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Greetings!
An important part of GCOOS outreach is developing relationships with members of Congress from the five Gulf States and keeping their offices informed about the activities and projects in the Gulf region that support communities in their states and districts. Each Spring we have the opportunity to meet with many of the representatives and their staff in person while we attend the Spring meeting of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (U.S. IOOS) program office and regional association directors.
During our Hill visits this year, we were especially pleased to be on hand as U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell (R-MS) introduced H.R. 2294, a bill to reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009. The bill was co-sponsored by Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Randy Weber (R-TX), Debbie Dingell (R-MI), Amata Radewagen (R-AS), and Danny Davis (D-IL).
I, along with GCOOS Associate Director Marcus Ogle and Program Coordinator Grant Craig, IOOS Association Executive Director Kristen Yarincik and Emily Patrolia, CEO of ESP Advisors had the opportunity to discuss the regional and national benefits of GCOOS and IOOS with Rep. Ezell. The Congressman also spoke in support of GCOOS and IOOS at the IOOS 25th Anniversary celebration, which took place in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25.
On March 27, we met with staff from the offices of Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Representatives Randy Weber (R-TX), Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Robert Aderholt (R-AL) to answer questions about observation needs and request support for Fiscal Year 2026 IOOS Regional Association appropriations. Legislative staffers are often impressed by the efficiency of GCOOS and what we and our partners throughout the region have been able to accomplish with appropriated funds, and we’re always happy to share news and details about the work our members and partners are conducting in the Gulf via this enewsletter and other avenues. Today, it's especially important that we communicate about the work we do and how it supports and improves Gulf Coast communities and the region's blue economy. If you have news to share, please feel free to email our communications lead, Nadine Slimak at Nadine@VettedCommunications.com.
Until next month,
| | Matt Howard Fellowship Awarded | | |
Congratulations to Dafrosa Kataraihya, the 2025 recipient of the GCOOS Matt Howard Fellowship. Kataraihya is a Ph.D. student in Earth Systems Sciences at Florida International University studying sea level variability and coastal flooding hazards in the Gulf states with an interest in using ocean data to provide actionable insights that support coastal resilience and sustainable management. Kataraihya, a hydrographer & oceanographer, data analyst, and ocean sciences researcher, has a master’s degree in hydrography and oceanography from the University of Genova, Italy, and a bachelor of science degree in geomatics from Ardhi University, Tanzania.
The Matt Howard Fellowship offers undergraduate or graduate students the opportunity to attend a professional conference and to learn from GCOOS staff and partners about career options related to ocean science and data management. Fellows learn how ocean observing programs like GCOOS inform decision making in support of a healthy and productive Gulf and the communities that depend on it. Selected candidates have opportunities to interact with the GCOOS team and our ocean observing partners by participating in meetings and discussion panels.
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The Fellowship is supported by the Matt Howard Scholarship Fund, which was created in honor of Dr. Matthew Howard, a founding GCOOS member and oceanographer at Texas A&M University who developed a unique expertise in oceanography and ocean data management systems, information architecture and marine spatial data infrastructure. Want to support the next generation of ocean observers?
- Click here to donate now (or simply scan the QR code)!
| | Mark Your Calendar: GCOOS Spring Members’ Meeting | | |
Registration is now open for the GCOOS Spring Members’ Meeting. The virtual meeting is scheduled for 3-6 p.m. ET / 2-5 p.m. CT on Wednesday, May 28. The meeting agenda is in development. Watch this space and follow us on social media for updates!
- Registration: Click here or scan the QR code.
| | A Look Back at Hurricane Preparedness in the Gulf | | |
During this 20th anniversary year of GCOOS — and with hurricane season rapidly approaching — we thought it would be fun to take a look at a milestone that significantly improved the safety and resilience of Gulf communities.
Back in October 2012, NOAA leaders joined bipartisan members of Congress, as well as federal, state and local emergency responders at the grand opening of the Gulf of America Disaster Response Center (DRC) (formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center) in Mobile, Alabama. The 15,200 square-foot facility was built to withstand up to Category 5 hurricane winds, threats from storm surge and flooding, and has an interior F5 tornado shelter. The facility serves as a central coordination point for emergency managers and partners who rely on NOAA scientific support to make decisions to protect and restore the Gulf Coast’s communities, economies and valuable natural resources.
