Hi NOAA Research!

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Claire Montgomery, a contractor with the communications office. It's been a pleasure to work with so many of you on external engagements and constituent affairs. If I haven’t, nice to e-meet you!

As we’re preparing for World Ocean Month in June, I wanted to share some exciting updates about the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The Ocean Decade is engaging across sectors and society to support science and research for sustainable use of ocean resources and to improve ocean health. AA Craig McLean serves on the Decade Advisory Board to drive NOAA contributions towards the Decade, and I’ve been supporting communications with a small team at the NOAA Research level, all the way up to the UN.

May 31st would have seen a cohort of NOAA colleagues jetting overseas to join world leaders in science, philanthropy, academia, even the arts, for the Ocean Decade kickoff conference. The conference will now be a virtual celebration of The Ocean We Want by 2030 — which means everyone can join this livestream event! NOAA Research also supported the formation of the U.S. National Committee as an entry point for domestic projects and activities that aim to achieve the Decade outcomes. During World Ocean Month, NOAA and partners will be showcasing ocean science supporting the Decade, including a session at Capitol Hill Ocean Week.

Want to learn more or get involved? Visit oceandecade.org to view resources like the Decade brochure, recent newsletters, and reports. Follow #OceanDecade on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Join the NOAA Think Tank meetings for the latest updates on the Decade (email me if you’re interested). You can even listen to former Knauss Fellow Taylor Goelz’s podcast, the Ocean Decade Show, hosted by American Shoreline Podcast Network. And don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions!

I'm excited to see how the Ocean Decade will be transformative for science and a healthier world.

Best,

Claire

Big news! Raytheon Intelligence & Space has been chosen to develop the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC), a virtual center that will unite the community to create the most user-friendly and user-accessible Earth modeling system. Learn more about this exciting news and what EPIC means for the future of weather forecasting.

After deadly tornadoes struck the Southeast in March, NOAA researchers for the first time captured aerial photos and video of storm damage from hard-to-reach locations using remote-controlled, uncrewed aircraft. Scientists hope images from the research drones will improve our understanding of tornadoes and lead to better forecasts.

Meteotsunamis are large waves caused by weather - a combination of changing air pressure, strong winds and thunderstorm activity. Right now, there are no forecast models that effectively predict meteotsunamis in the U.S. - but new research out of the Great Lakes shows promise for the future.⁣

Beginning with this year’s hurricane season outlooks, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center will use 1991-2020 as the new 30-year period of record. The updated averages for the Atlantic hurricane season have increased with 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes. Learn more about this change from NOAA.gov.

The start of spring means harmful algal bloom season is just around the corner in the Great Lakes. In April, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL) and Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) staff began weekly field sample collection in support of the Lake Erie Operational HAB forecast. This monitoring of Lake Erie will provide valuable algal bloom reference data for the forecast and to other stakeholders.

Welcome to Wayne MacKenzie, formerly of NOAA Satellites, who joined the Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) in April! Wayne will oversee the Technology Transfer Program, which promotes increased use and commercialization of NOAA’s innovative technologies and knowledge by facilitating partnerships and transferring intellectual property from NOAA to other federal agencies, academia, and the U.S. private sector.

CIGLR and NOAA GLERL scientists recently published an article in Scientific Reports describing a new methodology that uses environmental DNA and RNA (eDNA and eRNA) to detect and distinguish the presence of living organisms and improve estimates of their abundance. EDNA is a helpful scientific resource because it can be collected from the environment, rather than directly from an organism, and analyzed to identify what species are present in a specific area.

There is consistent, strong evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is predominantly transmitted through the air, according to a new assessment published in the medical journal Lancet. Therefore, public health measures that fail to treat the virus as predominantly airborne leave people unprotected, according to experts including CIRES and CU Boulder chemist Jose-Luis Jimenez.

NOAA received a patent for an innovative lionfish trap that could help protect threatened ecosystems and aid fishing communities. Read this story to learn all about the inventor, the invention, and ongoing trap-related research efforts. The lionfish trap serves as another example of NOAA technology transfer contributing to the agency’s vision of healthy and resilient ecosystems, communities, and economies.

The Performance, Risk, and Social Science Office is partnering with the NOAA Central Library to familiarize the NOAA community with the science-based concepts of climate equity and environmental justice and to examine how NOAA may better serve vulnerable and underrepresented communities. Learn more about this four-part series and register.

June 2: As part of the NOAA Innovators Seminar Series, hosted by the NOAA Central Library, TPO’s Tiffany House will present "The Value of Phase III Awards" on June 2, 2021, 2:00-3:00 PM EST.

NOAA Global Systems Lab's Arlyn Andrews gave a great interview with The World, the largest international news show on US public radio, about record levels of CO2 and methane in 2020.

Many other outlets, including USA Today and CBS, also covered the news of surging greenhouse gases in 2020.

For another great scientist interview, listen to NOAA GLERL's Eric Anderson explain the phenomenon of meteotsunamis in the Great Lakes to WGN Radio.