aloha,
Your
PacIOOS ʻOhana
From the top, left to right:
  • PacIOOS Governing Council members learn about ongoing water quality initiatives in Maunalua Bay, Oʻahu, during their annual meeting. 
  • NOAA, PacIOOS, and other partners deployed a new ocean acidification monitoring station in American Samoa. (Credit: N. Que)
  • A new PacIOOS wave model grid is now available for the Manu'a Islands in American Samoa.
  • Participants of the 4th Data Buoy Cooperation Panel Pacific Islands Training Workshop on Ocean Observations and Data Applications engage in interactive learning sessions and site visits. PacIOOS hosted the 2-day workshop with 45 participants in Honolulu. 
  • PacIOOS staff participated in a middle school science olympiad to share about its water quality program. (Credit: Stevenson Media Hawaiʻi)
  • PacIOOS Director, Melissa Iwamoto, gave a plenary talk at the OceanObs'19 conference, stressing the importance of including stakeholder needs in the development of ocean observing data products. (Credit: A. Wakely) 
  • A new weather station has been installed at the entrance of Honolulu Harbor in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Pilots Association. (Credit: J. Gilmore)
  • Students from the College of the Marshall Islands learn about the PacIOOS nearshore sensor through hands-on activities. (Credit: M. Sudnovsky)
  • Members of the PacIOOS Governing Council Executive Committee came together for their annual meeting and participated in a site visit at Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu.
  • Local West Maui residents, partners, and stakeholders learn about PacIOOS' wave run-up forecast and how to participate as citizen scientists to help validate the model.
  • A technical training workshop was held in collaboration with local partners in Pohnpei to provide training on the PacIOOS nearshore sensor and rain gauges. (Credit: Conservation Society of Pohnpei)
  • More than 6,000 students and families participated in the biennial SOEST Open House. PacIOOS offered hands-on activities related to its wave buoy program.
  • To kick off the 20th anniversary of U.S. IOOS, 450 invited guests came together for a reception at the Waikīkī Aquarium. (Credit: Manny "gOnzo" González, @gonzolenza @freesurfmag)
  • The Conservation Society of Pohnpei installs a nearshore sensor as part of the PacIOOS Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program. 
  • The Hawaiian Koʻa (coral) card is a citizen scientists project to help determine the health and bleaching status of coral reefs. PacIOOS assisted the project by providing data management support. (Credit: HIMB)
The Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) believes that ocean data and information can help save lives and resources. In collaboration with its partners, PacIOOS aims to provide sustained ocean observations in order to support decision-making and science for stakeholders who call the Pacific Islands home. Based within the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, PacIOOS is part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®).
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