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Greetings!
I hope everyone fared OK as Hurricane Debby passed through the Gulf. It was certainly a wet storm, with historic rainfall causing widespread flooding. We’re heading into the most active part of hurricane season and we’re tracking nearly a dozen underwater gliders and other autonomous vehicles on our dashboard, GANDALF. If you haven’t visited the page lately, take a look to see the latest updates to the layers and data outputs.
I recently returned from Florida, where I had the pleasure of meeting with my colleagues Debra Hernandez, the Executive Director at SECOORA, and Dr. Julio M. Morell, CARICOOS Executive Director to talk about how we can expand our joint efforts in a number of areas. We’re already collaborating on sargassum tracking and forecasts and coastal and marine heatwaves, and we hope to continue expanding our joint efforts to improve our understanding of connections in the intra-Americas seas region by leveraging our joint resources and capabilities to enhance observations and forecasts that support research, management and the blue economy. I also wanted to thank the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub and the University of South Florida (USF) for hosting our meeting in St. Petersburg.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the GCOOS Fall Meeting, scheduled to take place virtually on Friday, Nov. 8. We’re still developing the full agenda, but we’ve opened registration, so be sure to sign up now!
Until next month!
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Dr. Mark Luther (right), University of South Florida Associate Professor and GCOOS PI, provided a tour of Tampa Bay during the Pan-Regional Ocean Observing Initiative meeting with Dr. Julio Morell, (left), Dr. Jorge Brenner and Debra Hernandez. | |
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We’ve set the date for the GCOOS Fall Meeting, so be sure to mark your calendars and register now for this virtual event. We’re still developing the agenda but topics are likely to include community updates, IOOS program office news, and updates on marine heatwaves and threshold impacts, high-frequency radar operations, the Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems project and more.
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When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET, Friday Nov. 8
- Where: Virtual
- Register now
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Kirkpatrick Appointed to IOOS Advisory Committee | |
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Congratulations to GCOOS Senior Advisor Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick for her recent appointment to the U.S. IOOS Advisory Committee. The federal committee provides advice to the NOAA Administrator and the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC), in fulfillment of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act, on system topics that include:
- Administration, operation, management and maintenance;
- Expansion, modernization and technology upgrades;
- Identifying end-user communities and their information needs, along with the effectiveness of the system in meeting those needs.
Special thanks for their committee service also go to GCOOS Board Members Dr. Sara Graves, University of Alabama-Huntsville, and Dr. Ruth Perry, Shell Renewables & Energy Solutions, who are rotating off the board. During their tenure, the Committee developed 51 recommendations covering a broad range of topics including: DEIA, climate, marine life, National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), the IOOS budget, requirements management, and ocean enterprise and new blue economy that are now being incorporated in mission activities at NOAA and the IOOS Office.
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The final webinar in the joint GCOOS/SECOORA Series will focus on international activities related to marine biodiversity and ocean acidification monitoring and observations. GCOOS and SECOORA have teamed up for this series designed to establish collaborative opportunities among the U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON), the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Acidification Network (GCAN) and the Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network (SOCAN). The goal is to build synergy across these networks to advance science in support of resource management and the Blue Economy. Did you miss a previous webinar? They’re archived here.
- When: Noon to 1 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 22
- Where: GoTo Meeting (download the app here)
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Registration: Click here
Webinar Speakers:
OA: Dr. Martín Hernández Ayón, Investigator, del Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Hernández Ayon is an Oceanographer who completed his doctoral studies in Coastal Oceanography and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California. He’s a specialist in the Carbon Dioxide System in seawater and marine biogeochemistry. His research has focused on studying the role of coastal zones in the carbon cycle, including the effect of ocean acidification (AO) on marine ecosystems and the relationship of OA with other stress factors such as hypoxia, climate change, and CO2 fluxes in coastal regions. He has served as the Chair of the Mexican Carbon Program since 2018 and is a Science member of the Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) Executive Council and member of the North American Carbon Program Science Leadership Group. He is a GOA-ON Latin American Ocean Acidification Studies Network (LAOCA) representative.
MBON: Dr. Frank Müller-Karger is a Professor in the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida. He studies coastal and marine ecosystems including the links between water quality, biological production, and biodiversity, and how these may be connected to climate change and human activities. He uses satellite remote sensing and field work to measure how marine life is changing. Muller-Karger serves as co-lead of the US and international Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON), the Marine Life 2030 program endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the NOAA Climate Program Office/Sanctuaries Climate Indicator Task Force. Muller-Karger promotes science and technology, working with the public to advance environmental conservation locally, nationally and internationally.