Former GCOOS Executive Director Dr. Ann Jochens and former Data Management and Communications Manager Dr. Matthew Howard were part of the team that helped consolidate several programs in the Gulf region to streamline responses to emergencies such as oil and chemical spills, incident meteorology, damage assessment, habitat conservation and restoration, marine debris, nautical charting and navigation safety. Since opening, the center and its partners have guided the region through more than 25 named hurricanes, including nine major Category 4 and 5 storms. As both natural and human-caused disasters such as hurricanes, oil spills, tornadoes, droughts, harmful algal blooms and wildfires continue to impact the region, the science to support operational capabilities and knowledge to ensure that commerce, communities and natural resources can recover from disasters as quickly as possible remains more important than ever.
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About the History Spotlight
This year, GCOOS is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Throughout the year, we’ll be highlighting historic data and activities from the Gulf’s ocean observing community in our enewsletter, on our website and through social media. Have a slice of Gulf data history that you’d like to share? Please email Nadine Slimak at Nadine@VettedCommunications.com with details — there might even be prizes!
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At Mote Marine Laboratory, GCOOS Principal Investigator John J. Langan and his team are advancing the fight against harmful algal blooms (HABs) with the development and testing of a new autonomous surface vehicle. The Seasats ASV, nicknamed Mote-Gloria, is equipped with Mote’s custom-built PHySS — the Programmable Hyperspectral Seawater Scanner — designed to autonomously collect water samples and use hyperspectral light spectrometry to identify phytoplankton species associated with red tide and other HAB events.
Initial testing (pictured below) included route mapping through Sarasota’s New Pass and into the Gulf. Mote-Gloria is now a fully integrated asset of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Ocean Technology Research Program, joining a fleet that includes several Slocum gliders actively patrolling the Southwest Florida coastline.
One of these gliders, Mote-Holly, is currently deployed and transmitting data via GANDALF, the GCOOS autonomous vehicle dashboard. If Mote-Holly detects signals indicative of a developing bloom, Mote-Gloria can be rapidly deployed to verify and characterize the event in greater detail, enabling timely coordination with state agencies for potential mitigation responses.
“This is a new tool in our red tide mitigation toolbox,” said Langan. “It gives us the ability to detect bloom formation earlier, so that coastal communities and businesses can better prepare.”
In parallel, Mote is working to develop a next-generation version of the PHySS system — one that is even more robust and energy-efficient — to further enhance autonomous, real-time HAB monitoring capabilities.
| | 2025 Hurricane Season Forecast | | |
Forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU) have released their predictions for the 2025 June-November hurricane season in the Atlantic basin, calling for an above-average season with elevated sea surface temperatures as a primary factor.
The CSU team is forecasting 17 named storms with nine becoming hurricanes and four to reach major hurricane strength (Category 3, 4, or 5 on the Saffir/Simpson scale) with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour or greater.
The team bases its forecasts on a statistical model, as well as four models that use a combination of information and predictions of large-scale conditions from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the UK Met Office, the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici. These models use 25 to 40 years of historical hurricane seasons and evaluate conditions including variables such as the Atlantic sea surface temperatures, sea level pressures, vertical wind shear levels, the ENSO phenomenon and other factors.
NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) will release its forecast in May, about two weeks before the start of the season.
In the meantime, the World Meteorological Organization Hurricane Committee has retired the names of four storms that caused deaths and destruction in 2024. The names retired are:
Beryl, Helene and Milton in the Atlantic basin and John in the Pacific basin.
Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Atlantic basin Category-5 hurricane on record, with major impacts in the Caribbean. Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused catastrophic damage in the United States and Hurricane John triggered deadly and extended flooding in the Mexican state of Guerrero. (You can read the NHC’s reports on Hurricane Milton here and Hurricane Helene here )
Brianna, Holly and Miguel were selected as replacements in the Atlantic basin and Jake in the eastern Pacific. The lists of names, which are overseen by WMO, help in the communication of storm warnings and to alert people about potentially life-threatening risks. The names are repeated every six years, unless a storm is so deadly that its name is retired.
| | Call for Papers on Co-Production | | |
The NOAA RESTORE Science Program has partnered with researchers from Florida State University and the RESTORE Act Center of Excellence for Louisiana on a special collection about co-production and coastal resilience in the journal Estuaries and Coasts. Submissions are now open through Aug. 31.
Co-production of science emphasizes iterative collaborations between researchers, practitioners and other interested parties to produce actionable science that directly informs decision-making and actions.
