I hope you’re planning to join us at our virtual Spring meeting tomorrow! We’ve got an interesting lineup that includes updates from the IOOS Program Office as well as the IOOS Association, along with an update about what will be happening with the Gulf glider picket line during hurricane season — which is just around the corner. The meeting details and link to join the meeting are below.
Speaking of hurricane season, I know there’s a lot of prep and planning going on across the Gulf ocean observing community right now. GCOOS’s Dr. Kerri Whilden gives us a brief overview this month of what’s been happening. (And don’t forget to check your own personal supplies!)
We’re also tracking gliders on GANDALF that are monitoring a red tide bloom off the coast of Southwest Florida and fisheries in Alaska.
With so much happening in the Gulf of Mexico ocean observing community, please be sure to join us tomorrow to hear the latest news!
Until next month,
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Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick
Executive Director
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GCOOS Spring Meeting Details |
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GCOOS members and non-members are invited to join us for our Spring meeting:
Agenda
- 1-1:15 p.m. Roll call, welcome by GCOOS Board Chair Joe Swaykos
- 1:15-2 p.m. Updates from the IOOS Program Office by Director Carl Gouldman
- 2- 2:45 p.m. The new IOOS Association strategic plan with Executive Director Josie Quintrell
- 2:45-3 p.m. Break
- 3:15-3:45 p.m. GCOOS Executive Director's Report from Barbara Kirkpatrick
- 3:45-4:30 p.m. Hurricane Picket Line Project 2021 with Kathy Bailey, Bill Lingsch and Kerri Whilden
- 4:30-4:45 p.m. Discussion and Q&A
- 4:45-5 p.m. Announcement of GCOOS Board of Directors election results and closing remarks by Joe Swaykos.
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Need Gulf Data? Check Out GulfHub |
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Do you know someone who needs Gulf data — especially about the Loop Current and its eddies? GCOOS has the data resource for you!
GulfHub hosts more than 5,300 unique physical oceanographic datasets on an ERDDAP server, including information from more than 3,500 deepwater moorings, offshore oil rigs and platforms, and vessels that were previously considered proprietary and were unavailable.
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Gulf Operators Getting Ready for Hurricane Season |
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The official start of the Atlantic hurricane season is coming up fast on June 1 (NOAA will announce its initial outlook for the 2021 season during a briefing on May 20). Since last week was Hurricane Preparedness Week, we asked Dr. Kerri Whilden, GCOOS Oceanographer and Assistant Research Scientist at the Geochemical & Environmental Research Group at Texas A&M University, to give us an overview of what’s been happening behind the scenes to prepare and what the plans are for glider deployments in the Gulf.
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Did you know that our glider visualization and piloting tool, GANDALF, is being used not just by operators in the Gulf of Mexico, but in other locales as well? Right now, it’s tracking a glider named Shackleton through Prince William Sound in Alaska that was deployed by Hank Statscewich from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Marine Science. Statscewich, who calls GANDALF “an incredible resource” says that local boat tour operators are also using GANDALF to avoid hitting Shackleton and that rangers in Kenai Fjords National Park are considering adding it to their interpretive talks. Improvements are also on the way, according to GANDALF’s GCOOS developer Bob Currier, who will be working to add a layer for tide currents and color the vectors.
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The Underwater Glider User Group wants to let you know about upcoming webinars planned for the glider community.
BlueView 3D Training Series: Deployment Platforms, Sonar Selection & Considerations is a three-part training series with Teledyne Marine tech gurus Tyler Whitaker and Jon Robertson. They’ll deliver detailed instruction, tips and tricks to accelerate your learning and ensure you collect the highest quality 3D data possible. Each session will conclude with a Q&A session to answer your unique questions.
The virtual OceanGliders Best Practices Workshop will take place between May 11-25 (times vary) and will focus on developing best practices related to all glider activities, including prep, deployment, data management, sensor calibration and data processing. The workshop is co-organized by OceanGliders and EuroGOOS Glider Task Team and supported by EuroSea.
Have you missed a UG2 webinar? Sessions are recorded and archived here.
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Human Health and SafetyHeHEALTH
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New Video Embraces the Gulf |
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The Gulf of Mexico Alliance has released a new “Embrace the Gulf” public service announcement designed to encourage Gulf residents to protect the Gulf. The PSA showcases the vitality and sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico and has aired on CNN and SEC. Mississippi State University Television Center partnered with GOMA to produce the video. |
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NOAA has released its latest U.S. Climate Normals, temperature and precipitation averages and statistics that are calculated every decade to help put today’s weather into proper context and make better climate-related decisions.
Normals reflect the impacts of the changing climate on our day-to-day weather experience and are used by weather forecasters, businesses and the public to compare today’s conditions to 30-year averages.
- What’s the ‘new’ normal? Find out here
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Annual U.S. precipitation changes by percentage from the 1981–2010 U.S. Climate Normals to the newest data in the 1991–2020 Normals, released by NOAA, May 2021. Decreases indicate a drier Southwest, and increases indicate wetter sections of the Northern Plains, Great Lakes region, and Southeast. Courtesy of CISESS. |
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Making Fisheries Climate-Change Resilient |
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The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Council is seeking input on ways to make fisheries more resilient to climate change as part of a broader national policy that seeks to put climate change action at the fore of U.S. foreign policy and national security planning.
The council is seeking potential management changes and/or conservation measures, and suggestions for improvements in science, monitoring, and cooperative research that could make fisheries more resilient.