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Mark Your Calendar: OA Vulnerability Workshop | |
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NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) is hosting a virtual workshop on recent projects related to regional resiliency and vulnerability assessments for ocean acidification. The recently funded projects will share results and facilitate connections between current project leaders and those interested in applying to their upcoming FY25 Regional Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) funding call, which will likely be released at the end of summer.
RVA projects are interdisciplinary projects that supplement the physical, chemical, and biological science of ocean acidification with social science to assess regional vulnerability. Workshop goals include hearing from PIs on lessons learned and next steps, addressing common challenges and facilitating networking and collaborations among current OAP-funded PIs and potential new partners.
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Ocean Current Data Milestone | |
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We hit a big (data) milestone on Aug. 13 when we surpassed the 500-million mark for data records of ocean currents! GCOOS holds the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)/Notice to Lessees (NTL) Data Repository and Registry, where we collate and curate oceanographic data gathered by offshore oil and gas platform operators. This continuing contribution from the private sector is a mark of their commitment to sharing oceanographic data in support of industry safety and overall public interest.
The GCOOS BSEE/NTL repository receives data from 50 active stations, including Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU), and also houses all the data reported previously via the NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC).
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The National Hurricane Center is unveiling their new cone graphic this month, the biggest change to the cone since 2017. This new experimental version of the cone of uncertainty depicts coastal and inland tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings for the continental U.S.
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During this experimental phase, users are also encouraged to provide feedback on the graphic through this survey
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Learn more about the changes here
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Hurricane Debby made landfall in northwest Florida as a category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 mph. Unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico aided in rapid intensification of Debby and the slow-moving storm brought historic rainfall-driven flooding to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Coastal Data Information Program wave buoy stations around Florida recorded significant wave heights greater than 3 meters and at the CDIP 214 Egmont Channel Entrance (operated by partners at the University of South Florida) heights reached 4 meters; it was among the top ten events measured there since 2015. Storm surge reached 2 m at Cedar Key.
On GANDALF, we were also tracking Saildrones SD-1057 and SD-1083 during Hurricane Debby. The Saildrone mission team positioned SD-1057 directly in Debby’s path, while NOAA’s P-3 aircrew deployed a dropsonde just 2.9 nm from the Saildrone, allowing the science team to compare data from the two. The P-3 flew several tracks directly over the Saildrone, providing a detailed view of atmospheric conditions, while SD-1057 reported 43 knot wind gusts and 4m significant wave heights.
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On Aug. 11, GCOOS Oceanographer Dr. Uchenna Nwankwo (working on the glider in the image), Assistant Research Scientist at Texas A&M University’s Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (TAMU-GERG), and GERG Research Associate Alec Krueger (holding the glider in the image) deployed two GERG gliders and a U.S. Navy glider off Texas as part of the ongoing hurricane intensification research funded by GCOOS. Since 2017, GCOOS, GERG and others have been working with NOAA’s Hurricane Glider Initiative to provide data on upper-ocean heat content to support storm intensification forecasting. The latest deployments ensure continuous water column sampling on the Texas Shelf and Slope in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico for hurricane season.
The field team was supported back at the lab by Dr. Mahmud Sakib, GERG Postdoctoral Researcher and glider operations lead, and Dr. Ge Xiao, GERG Postdoctoral Researcher. The deployment is slated to last 90 days.
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Make sure to check GANDALF throughout the hurricane season to stay current with all the uncrewed systems that we support.We’re currently tracking nine Slocum gliders, seven Saildrones and two seagliders. Argo float data is also available.
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As hurricane Beryl approached the coast in early July, coastal currents that are typically upcoast in July reversed to downcoast as shown in the image to the right. GCOOS Oceanographer Dr. Uchenna Nwankwo estimated the surface-current vectors based on the currents data captured by the high frequency radar stations ANWR and PINS, which are managed by GERG.
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2024 Gulf Dead Zone Nearly the Size of New Jersey | |
The results are in from this year’s research cruise mapping the size of the Gulf’s annual hypoxic zone near the outflow of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico, showing that this “dead zone” with low or no oxygen that can kill fish and benthic species is the 12th largest measured over the past 38 years. It’s about 40 times the size of New Orleans and nearly as large as New Jersey.
