Program Update: Interagency Ocean Observation Committee – January 2013
The Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC) convened the IOOS Summit on November 13-16, 2012, roughly ten years after an initial workshop defining U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) requirements. The participants at the Summit reviewed progress in the design and implementation of IOOS. They identified the notable successes in developing a functioning system, as well as the technical and practical challenges and opportunities that IOOS will face in the coming decade.
The organizers and participants generated a U.S. IOOS Summit Declaration that outlines core principles for integrated ocean observing over the next decade. The document is available for review here. Many of the Summit attendees have already signed on and the IOOC invites you to do the same. If you would like to endorse the Declaration, simply go to the webpage and enter your name, affiliation (optional), and email address.
The final IOOS Summit report is planned for release in March 2013. The report will distill recommendations from the ocean observing community leading up to and during the Summit, and set the path to 2022. Expected recommendations include: enhancing focus on regional, national, and global integration; new research and operational models; building public-private partnerships; enhancing outreach and communications strategies; incorporation of additional (e.g. biological) information; and capitalizing on, and integrating across, existing infrastructure and activities.
The IOOS Data Management and Communications (DMAC) Steering Team (ST) played a significant role at the Summit hosting a break out session on developing strategies to strengthen ocean and coastal data and information management over the next decade. The DMAC ST is holding its first 2013 biennial meeting on February 27 and 28 to determine how to implement actions from the Summit and previous meetings.
The U.S. IOOS System Advisory Committee expects their next meeting to be in Denver, Colorado on February 6, 2013. IOOC ex-officio members will be in attendance. All presentations and relevant post-meeting materials will be posted shortly on the IOOS website.
The next full membership meeting will take place on Monday, February 25 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. EST at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.
More information about the IOOC can be accessed on the IOOC website, which contains updated information regarding commenting opportunities on committee activities; information on upcoming and past events; and relevant scientific, technical, and policy publications. If you have any questions, please visit the committee’s website or send an email to iooc@oceanleadership.org.
