June 2021 Issue
Director's Article
Upcoming Events & Program Updates
GO-SHIP Launches First GO-BGC Argo Float
Piloting Bio-GO-SHIP on US Cruises to Study Plankton and Ocean Processes
US AON Sponsors Workshop in Support of Developing Indigenous Collaboration in Arctic Observing Networks
Announcing New Tropical Pacific Observing System Website
FYI: NOAA Institutional Repository Submission Form Change
News from Around NOAA
ICYMI: Earth Day
New Publications
Director's Article

Happy Ocean Month! Spring is always a crazy time in NOAA. We are in the midst of finalizing our FY21 financial obligations. Adding to the energy level is the anticipated rollout of the FY22 President’s Budget request for all of NOAA’s activities. We are expecting good news in this request given NOAA’s top-level numbers and administration interests. We are also finalizing our new GOMO Strategic Plan, delayed due to the Pandemic, which provides a guide for GOMO’s future. More on this plan in a future issue of the newsletter.
 
We also continue to assess and address the impacts of COVID-19 on ocean observing. Many ship-based activities such as our ship of opportunity program, GO-SHIP, tropical moorings, and OceanSITES have been impacted. GO-SHIP cruises will begin again in the coming year and ship of opportunity deployments are picking up. We have managed to service some moorings/buoys (thank you to the superb effort of the scientific and ship crews). However, other moorings, particularly in the tropical Atlantic and Indian oceans, are at significant risk (and loss) due to delayed servicing. We are working with our partners to find solutions to this challenge.
 
As noted later in this newsletter, there are many upcoming opportunities to celebrate and draw attention to the importance of the oceans during World Ocean Month. See you there! 


-David Legler
Upcoming Events & Program Updates
June is World Ocean Month!

At NOAA every day is World Ocean Day. While much of the ocean is still unexplored, learning about the ocean's role in climate is key to our future - and a priority at NOAA. This June, learn more about the ocean and how you can help restore, protect, understand and enjoy it:

  • NOAA’s National Ocean Service is featuring  #30DaysofOcean facts, stories, and videos on social media and online.
  • NOAA Fisheries is promoting sustainable seafood all month and will celebrate Sea Turtle Week June 14-18.
  • NOAA Research is featuring a different buoy on social media every Wednesday as part of its Meet a Buoy campaign. Check out the article and follow @NOAAResearch or #MeetaBuoy on TwitterFacebook and Instagram.
  • UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development: The First International Ocean Decade Conference launched on June 1st. Watch the recording here.
Welcome Alma Vázquez-Lule!
Alma Vázquez-Lule joined NOAA in 2021 as a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow working to support GOMO’s goals in the UN Decade, the Tropical Pacific Observing System (TPOS) 2020 Project and Sea Level Rise in the U.S.

Alma earned her PhD in Plant and Soil Sciences at the University
of Delaware. Her PhD research focuses on understanding carbon dioxide and methane gas exchange between a tidal salt marsh and the atmosphere. Before starting her PhD, Alma worked for seven years as a Remote Sensing Specialist for the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) in Mexico.

Alma promotes and participates in panels of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She believes that women and other minority groups have the right to follow their dreams and to pursue scientific careers. Alma is an active member of GeoLatinas. Alma is originally from Mexico and enjoys having time with herself and with her lovely-funny family.
Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing News
The first biogeochemical Argo float of the new NSF-funded GO-BGC Array program was launched on March 24, 2021 by researchers onboard the GO-SHIP A20 Expedition in the Western North Atlantic. The float, named Europa, was adopted and named by the Fauquier County Public Schools in Warrenton, Virginia. A total of 12 floats will be deployed on the 2-leg cruise (A20 and A22), part of NOAA and NSF-funded U.S. Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (U.S. GO-SHIP). Read the full article.
GOMO and U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), in partnership with NASA Ocean Biology and the Biogeochemistry Program, recently awarded $500,000 via the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP) to several institutions to assess marine ecosystem health and the influence of changing ocean dynamics on plankton. 

