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FALL 2007
Welcome to the fall edition of the Quarterly GoMOOS Observer. We are excited to bring you the latest news and updates on coastal and ocean observations, information products and activities that we’ve been working on. We would appreciate hearing your thoughts and suggestions on any of the topics below, so please send us an email at info@gomoos.org. View this newsletter online: http://www.gomoos.org/aboutgomoos/GM_report_FAL07.html |
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Member Institutions Atlantic Pilotage Authority *New Members |
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GoMOOS UpdatesWe are pleased to introduce the latest release of the GoMOOS web site! The new site features many behind the scenes upgrades and several visible enhancements including:
The site was available in "beta" test mode for a few months to allow users a period of time to give us their feedback and for us to adjust the site appropriately based on that feedback. In addition, we assembled a panel of active GoMOOS users to help evaluate and test the new site during this period. We'd like to thank everyone who helped test the site and provided us with useful feedback! Read the next article for closer look at the new features... A Closer Look at the New Features
Text-a-Buoy - Expanding on the successful NOAA Dial-a-Buoy program, GoMOOS now offers the ability to receive real-time buoy data from GoMOOS and NOAA buoys on your SMS enabled cell phone. Simply send a text message to the buoy's address, and quickly receive a text message with the latest conditions.
GoMOOS welcomes new board member Bruce Carlisle from Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management. This past May, GoMOOS bid farewell to Office Administrator Jodi Clark. After 5 years of outstanding service to the organization, Jodi felt it was time to move on. Jodi was an integral part of GoMOOS almost from the beginning. Her hard work was evidenced by the smooth running of the organization; from managing the daily goings-on at the GoMOOS office, to communication with the board and membership, to organizing workshops and meetings, and countless other behind the scenes efforts that made all of our jobs easier. We all wish her the best in her future endeavors. After a long search through many qualified candidates, we are pleased to introduce our new Office Administrator, Lisa Preble. Lisa began working at the Portland office in July. She brings over 20 years of experience in office management from the private sector, as well as a great interest in the GoMOOS mission, and we are all very happy to have her join the team! Buoy Program UpdatesThe University of Maine Physical Oceanography Group reports that the spring turnaround of the GoMOOS buoy array was completed in May 2007. A cruise in March 2007 on the R/V Delaware II serviced buoys A, B, C and N. The R/V Argo Maine serviced E, F, I, L, and M in May 2007. Buoys E, F, and I were converted this spring to use digital phones to make internet connections for high speed data transfer (buoys A, B, C, and D already used digital phones). The buoys deployed in May sample meteorological data every 10 minutes throughout each hour; the buoys deployed in March sample meteorological information every 30 minutes. All of the buoys sample waves and 1m temperature/salinity every 30 minutes. This high-resolution data is available on the real-time buoy page at GoMOOS.org, and a description of the measurements are available at http://gyre.umeoce.maine.edu/text_reports.php. High resolution post-recovery data (samples every 3 minutes) are also available from the recovered SBE37 instruments starting with the spring 2007 recovered buoys. Last year GoMOOS faced a significant decrease in federal funding, which seriously threatened our buoy program. Many organizations and individuals throughout the region have come to rely on GoMOOS for real-time ocean and weather conditions. Thanks to significant contributions from the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maine, the State of Maine, along with the efforts of many of our members, we were able secure the funds needed for buoy operations and maintenance through the summer of 2007. The federal funding outlook going forward continues to be challenging and uncertain. However, the GoMOOS executive committee and staff are working on diversifying buoy funding sources so that we can maintain our successful and valuable system well into the future. GoMOOS Software Development UpdatesOOSTethys named Website of the Month by OGC! The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has named OOSTethys.org as the "Website of the Month" for the July/August issue of OGC News. OOSTethys is a software development initiative made up of partners from SURA SCOOP (including GoMOOS) and MMI to further develop data integration among ocean observing systems. An excerpt: '"The OOSTethys website describes developments in ocean-observing systems, with a focus on progress toward a system-of-ocean-observing-systems. OOSTethys provides a community-developed set of software tools that implement OGC specifications. It also offers guidance documents ("cookbooks") to help data providers get started using standards-based data-exchange capabilities." Read the full newsletter on the OGC website: http://www.opengeospatial.org/pressroom/newsletters/200708 Read more about the OOSTethys project: http://www.oostethys.org NOAA CSC evaluating OOSTethys cookbooks and SOS specifications The NOAA Coastal Services Center (CSC) Data Transport Lab (DTL) has started an evaluation of the OOSTethys cookbooks and use of the OGC SOS specifications. From the website: "The mission of the Data Transport Laboratory (DTL) is to support the employment of data transport technologies that are compatible with Ocean.US Data Management and Communications (DMAC) guidance at the local and regional levels. This is accomplished through the identification, evaluation, and documentation of relevant data transport technology candidates. In following that mission, the DTL is exploring the OOSTethys implementation of the OGC Sensor Observation Service (SOS)." For more information: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/DTL/dtl_proj3_oostethys.html The Northeast Region’s successes in coordinating ocean observing infrastructure from Connecticut to Nova Scotia have resulted in a $1.2 million award from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Ocean observation efforts, such as moored buoys, CODAR stations, satellites, and sea sampling, provide valuable information on oceanic conditions. Sailors, fishermen, and other mariners rely on this information for surface conditions, while researchers study what is happening below the surface for clues on environmental health. Overall, ocean observing systems result in numerable benefits to society and the environment. In an effort to make these systems even more useful to society, researchers, managers, and many others throughout the region are partnering in new and meaningful ways. This coordination will feed into a national Integrated Ocean Observing System, which will ultimately aid in better prediction of hurricanes, increased understanding of the effects of climate change, and much more. For the first time ever, eight research institutions from throughout the region coordinated a single, cohesive, ocean observing system competitive proposal to NOAA, resulting in a $1.2 million award to the region this year. Additionally, the Northeast region was one of five of eleven regions to receive a multi-year awards of up to $3.5 million per year, dependent upon future appropriations. For more information, including meeting notes, presentations, and a list of contributors to this effort, visit www.neracoos.org. GoMOOS hosted an ACT workshop on “Enabling Sensor Interoperability” in Portland last fall. This workshop addressed the need for protocols at the hardware, firmware, and higher levels in order to attain instrument interoperability among and between observing systems. A cross-section of the ocean observing science community, consisting of operation managers, industry representatives, and researchers, attended the workshop to tackle these issues. A report from the workshop that outlines essential issues, enabling technologies and standards, and current obstacles to achieving interoperability, as well as a series of short and long-term solutions is now available on line at www.act-us.info.
ACT - Alliance for Coastal Technology October 19, 2007 - GoMOOS Annual Meeting, Portland, ME November 29, 2007 - NERACOOS Advisory Committee Meeting, Location TBA Please send comments and suggestions to: GoMOOS Phone (207) 773-0423 |
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