This annual measurement is a key metric that informs the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force, a state/federal partnership created with the goal of reducing the five-year average extent of the dead zone to less than 1,900 square miles by 2035.
During the July 21-26 trip, researchers calculated the hypoxic area to be 17,360 square kilometers (6,703 square miles), stretching from the Mississippi River across Louisiana coastal waters into Texas to the west.
“We have a long history of documented low oxygen on the Louisiana continental shelf and, in 2024, hypoxia to the east of the river,” said Dr. Nancy Rabalais, Professor and Shell Endowed Chair in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University. “The summer prediction is based on the May Mississippi River nitrogen load, but the river discharge then and at the time of the research cruise are also factors that contribute to stratification and lack of oxygen reaching the bottom waters, and why sometimes predictions are larger or smaller than what we actually see.”
Long-term nitrogen loading in the northern Gulf has not decreased since the federal Hypoxia Action Plan was adopted in 2001 and “there remains a need for nutrient reduction mitigation within the Mississippi River watershed for the environmental and human health within the watershed and for the reduction of low dissolved oxygen in the northern Gulf of Mexico,” according to the report’s authors.
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Healthy Ecosystems & Living Resources
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New Tool: Gulf and Atlantic Fish Abundance | |
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NOAA Fisheries has developed a new data visualization tool that provides abundance indices for 25 species in the Gulf of Mexico and 18 species in the southeastern U.S. Atlantic. Species include numerous snapper, grouper, amberjack, triggerfish, mackerel, sharks, shrimp and more.
The Southeast Abundance of Fish and Shrimp Data Visualizer, or SEAFiSh, tool provides easy access to the most up-to-date relative abundance information for fishery managers, commercial and recreational fishing communities, researchers, and other contributors to the management process to help with effectively responding to changes in the abundance of key species.
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Managing Lake Flows to the Gulf | |
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Division is implementing a new water management plan for Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. The new Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) will lower the number of damaging discharges to the Caloosahatchee River and Gulf of Mexico, provide greater operational flexibility to water managers, and ultimately send more water south to the Everglades and Florida Bay.
GCOOS member Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) has provided modeling, evaluation, and commentary on LOSOM throughout the five-year development process to help ensure the plan equitably addressed Southwest Florida’s ongoing water quality issues and the resulting harmful algal blooms.
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Learn How to be an Oyster Farmer | |
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The Oyster Resource and Recovery Center (ORRC) at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has launched an online platform to provide free courses to those interested in oyster farming, a new industry in Texas with a strong demand for a trained labor force. Designed to be easily accessible and self-paced, the courses contribute to an industry that will aim to support sustainable year-round oyster production in coastal states, particularly Texas, where oyster fisheries have been in decline due to harvest pressure, environmental stressors, and disease.
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New HABs National Strategy | |
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The U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has released the new national science strategy for harmful algal research and response. This comprehensive national science strategy outlines a decade-long roadmap aimed at enhancing understanding, monitoring and management of HABs. The science strategy was created by a 26-member Scientific Steering Committee, which included GCOOS Senior Advisor Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, who recently served as co-chair, and has four main themes:
1. HAB observing systems and modeling;
2. HAB detection and ecological impacts;
3. HAB management;
4. The human dimensions of HABs, including socioeconomics and education.
Each theme covers the current scientific and technological landscape, identifies remaining knowledge gaps, and offers future recommendations to advance research, monitoring, and management of HABs.
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Planning for Extreme Heat Impacts | |
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The National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) and NOAA’s Regional Collaboration Network are hosting the Heat Tabletop Exercise Planning Challenge funded through the Inflation Reduction Act that invites local governments, in close collaboration with community members and leaders, to develop Heat Tabletop Exercise Situation Manuals complete with realistic extreme heat scenarios to exercise heat action plans.
Extreme heat is one of the leading causes of weather-related illness and death in the U.S., causing more fatalities in a typical year than hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms and floods. Rising temperatures in recent decades have exacerbated heat-related health impacts as well as impacts to livelihoods and infrastructure.
Participants have until November to create and submit their materials and up to 10 winners will be chosen to receive a cash prize.
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Click for full details, rules and submission information. Submission closes in November.