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Deadline: 5 p.m. EDT June 7
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Submit here
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Healthy Ecosystems & Living Resources |
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Tracking Invasive Species |
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Did you enjoy National Shrimp Day on May 10? According to the National Fisheries Institute, Americans eat more shrimp than any other seafood, annually averaging 4.6 pounds per capita.
As you enjoy this delicious decapod, don’t forget to report sightings of invasive Asian tiger shrimp ( Penaeus monodon), also commonly known as the giant tiger prawn and black tiger shrimp. These animals are of concern because of their potential to transmit disease and out-compete and consume the Gulf’s native brown ( Farfantepenaeus aztecus), white ( Litopenaeus setiferus), and pink ( Farfantepenaeus duorarum) shrimp species.
- Want to know where this predatory species has been tracked in the Gulf? Our data portal shows tracks of this species on the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf over time.
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Putting science into practice for conservation is an ongoing challenge, but one promising idea is teaming up researchers from multiple disciplines with end-users from a variety of sectors to help inform resource management.
One recent case study focused on avian conservation demonstrated how this approach can lead to both improved decision-support products as well as better buy-in from end-users who had a voice in the process. Some of the key research-to-application principles discussed — including collaboration, engagement, communication and decision-framing — can be universal in terms of the overarching purpose of ensuring that scientific research is sufficiently relevant to managers and end-users.
Contributing authors to the paper Bridging the research-implementation gap in avian conservation with translational ecology were from Mississippi State University, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Grand Bay NERR, and the National Audubon’s Gulf Coast Restoration project.
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Louisiana Sea Grant has received a $3 million grant from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to expand alternative oyster culture (AOC) throughout the coast.
AOC is when oysters are grown in floating cages or in bottom-placed cages attached to pylons. This method allows the cages to be raised and lowered to protect oysters from predators, fouling and the burial effects of disasters like hurricanes.
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Flower Garden Banks Advisory Council Openings |
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The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for four seats on its advisory council, which provides advice for sanctuary management.
Applications are for the following council seats: Commercial Fishing (one seat), Dive Operations (two seats), and Recreational Diving (one seat).
Candidates will be selected based on their expertise and experience, community and professional affiliations, and views regarding the protection and management of marine resources.
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The NOAA HAB team is enhancing the Gulf of Mexico HAB forecast, thanks to modeling and observation technology advances. On Aug. 2, the team will launch a new online dashboard that will bring together these resources:
- Hourly respiratory irritation forecasts for individual beaches
- Animated coastal bloom initiation and intensification forecasts
- Real-time imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI)
You can preview the dashboard for the Southwest Florida Coast here.
Email notifications will be sent to subscribers when bloom conditions change and weekly during a bloom. Similar enhancements for the Texas Coast are planned. For a detailed explanation of features, view the Gulf of Mexico HAB Forecast Guide.
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More than 1,200 coastal scientists and managers participated in the April virtual preview for GoMCon, which will combine the annual GOMA All Hands Meeting, the annual Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, and the triennial State of the Gulf Summit and take place in 2022.
Bringing these three meetings together in a combined conference emphasizes the important intersections between restoration, scientific research, and management of the coastal environment and economy.
The virtual preview, which was hosted by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) and sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, NOAA RESTORE Science Program, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program, GCOOS, Equinor, Stantec, Hess, Shell, and RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence for Louisiana and Florida, was simply a taste of the larger, in-person conference slated for April 2022.
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In 2010, the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon resulted in the largest man-made disaster in U.S. history. Today, each Gulf state administers restoration funds and programs. Additionally, other agencies and organizations are also tasked with administering programs designed to restore Gulf habitats and better understand Gulf ecosystems.
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GCOOS maintains a jobs listing for positions and fellowships in the ocean observing community. Want to advertise a position? Email Laura Caldwell
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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine: Senior Program Officer Gulf Environmental Protection and Stewardship Program
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Georgia Southern University: Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Marine Sciences
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Mote Marine Laboratory: Staff Chemist Ocean Acidification, Aquarium Services Associate, Culture Lab Technician
Postdoctoral Positions:
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NOAA: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciences, NRC Research Programs
Fellowships:
- The University of Florida Center for Coastal Solutions (CSS) and Florida Sea Grant (FSG)
- NASEM: Early Career Fellowships
- Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship
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GCOOS maintains a listing of funding opportunities. Have an opportunity you'd like to advertise? Email Laura Caldwell
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21-23: GOMA Team Mid Year meetings, Biloxi. Hybrid virtual/in-person meeting. Details to come. |
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GCOOS is the Gulf of Mexico regional component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and the only certified system dedicated solely to the Gulf of Mexico. Our mission is to provide timely, reliable, accurate and on-demand information on the open ocean and coastal ocean waters of the Gulf of Mexico to ensure a healthy, clean, productive ocean and resilient coastal zone. |
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Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, Executive Director • Bill Lingsch, U.S. Glider User Group Coordinator • Dr. Chris Simoniello, Outreach & Education Coordinator • Dr. Kerri Whilden, Oceanographer • Felimon Gayanilo, Systems Architect, Co-Data Manager • Dr. Shinichi Kobara, Assistant Research Scientist, Product Developer • Bob Currier, Research Specialist, Product Developer, Co-Data Manager • Marion Stoessel, Senior Research Associate • Jennifer Vreeland-Dawson, Research Associate • Grant Craig, Program Coordinator • Stephanie Watson, CETACEAN Coordinator • Nadine Slimak, Public Relations & Content Marketing, Vetted Communications, LLC • Dr. Chuan-Yuan Hsu, Post Doctoral Research Associate • Robbie Iles, Graduate Research Assistant • Laura Caldwell, Program Assistant
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In Memoriam: Matt Howard, 1952-2018
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