It’s June and time to celebrate Ocean Month. NOAA has a full plate of activities and announcements that will help you celebrate. Earlier this morning (June 1), ocean leaders, scientists and activists from around the world gathered in Germany and online for the First International Ocean Decade Conference. Closer to home, there are other great free and open events, including the virtual Capitol Hill Ocean Week, June 8-10, which focuses on diversity and inclusion, bringing in many new voices.

Be sure to catch Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Thursday, June 10, at 1 PM ET, for the Building Back Bluer panel. NOAA’s National Ocean Service will feature #30DaysofOcean facts, stories, and videos on social media and online. NOAA Fisheries will promote sustainable seafood all month and celebrate Sea Turtle Week from June 14-18. Meanwhile, NOAA Ocean Exploration will unveil a new website on June 8 - World Ocean Day - that was created by NOAA and our partners to bring together engaging ocean education materials in a one-stop-shop for educators and learners of all ages. And every Wednesday in June, NOAA Research will be featuring a NOAA buoy on social media as part of its Meet a Buoy campaign.

Along with these and many other activities, I’d encourage you to take some time away from work to celebrate the ocean or a favorite wild and natural place. I was lucky to get away recently to see family. I made my way to my favorite Atlantic Ocean beach, waded in the 50-degree froth and we even took a delicious long swim in a nearby lake. This inspires me to keep learning and working on our great mission. I hope you enjoy the month!

Best,

Monica Allen, Director of Public Affairs for NOAA Research

Two recent NOAA studies have shed light on geoengineering - the term for human intervention in the earth's climate system to slow climate change. The first examined the vast challenges and potentially damaging consequences of solar geoengineering, finding that this tactic would likely work - but with some major side effects. The second looked at wildfire plumes, finding that the dynamics that lift smoke into the upper atmosphere could potentially be employed one day to help temporarily cool the planet.

Curious what's been going on with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)? Climate.gov has an update! La Niña conditions have ended and NOAA forecasters estimate about a 67% chance that neutral conditions will continue through the summer. The ENSO forecast for the fall is less confident, with odds of a second-year La Niña currently hovering around 50–55%.

A new study by researchers at the University of Miami and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) suggests that transplanting coral - specifically staghorn coral - from higher temperature waters to cooler waters may be a successful strategy to help corals recover from certain stressors. The researchers found that corals from reefs with higher average water temperatures showed greater healing than corals from cooler waters when exposed to heat stress.

Two NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) longtime employees have been honored with the two most prestigious awards given by the International Association for Great Lakes Research. NOAA GLERL Information Services Branch Chief Margaret Lansing has received IAGLR’s 2021 John R. Vallentyne Award, and NOAA GLERL Ecosystem Dynamics Branch Chief Henry Vanderploeg has received IAGLR’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. Huge congratulations to both of you!

In honor of Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the NOAA Research Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Program Office highlighted Dr. Brian McDonald, Research Scientist at the Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL). In addition to working to advance Diversity & Inclusion efforts at NOAA, Brian's expertise is on developing emission inventories of energy and urban systems, assessments of air quality trends, and regional air quality modeling. Learn more about Brian.

Staff at the Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) participated in a three-hour workshop focused on how to avoid ethnocentrism - using one's own ethnicity as a frame of reference to evaluate others' - and increase empathy in the workplace. The workshop was presented by communications expert Dr. Tiffany Bell, and was customized to help TPO staff discuss effective communication strategies for building a diverse and inclusive professional environment. TPO is committed to learning more and working together to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in our office and across NOAA.

Severe weather hazards - such as hail, high wind speeds, and tornadoes - can impact essential community infrastructure. Researchers from the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) are studying the impacts of severe weather threats on a range of community assets, including critical infrastructures like hospitals, fire stations, and schools, with the goal of improving community resiliency.

TPO provided an overview of funding opportunities available through NOAA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program during a Department of Commerce webinar entitled “Build Back Better Ports and Marine Technologies to Support Exports”. The webinar showcased various funding opportunities in marine technology development. Other panelists included representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Environmental Technology Assistance (META) program, and the Port of Oakland.

Join the Line Office Transition Managers Committee on June 23rd at 1:30-2:30 pm ET to learn about the Research to Commercialization transition pathway. Attendees will learn about NOAA’s requirements for managing intellectual property and understand how a transition plan can help ensure a successful outcome for research and development efforts. Look out for an upcoming registration link from the NOAA Central Library, and view the previous fireside chat.

Looking ahead: The next Management Skills for New Supervisors (MSNS) training is from July 26-30, 2021 ET. Individuals may register via the Commerce Learning Center (CLC).

AGU's EOS magazine covered recent research out of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab that shows promise for forecasting meteotsunamis.

Check out this Wired article to see NOAA Ocean Explorer's Mike White talk about deep ocean exploration as reporter Cecilia D'Anastasio plays the video game Subnautica Below Zero.

Reuters' special report on the world’s leading climate scientists includes a Hot List of the 1,000 most influential climate scientists with 21 from NOAA Research (check out the list of featured Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab researchers).

Check out this editorial by NOAA Research's Monica Allen on the new age of ocean science communications.