Once a month, we replace our Weekly Newsletter with an update on the ocean science and education programs that we manage at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Recent news stories about Ocean Leadership and about each program are available at here. We are interested to hear your feedback about these updates and our Weekly Newsletter. Please contact us and let us know what you think.

DISCOVERY

Census of Marine Life
Census of Marine Life-affiliated scientists consolidating world databases of ocean organisms have found that almost one-third of all names culled from 34 regional and highly specialized inventories are aliases.  This discovery was made possible because of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).

The U.S. Census of Marine Life recently assembled a new working group for the U.S. node of the Ocean Biogeography Information System (OBIS). The group brings together a small group of experts with a high level of technical understanding of data validation, metadata, and other necessary components needed to develop a system that could allow easy search and analysis of biodiversity information to assist decision-makers and program mangers.

The U.S. Program office would also like to congratulate longtime, U.S. National Committee (USNC) member Dr. Shirley Pomponi as the new Chair of the Ocean Leadership Board of Trustees. Please visit our Web site for more information about the daily activities of the U.S. CoML program.

Ocean Observatories Initiative
The Ocean Observatories Initiative held an Education and Public Engagement Workshop in Portland on June 18-19. The workshop focused on developing education drivers for the EPE infrastructure, with a primary goal of elevating ocean literacy. Workshop participants included a diverse group of invited science education experts and OOI educators and scientists. Together they addressed the needs of a broad range of user communities and the most effective ways for the OOI to meet those needs.

OOI has completed its Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA). The document is required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and ensures that environmental impacts of proposed major federal actions are considered in the decision-making process. The final PEA, which includes received public comments and a comment response matrix, will be posted on the National Science Foundation web site, under "Publications" in the Ocean Sciences section.

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
Staff from Ocean Leadership and IODP-TAMU were in Singapore this week meeting with shipyard and Transocean staff and assessing progress on the JOIDES Resolution. As of May 31st, the vessel modernization is about 94% complete. Re-delivery from the shipyard is expected in mid-September, after vessel tests and trials. Outfitting of the new accommodations and laboratories is well along, while vessel and drilling equipment refurbishment and re-installation nears completion.

The acquisition and development of the science systems are complete. A team of scientists from numerous institutions test-drove loggers, imager, database and related software on June 18-20th, in College Station, Texas, with excellent results. These systems are now being prepared for shipment to Singapore for installation onboard. Laboratory furnishings and science equipment installation will begin prior to vessel re-delivery from the shipyard, as each lab space becomes available. The installation and testing of the science systems as well as the vessel load out will be completed prior to leaving Singapore on October 11th, for New Zealand. During the transit, an independent readiness assessment team will be brought onboard in Darwin, Australia, to verify the readiness for science operations while undergoing a seven-day sea trial of drilling, coring, logging and exercising other science systems.   The JOIDES Resolution will arrive in Wellington, NZ, on November 12th, ready to begin the Canterbury Basin expedition.

Expedition planning for Canterbury, Wilkes Land and Equatorial Pacific expeditions is moving ahead in expectation of the resumption of scientific drilling in November.

Science Development and Coordination
Ocean Leadership partnered with the MS PHD’S (Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science) Professional Development Program to support four students to participate in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program’s Science Steering and Evaluation Panel meeting in Busan, Korea.  Through mentoring from panel members, the students gained an inside look at the proposal process for a large-scale science program and had the opportunity to meet and discuss science issues with international colleagues.

The U.S. Science Support Program has begun accepting applications for scientific participation on the Great Barrier Reef Expedition.  U.S.-affiliated scientists interested in participating on this expedition should apply to sail by August 15, 2008.  Please visit our USSSP Web site for more information.

National Oceanographic Partnership Program
The National Oceanographic Partnership Program is working in conjunction with the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships to develop topics for a FY2009 Broad Agency Announcement.   More information available soon!

Broad Agency Announcements for FY2008 have been made and press releases will be distributed soon.

Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel
The ORRAP Ocean Observing Sub-panel met on 17 June to discuss the status and future of the nation’s ocean observing efforts. The full ORRAP will meet in Redmond, WA from 4-5 August. All ORRAP and Sub-panel agendas, minutes and presentations are available on the ORRAP page of the NOPP website.

UNDERSTANDING

National Ocean Sciences Bowl
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB®) recently hired Allison Byrd as an education coordinator.  Allison interned with Ocean Leadership last fall and has now accepted this permanent position.  She earned a B.S. in Marine Science from Coastal Carolina University and a M.S. in Oceanography from Florida State University.

This week two NOSB coaches, Stephen Orr from South Carolina and Lisa Wu from Virginia, are attending a class entitled “Climate Change in Alaskan Estuaries” at the Kasistna Bay Lab near Seldovia, Alaska.  The coaches won this professional development opportunity, sponsored by the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, as a raffle prize at the 2008 Nationals event in Seward, Alaska.  Also this week, the 2008 COAST (Coastal and Ocean Science Training) internship programs to Redwoods National and State Parks and Point Reyes National Seashore in California have commenced.  The students at the Redwoods Park will measure zone turbidity, salinity, and water temperature along the Redwoods coast during a period with the least freshwater effect on coastal resources, and compare those baseline parameters with winter storms.  Other activities include seining for juvenile salmonids in the Redwood Creek estuary, invasive plant removal on Gold Bluffs Beach, seabird and tidepool surveys, and visits to Humboldt State University and its Trinidad Marine Laboratory, the Arcata marsh, and the North Coast Marine Mammal Rescue Center.  Students at Point Reyes Park will help hunt and eradicate an invasive species, the mudflat snail, Batillaria, at Bodega Bay.

Deep Earth Academy
Deep Earth Academy bid farewell to its inaugural teacher fellow, Lynne Pacunas, who finished her year at Ocean Leadership and is headed back to Montgomery County, Maryland, to assume a position as chair of the science department at Loiederman Middle School. We all wish her the best of luck and look forward to a continued relationship. A new teacher fellow will begin in the fall.

Deep Earth Academy is geared up for this summer’s School of Rock workshop, which takes place July 6-14 at the IODP Gulf Coast Repository in College Station, TX. This year’s program features participants from 13 states, a lively 8-day program including field trips and evening activities, and an emphasis on studying past climate change. Participants will learn hands-on with the cores, network with scientists and program alumni, create new classroom activities, and enjoy Texas in July!

ACTION

Advocacy
June was a very busy month for ocean policy starting with Capitol Hill Ocean Week, which focused on climate change and included speeches from Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Bill Nelson (D-FL).  The month concluded with the Coalition for National Science Funding holding its annual exhibit on Capitol Hill, where Ocean Leadership displayed information about the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and the Ocean Observatories Initiative.

The budget process began in earnest with the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees approving their fiscal year 2009 science funding bills.  On balance, these measures were good news for ocean research and education.  NOAA would receive $4.3 billion in the House bill, which is outstanding considering two years ago the House only proposed $3.4 billion for NOAA.  The Senate mark meets our request of $4.5 billion for NOAA and is $400 million above the President’s request.  Both the House and the Senate bills provide NSF with $6.9 billion, effectively putting NSF back on its doubling path.  NASA would also receive large increases in both bills for earth science and decadal survey missions.  The final outcome of the appropriations process will likely wait until after the Presidential election, and probably until after a new President assumes office.

This month, the House Science and Technology Committee held hearings and two mark-ups of the Ocean Acidification Bill.  Ocean Leadership has been working with staff and meeting with members of the Committee to encourage passage and ensure that the legislation includes a competitive grant program.  Both the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over Sea Grant, have passed Sea Grant Reauthorization bills that now await floor action in both chambers.  Ocean Leadership has also been working with committee staff as they pre-conference bills that will become part of an “ocean package” for consideration later this year.  These bills include IOOS, Ocean Exploration and two mapping bills.