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A new analysis led by scientists from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) shows that global mean sea surface temperatures set a record high in 2023 and indicates that the record-breaking temperatures were associated with extremely strong marine heatwaves the authors dubbed “super-marine heatwaves.”
The authors, including GCOOS Board Member Dr. Pat Hogan, attribute the record-high temperatures to: a long-term warming trend, a shift to the warm phase of the multi-decadal Pacific-Atlantic-Arctic (PAA) mode and the transition from the triple-dip succession of La Niña events to the 2023–24 El Niño event.
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Extreme Marine Heat Wave Results in Fewer, Less Genetically Diverse Corals
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The most intense marine heat wave on record in the Florida reef tract that took place in 2023 caused widespread coral bleaching and mortality of threatened elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata). Now, NOAA Fisheries scientists who assessed and mapped the number and distribution of genetically distinct colonies in the population after the heat wave are reporting their results:
- Elkhorn coral lost 77 percent of its genotypic diversity — only 37 elkhorn coral genotypes remained alive at their native reefs from at least 160 that were documented before the heat wave;
- The remaining elkhorn genotypes were restricted to 16 reefs in the upper Florida Keys and Miami-Dade and Broward counties;
- As of June 2023, scientists could not find any wild elkhorn corals south of Key Largo, despite extensive surveys by NOAA Fisheries and its partners.
More than 180 genotypes are currently housed in coral nurseries and gene banks and the NOAA-Fisheries report on elkhorn and the associated geographic database are designed to allow users to visualize where the colonies and genotypes are in relation to one another to help support coral restoration projects.
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Webinar Series: Tropicalization of Gulf Habitats | |
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The Habitat Resources and Wildlife & Fisheries Teams from the Gulf of Mexico Alliance are co-hosting a new webinar series on the first Wednesday of every month starting in September and lasting through April that is focused on the tropicalization of Gulf coast habitats. Learn how tropical species are expanding their ranges north as the climate warms, including the expansion of mangroves and related management challenges for Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
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NOAA has released the new Regional and State Report on the U.S. Marine Economy (based on 2021 data), providing snapshots of the U. S. marine economy, including the Gulf of Mexico. The marine economy is defined as those businesses whose existence depends on the oceans or Great Lakes and includes six sectors: marine construction, offshore mineral resources, tourism and recreation, living resources, ship and boat building and marine transportation. In the Gulf region, the value of the marine economy (GDP) is $133 billion and includes:
- 25,699 businesses
- 584,813 employees
- $32 billions in wages
The value of the Gulf region’s marine economy (GDP) rose 44 percent between 2011 and 2021 and the largest sub-sector within the GDP is offshore mineral resources (72 percent), while the largest marine-related employment sector is tourism and recreation at 57 percent.
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Port Operations Resiliency | |
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The U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System is seeking information to identify what planning guidance, data sources, and grants U.S. ports have used in planning for long-term environmental change, and to identify whether there are any barriers to action in planning for the future. The information will be analyzed to assess whether the needs for this type of planning are being met and identify where improvements could be made. The committee is seeking information from anyone who works in or adjacent to climate resilience planning and execution in ports (public and private).
- Deadline: The comment period closes on Aug. 29
- Details
| IRA Funding for Fisheries | |
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The Biden-Harris Administration announced more than $34 million in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding for grants, cooperative institutes, contracts and federal employment to modernize NOAA Fisheries' data, infrastructure and workforce. The effort aims to meet the pace of climate-related mission demands.
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Proposed: New Island Name | |
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The U.S. Board on Geographic Names is seeking comment or input on names proposed for two islands in Chocktawhatchee Bay in Walton County, Florida, after Ruth and Sidney Latimer. The couple played an important role in encouraging and supporting safe navigation and boating in the area, known as Jolly Bay. They also helped to develop the area and protect and preserve its ecosystem. The proposed Ruth Latimer Island is located at Latitude: 30.425823/Longitude: -86.134614 and the proposed Sidney Latimer Island is located at Latitude: 30.423931/Longitude: -86.135006.
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Email comments to Tara Wallace, Branch Chief, Production Branch B, Marine Chart Division, Member, U.S. Board on Geographic Names, Office of Coast Survey, National Ocean Service: Tara.Wallace@noaa.gov
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The Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems (UGOS) initiative is designed to advance understanding and prediction of Loop Current dynamics to reduce risks to offshore energy exploration and production, improve hurricane intensity forecasting, support fisheries management and deal with other challenges such as sea-level rise. The webinar series is focused on UGOS-funded work and related research.