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Learn more & find submission details here.
| | NMEA is coming to the Gulf! | | |
The 2025 National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) planning team is excited to announce that meeting registration and lodging reservations are now open for the June 29-July 3 conference “EnGULFed in Change: ROUX-ted in Resiliency.” The conference, hosted by the Southern Association of Marine Educators (SAME), which includes several members of the GCOOS Outreach and Education Council, will be held in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Full and single day registration options are available, with full day benefits including access to all plenary and concurrent sessions, breakfast, lunch and evening events from Sunday through Wednesday afternoon.
Recorded presentations and networking will be available during and after the conference and there will be many opportunities to meet colleagues from around the world. The event will not be live streamed. However, if you can’t join in person, there is an option to register for recorded keynote and other presentations.
| | Save the Date: GCOOS Webinars on Marine Heatwaves | | |
This year, GCOOS has a special focus on marine heatwaves and we’re scheduling webinars focused on the impacts heatwaves have on marine species and coastal weather.
Save the date for these webinars now!
- What: GCOOS Webinars on Marine Heatwave Impacts
- When: 1 p.m. ET / Noon CT Thursday, June 12 and Thursday, June 26
- Registration/Speakers: Details coming soon!
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Healthy Ecosystems & Living Resources
| | To Tell a Good Story About the Science | | |
Whether you know what makes a good story or not, you know a good one when you hear it! Reasons for storytelling vary — for example to educate, connect with others or motivate action — but one thing all good stories have in common is that people are more likely to remember them over a list of facts and data.
For a program like the Marine Biodiversity Observing Network (MBON) at the cutting edge of science in support of managing living resources, how do you tell stories without your readers’ eyes glazing over with details about widgets, graphs and p-values? GCOOS Outreach and Education Manager Dr. Chris Simoniello; SECOORA Deputy Director Jennifer Dorton; NERACOOS Strategy Director Jackie Motyka and University of New Hampshire MBON Principal Investigator, Dr. Nathan Furey organized a MBON Communications workshop earlier this month in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to discuss the question. Turns out, the answer is simple: focus on the amazing animals, people and science-fiction-like developments enabling exciting new discoveries about our watery planet. Guided by experts Kirsten Farrell of the Goodman Center and long-time NPR science correspondent Joe Palca, workshop participants had the opportunity to learn new storytelling strategies and put them into practice drafting stories that we’ll be sharing over the coming weeks.
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Do you have a story idea related to observations of marine life? Please let us help you share it by emailing Chris.Simoniello@GCOOS.org!
| | MDEQ Seeks Restoration Ideas | | |
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is accepting ideas for the 2025 Mississippi Multiyear Implementation and Expenditure Plans created as part of the civil penalties levied after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.
MDEQ is seeking new ideas or the re-submittal/update of previous ideas for restoration projects via the Mississippi Restoration Project Portal, found here.
| | UGOS Completes 10,000 Profiles in the Gulf | |
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s 10-year Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems (UGOS) has reached a major milestone: Successfully completing 10,000 temperature/salinity profiles using Argo floats, significantly enhancing understanding of Gulf of America dynamics, according to ECO Magazine.
The final phase of the initiative has just 24 months remaining until its conclusion in 2027; in the meantime, it continues to push forward with cutting-edge modeling efforts — including HYCOM, MITgcm, TOPS, and ROMS — using Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) and Observing System Experiments (OSEs) to optimize observational strategies.
| | UGOS Webinar Series: Eddies and Cold Fronts | | |
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.
- Next session: 11 a.m. ET, Monday, April 28
- Speakers: Dr. Jorge Zavala Hidalgo, Director of the Institute for Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Change, UNAM, will speak on “Hydrodynamic Response of the Gulf of Mexico to the Passage of a Cold Front”; Dr. Anneliese Schmidt, Metocean Engineer at The Woods Hole Group, will speak on the “Determination of Vertical Kinematic Eddy Structure from Surface Speed Profiles.”
- Registration
For additional information, email Luna Hiron, lhiron@fsu.edu, Florida State University, or Sakib Mahmud, sakib@tamu.edu, Texas A&M University.
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Gulf Research Program (GRP)
Recovering After a Disaster
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Since 2020, the GRP has been working with Gulf Coast communities to better understand how disasters — like floods and extreme heat — affect their health and ability to recover. From these conversations, GRP is now creating the Adaptive Capacities for Transformation Initiative, or ACT for short. The ACT Initiative will use both science and community ideas to bring people and groups together. These groups include local nonprofits, foundations, academic institutions and governments. By sharing their knowledge, skills and resources, groups can work together to help Gulf communities improve their health and resilience.
