Ocean Leadership News
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR OCEAN OBSERVATORIES INITIATIVE APRIL SCIENCE WORKSHOP
Registration for the second OOI Science Community Workshop is now open. The workshop will be held on April 29-30, 2010 in Tempe, Arizona and hosted by Arizona State University. The workshop will introduce ocean scientists, engineers, educators and the broader science community to the full scope of the OOI network design and capabilities. Presentations and discussion will focus on descriptions of the OOI construction design, the multi-disciplinary sensors to be deployed and the timeline for construction, data availability and data access. There will also be information on and discussions of science scenarios as examples of how the OOI network can be used by researchers and educators to advance a broad range of ocean science and education. The deadline for registration and hotel reservations is Thursday, March 25, 2010. For further information and to register, visit http://ooi.oceanleadership.org.
OCEAN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM TOWN HALLS AT 2010 OCEAN SCIENCES MEETING
The Consortium for Ocean Leadership programs are hosting several Town Halls at the 2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting. They are as follows:
“Observing Reality: Contributions and Applications from Integrated, Multi-Disciplinary Observing Efforts“ is scheduled for Tuesday, February 23, 2010, at the Oregon Convention Center, in Room E141, 11:45am-12:45pm. A comprehensive understanding of ocean ecosystem health and sustainability requires high-quality, long-term data from ocean observations. Innovative technologies, reliable observations and analyses fuel the development of predictive models which ultimately assist in implementing ecosystem-based management, conducting marine spatial planning and establishing baselines for measuring future climate change. Members of OBIS-USA and the Regional Associations of the Integrated Ocean Observing System will facilitate discussion on endeavors which ensure open access to data, tools and applications for informed decision making and predictive models serving the needs of the public. This town hall encourages participants to communicate advances and new directions in ocean observing technology.
“Key Components of a National Ecosystem-based Ocean Science Program“ is schedule for Tuesday, February 23, 2010, at the Oregon Convention Center, in Room E145, 11:45am-12:45pm. Climate change, pollution, overfishing, and intensifying conflicts over the uses of the sea challenge federal, state, and local governments, especially within coastal waters. Many of these challenges are compounded by lack of appropriately scaled, integrated information, highlighting the need for interdisciplinary scientific understanding that forms the underpinnings of effective management. The pace of scientific progress will likely be inadequate unless scientists join forces to approach problems in an integrated way that emphasizes innovative science on an unusual scale and a degree of integration with policy rarely achieved in marine conservation research. The focus of this town hall will be to initiate discussions directed at identifying: (1) the key needs for coastal marine ecosystem science that can inform policy at the regional (i.e. Large Marine Ecosystem) scale and (2) the programmatic components that are of value to ensure organization of this effort.
Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI):
“Community Engagement and Participation” is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24, 2010, at the Oregon Convention Center, in Room E145, 11:45am–12:45pm. Julie Morris (Director, Division of Ocean Sciences, National Science Foundation) and Tim Cowles (OOI Program Director) will provide updates on the OOI, including current status and upcoming activities. Town Hall attendees will get an inside look at the OOI design and system capabilities and learn about opportunities to participate. The OOI team will also answer questions about the network and provide examples of education and public engagement, along with ideas for linking global to local science using the OOI.
National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP):
“Ocean Partnerships: Collaborative Oceanographic Research of the Future” is scheduled for Tuesday, February 23, at the Oregon Convention Center, in Room D139, 11:45am-12:45pm. This town meeting will describe the proposal process and highlight projects with valuable collaborations between multiple sectors. Participants will be asked for suggestions on topics for future collaborative research directions to continue NOPP’s contribution to cutting-edge interdisciplinary and intersector science and technology.
ORRAP TO HOLD MEETING ON MARCH 15 AT OCEAN LEADERSHIP
The Ocean Research & Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP) provides advice and guidance on ocean matters to the heads of federal agencies. The ORRAP will be meeting at Ocean Leadership on March 15 and 16. Principal areas of discussion are likely to include Marine Spatial Planning, the Arctic, ocean acidification, and education. When they become available, the complete agenda and all other meeting materials will be posted under the Meetings header on the ORRAP web page: http://www.nopp.org/site/ORRAP.
IODP EXPEDITION 318 – UPDATE FROM THE JOIDES RESOLUTION
IODP Expedition 318 – Wilkes Land Glacial History is currently underway. The goal of the expedition is to investigate the history of Antarctic glaciation and its intimate relationship with global climatic and oceanographic change. Over the last week, the JOIDES Resolution has been drilling at Site U1356, which was expected to yield a distal record of the first arrival of glaciers to the eastern Wilkes Land margin and capture the Earth’s transition from a “Greenhouse” to “Icehouse” climate, inferred to have occurred during the early Oligocene in this region.
Seven lithostratigraphic units have been identified in cores from Site U1356. The units include diatom oozes and diatom-rich silty clays with dispersed gravel indicating hemipelagic sedimentation with ice rafting. Additional units include greenish gray bioturbated and brown laminated claystones, indicating changes in oxygenation and current strength. Samples from most of the cores have been analyzed for siliceous microfossils, foraminifers and palynomorphs. Seventy samples have been prepared for geochemical analyses and the first six samples have been processed for biomarker analyses. The only ice seen during operations at Site U1356 occurred on 29 January when a pinnacle-shaped iceberg (estimated to be 40 m high and 110 m long) which came within ten nautical miles of the ship but did not affect operations.
To read the daily and weekly reports from the expedition, visit: http://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/sitesumm.html. To see weekly photos from the expedition, visit: http://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/gallery/exp318/.
WEEK THREE VIDEO REPORT FROM IODP EXPEDITION 318 – WILKES LAND GLACIAL HISTORY NOW ONLINE
Throughout IODP Expedition 318 – Wilkes Land Glacial History, a weekly video report will be created by videographer Dan Brinkhuis from Zcene Moving Media who is on board the JOIDES Resolution to document the expedition. The “Wilkes Land Week Three Report” video features Penguin TV’s interview with the captain of the JOIDES Resolution. To watch the video, please visit http://joidesresolution.org/.