- The next webinar is at 11 a.m. ET Monday, Aug. 26.
- Register here
Dr. Annalisa Bracco, Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Georgia Institute of Technology, will speak on "Submesoscale circulations, vertical resolution, and sound speed propagation in the De Soto Canyon," and Dr. Marco Larrañaga, Postdoctoral Scientist in the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS), Florida State University, will speak on "Partial control of the Gulf of Mexico dynamics by the Current Feedback to the atmosphere."
For additional information, email webinar series organizers Luna Hiron, lhiron@fsu.edu, Florida State University, Sakib Mahmud, sakib@tamu.edu, Texas A&M University, or Aryan Safaie, aryansafaie@uri.edu, University of Rhode Island.
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Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC)
New Strategic Plan
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The IOOC, made up of representatives from a dozen federal agencies such as NOAA, NSF and NASA, along with representation from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), has released its first Strategic Plan, highlighting its commitment to advancing ocean observation and management. For more than a decade, the IOOC has been at the forefront of coordinating the federally supported ocean, coasts and Great Lakes observing enterprise. The Strategic Plan is designed to tackle critical challenges including dramatic changes in these environments, emerging economic opportunities and the rapid evolution of ocean observing technology and science. The plan’s three overarching goals focus on advancing the ocean observing enterprise, fostering partnerships and ensuring the sustainability of ocean observation activities to advance ocean knowledge, stewardship and societal benefit.
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Gulf Research Program (GRP)
New Consensus Study: Compounding Disasters in Gulf Coast Communities 2020-2021
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Seven major hurricanes and severe winter storms affected communities across the region between 2020 and 2021 while the global COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding, producing a complex and unprecedented public health and socioeconomic crisis.
Now, a new consensus report explores the interconnections, impacts, and lessons learned of compounding disasters that impair resilience, response, and recovery efforts.
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Texas A&M University; Department of Oceanography - Associate Director of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Division Director of Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystem Division at AOML
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National Science Foundation - Program Director
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Hello.gov - Sr. Cloud and Data Engineer
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National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine; Gulf Research Program - Executive Director
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National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine; Gulf Research Program - Program Officer - Environmental Protection and Stewardship Board
- Mote Marine Laboratory
- Aquarium Biologist III – Mammals and Reptiles
- Postdoctoral Researcher in Marine Sediment Sciences
- Harmful Algal Bloom/Seagrass Techician
- Building Operations Lead
- Aquarium Biologist
- Staff Biologist – Photogrammetry
- Philanthropy Officer
- Manager Development Operations
Postdoctoral Positions:
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National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciences, NRC Research Programs
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Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute: Postdoctoral Fellowship
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National Research Council: Research Associateship Programs Postdoctoral and Senior Research Awards
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Mississippi State University: Postdoctoral Associate
Fellowships:
- Susan L. Williams National Coral Reef Management Fellowship
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National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration - Coastal Management Fellowship
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National Academies of Science, Engineering and Mathematics: Early Career Fellowships
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Department of Defense: Visualization of Coastal Data, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment Fellow
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- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Office of Response and Restoration - Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Removal Grant Program
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Long Term Trends in the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem
- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine – Early Career Research Fellowship
- Gulf of Mexico Alliance
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1-2: Marine Technology Society, Tech Surge 2024, Baltimore, Maryland | |
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 on-demand information about the Gulf’s coastal and open ocean waters that is accurate, reliable and benefits people, ecosystems and the economy. | |
Dr. Jorge Brenner, Executive Director • Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, Senior Advisor • Dr. Uchenna Nwankwo, Oceanographer • Dr. Chris Simoniello, Outreach & Education Manager • Felimon Gayanilo, Systems Architect, Co-Data Manager • Bob Currier, Product Developer, Co-Data Manager • Tuomo Saari, Scientific Computing Specialist • Xiao Qi, Scientific Computing Specialist • Jennifer Vreeland-Dawson, Program Coordinator • Megan Howson, Marine Mammal Biologist and Data Scientist • Jerad King, GIS Developer • Grant Craig, Project Manager and HABscope Volunteer Coordinator • Nadine Slimak, Public Relations & Content Marketing, Vetted Communications, LLC • Laura Caldwell, Program Assistant | |
In Memoriam: Matt Howard, 1952-2018
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