The GRP is offering an online brainstorming opportunity for those who live in, work in, and/or study Gulf communities to share their thoughts. Participants will have the opportunity to share, rate and sort ideas into groups with similar themes.
- Input is confidential.
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To participate, click here before Friday, April 18.
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Gulf of America Alliance (GOAA)
2024 Gulf Star Report Released
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GOAA has released its 2024 Gulf Star Program report, which provides a summary of accomplishments and progress in coastal community resilience, environmental education, habitats & wildlife and clean water. The Gulf Star Program is a public-private partnership that leverages contributions from agencies and businesses to conduct projects in these areas. 2024 Gulf Star Partners were CITGO, Hess, Oxy, NASEM Gulf Research Program, Freeport McMoRan, Shell, Chevron, Valero, Equinor, Motiva, Clean Gulf Associates, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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GOAA welcomes new program coordinator, Lisa Adams. Adams, located in Fairhope, Alabama, will support GOAA’s Coastal Community Resilience Team. She previously worked for the Mobile County Commission as an environmental manager and grants specialist.
| Planning the Alliance’s Future | |
GOAA is seeking input on priorities and actions needed as part of its five-year update to the Governors’ Action Plan for Healthy and Resilient Coasts. The update will be the fifth in a series and cover 2027-2031. Feedback on relevant, regional topics will also be used to inform upcoming team discussions and sessions at the All Hands Meeting in May.
- Take the Action Plan V Survey here
| | 55-Year-Old Camera Survives Search for Loch Ness Monster | | |
According to ECO Magazine, researchers from the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) testing an advanced underwater vehicle discovered an underwater camera system nearly 600 feet deep. The camera was placed in Scotland’s Loch Ness in 1970 by Professor Roy Mackal of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau and the University of Chicago and is believed to be one of the earliest attempts to catch the Loch Ness Monster on film.
During a test mission, the advanced underwater vehicle, designed for discovering the secrets of the global ocean, accidentally found the camera. Adrian Shine, who set up The Loch Ness Project in the mid-1970s to investigate Loch Ness and its world-famous inhabitant, helped to identify it. “It was an ingenious camera trap consisting of a clockwork Instamatic camera with an inbuilt flash cube, enabling four pictures to be taken when a bait line was taken,” he says. “It is remarkable that the housing has kept the camera dry for the past 55 years, lying around 180 m deep in Loch Ness.”
The film was developed by an NOC engineer, but, alas, the Loch’s famous inhabitant did not appear.
| | Downloadable Marine Sanctuary Posters | | |
Have a favorite marine sanctuary? Do you love them all? Check out the National Marine Sanctuaries’ poster series — download your favorite, or download them all! (We’re fairly partial to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary ourselves!)
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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: Program Officer - Environmental Protection and Stewardship Board
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University of Miami: Assistant Professor in Physical Oceanography
- Mote Marine Laboratory
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University of Louisiana at Lafayette – Research Associate; Water Quality Monitoring
Postdoctoral Positions:
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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
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Downeast Institute: Research Scientist
Fellowships:
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National Academies of Science, Engineering and Mathematics: Early Career Fellowships
- Department of Defense: Visualization of Coastal Data, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment Fellow
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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Gulf Research Program: Environmental Literacy for Community Resilience
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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Gulf Research Program: Empowering K-8 Through Place Based Education
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Gulf of Mexico Alliance: Increasing Participation in Clean and Resiient Marine Programs
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Seagrant: Addressing Priority Research, Extenision and Education Needs
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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Early Career Research Fellowship
| | 3-5: Gulf Resilience Community of Practice Annual Meeting, Houma, Louisiana, contact Tracie Sempier at tracie.sempier@usm.edu for more details | | 29 June - 3 July: NMAE 2025, Lafayette, Louisiana | | 18-20: UG2 Underwater Glider User Group, St. Petersburg, Florida, Details coming soon. | | GCOOS is the Gulf of America regional component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and the only certified system dedicated solely to the Gulf. 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. https://ror.org/024q01f72 | | Dr. Jorge Brenner, Executive Director • Marcus Ogle, Associate Director • Dr. Uchenna Nwankwo, Oceanographer • Dr. Chris Simoniello, Outreach & Education Manager • Dr. Renata Poulton Kamakura, Science Policy Fellow • Felimon Gayanilo, Systems Architect, Co-Data Manager • Bob Currier, Product Developer, Co-Data Manager • Tuomo Saari, Scientific Computing Specialist • Xiao Qi, Scientific Computing Specialist • 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 | | | | |