This two-year project is part of a larger multi-agency effort and will leverage the global-reaching NOAA- and NSF-led U.S. GO-SHIP platforms to investigate the distributions and biogeochemical roles of plankton in the global ocean. Over the next two years, a team of researchers will incorporate biological measurements on three U.S. GO-SHIP hydrographic cruises in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans using established methodologies, novel techniques, and cross-disciplinary ocean observations. Read the full article.
NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab (AOML) scientist Rik Wanninkhof served as lead editor of the newly released Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R) report, which outlines a plan forward for ocean carbon research that can benefit decision-makers who are planning for climate change mitigation and adaption policies in the coming decade. NOAA has been at the forefront of ocean carbon research and observations for decades. Through programs like GO-SHIP and the Surface Ocean CO2 Network supported by GOMO, scientists have deepened our knowledge of the global carbon cycle and the role of the ocean in climate. Read more on GOMO's website or check out the UNESCO Press Release, originally published April 27, 2021.
US AON Sponsors Workshop in Support of Developing Indigenous Collaboration in Arctic Observing Networks
The US Arctic Observing Network (US AON) is a strategic and collaborative effort that works nationally and internationally to advance partnerships and systematic and ethical planning approaches to Arctic observing in support of broad societal benefit. US AON values the direct engagement of Indigenous organizations and communities in its planning efforts and seeks to improve the overall capacity of the Arctic research community, typically educated in only western science, into an improved understanding of how to develop effective partnerships with Indigenous-led efforts. To that end, US AON sponsored a 2-day invitational training for its partners, including: members of the interagency US AON Board, principal investigators of NOAA's Arctic Research Program and investigators from the newly initiated Research Networking Activity - for Sustained Coordinated Observations of Arctic Change (CoObs RNA), funded by the National Science Foundation. 

Kawerak’s Social Science Program and Katirvik Cultural Center, based out of Nome, Alaska, served as the training team. The training provided an overview of the cultural and historical context of Alaskan communities and also presented an introduction into Indigenous knowledge systems and co-production of knowledge practices, which have been identified by communities as a preferred methodology for collaboration with western science. US AON hopes to move forward with all of its partners using this improved understanding to build equitable research collaborations. 

By Sandy Starkweather, Executive Director, US Arctic Observing Network
US AON's Executive Director, Dr. Sandy Starkweather, is a principal investigator of NOAA's Arctic Research Program within the Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program.
Announcing New Tropical Pacific Observing System Website
The Tropical Pacific Observing System (TPOS) has a brand new website: tropicalpacific.org. We are excited to share the design for the new site that we hope embodies a new TPOS entering into its implementation phase. Much like the TPOS 2020 project, the former tpos2020.org will be sunsetting. 

The goals for this website redesign were to: 
  1. Highlight investments in pilot and process studies: https://tropicalpacific.org/projects/
  2. Provide observational data links and products that the TPOS research community would find useful: https://tropicalpacific.org/observations/
  3. Have an attractive ‘Impacts’ (socio-economics) page that also provides relevant and compelling information to the public: https://tropicalpacific.org/impacts/
  4. Provide a repository of key documents and information from the TPOS 2020 project: https://tropicalpacific.org/tpos2020-project-archive/ 

We worked to reflect the international collaborative nature of TPOS and aimed to highlight groups and provide sources from information beyond those in the US, but we are actively seeking feedback and suggestions for improvement. If you are looking for a way to get involved in TPOS, please visit our Get Involved page. If you wish to contact us separately with any questions or ideas, please send an email to [email protected].
FYI: NOAA Institutional Repository Submission Form Change
Update your bookmarks! Our submission form’s new link:

In an effort to streamline the submission process, the NOAA Institutional Repository (IR) has created a new submission form. This new form serves as your one-stop-shop for all your NOAA IR needs, replacing three other forms. You can perform all the following functions in one place:

  • Request DOIs; 
  • Submit journal articles and NOAA publications (both single and batch submissions);
  • Request Section 508 remediation for your journal article manuscript;
  • Update a file or metadata currently in the IR;
  • Attach supporting files for your submission (i.e., appendices, dataset links, etc.)
News from Around NOAA
ICYMI: Earth Day
GOMO Celebrates Earth Day in the DMV

This past Earth Day, April 22, the GOMO team in the DC area got together to learn about their local natural resources. They toured the Anacostia River with the Anacostia Riverkeeper.

Anacostia Riverkeeper is a non-profit organization working to protect and restore the Anacostia River and create opportunities for the community to connect to the river. We hope you did something to celebrate Earth Day in your community!
Recent Publications
Kersalé, M., Meinen, C. S., Perez, R. C., Piola, A. R., Speich, S., Campos, E. J. D., et al. (2021). Multi-year estimates of daily heat transport by the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at 34.5°S. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126, e2020JC016947. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016947

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Contact Jessica Mkitarian: [email protected] or (301) 427-2472.
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