Category Archives: NOAA

NOAA adds Deepwater oil spill site

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has launched Current trajectory map for Gulf oil spilla new Web site for information about the Deepwater Horizon oilspill in the Gulf of Mexico.

From the site:

“As the nation’s leading scientific resource for oil spills, NOAA has been on the scene of the BP spill from the start, providing coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. We have mobilized experts from across the agency to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico’s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish and other endangered marine life.”

Along with monitoring and predicting the oil’s trajectory and providing detailed weather forecasts to officials attempting to contain the spill and clean up the oil, the agency is providing aircraft and  marine mammal spotters from its Southeast Fisheries Science Center to assess what species might come into contact with the oil,  and using experimental satellite data from their Satellite Analysis Branch to survey the extent of spill-related marine pollution.

The site contains up-to-date predictions of the oil’s trajectory and maps showing the path of the layers of oil floating on the ocean surface.  It also includes links to the official  Deepwater Horizon Joint Information Center, which has detailed information about the spill containment and recovery effort, including information for volunteers.

The  Joint Information Center is also distributing information about the effort via  social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.

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Earth Day 2010 logoFor Earth Day 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is highlighting the  implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

NOAA provided $167 million in Recovery Act funding to 50 high-quality, high-priority coastal restoration projects around the country. The efforts are helping to jump-start the nation’s economy by supporting thousands of jobs as well as restoring fish and wildlife habitat.

In Oregon, the Act is providing $699,000 to the Fishing Industry Restoration Partnership, a project which has recruited commercial fishermen to begin retrieving an estimated 180 metric tons of  lost and abandoned crab  pots and other fishing gear off the central coast. The gear damages marine habitats and fouls fishing lines; its retrieval not only cleans up the seafloor ecosystem, but it also provides work for fishermen and their boats.

The NOAA grant resulted, in part, from a successful 2006-07   pilot project organized by the Oregon
Fishermen’s Cable Committee with funding and technical support from Oregon Sea Grant.

National program offers grants for aquaculture, invasives research

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NOAA Sea Grant is offering grants totalling $12.8 million to coordinated research, outreach and education programs designed to create sustainable aquaculture projects and limit the regional spread of invasive species.

Approximately half of the funds are devoted to  a broad national aquaculture  competition open to institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, commercial organizations, state, local and Indian tribal governments and individuals. Dubbed the NOAA Sea Grant Aquaculture Research Program 2010, the competition is aimed at funding economically and environmentally sustainable aquaculture projects across the country in 2010-2011.

The remaining two grants are open to research, outreach and education teams affiliated with one or more of the 30 National Sea Grant College Programs located in US coastal and Great Lakes states (as well as the US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico).  One program will offer up to $4.8 million in grants to help support state and regional aquaculture through outreach and technology transfer; the other devotes $2 million to regional-scale efforts to address marine invasive species issues.

Each of the three grant programs depends on the availability of federal funding. Proposals must be submitted through grants.gov, and application deadlines are in May.

For more information visit the NOAA Sea Grant Web site.

OCEAN partners to receive presidential award

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NEWPORT – Two federal representatives will visit OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center on April 17 to present a presidential award  to Oregon Sea Grant’s education team and other partners in the Ocean Conservation and Education Alliance Northwest.

The presentation will take place at 12:30 in the HMSC Visitor Center’s Hennings Auditorium.

On hand for the event will be Virginia Tippie, Director of the Coastal America program, together with Louisa Koch, Director of Education for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, representing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

The award, announced last fall,  represents the highest level national recognition for outstanding multi-agency, multi-stakeholder collaborations that pool resources from many sources to accomplish coastal restoration, preservation, protection and education projects.

Partners in the OCEAN effort include:

  • Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program, based at the HMSC.
  • The Oregon Coast Aquarium
  • Lincoln County School District
  • South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Oregon Institute of Marine Biology

The public is invited to the ceremony.

Read more about the award

NOAA confirms plans to move research fleet to Newport

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday affirmed its intention to move its  its fleet of Pacific research vessels from Washington state to Newport, on the central Oregon Coast.

The General Accounting Office had asked the agency to review the planned move, first announced seven months ago, after officials in Washington State objected.

NOAA issued its finding Tuesday morning, saying none of the three competing Washington sites — Bellingham, Port Angeles or Lake Union — offers a practicable alternative to Newport.  Among other things, the report addressed a major objection – that the Newport site is located a flood plain – by noting measures that will be taken to mitigate flood risk; it also notes that the Washington contenders are also situated in flood plains.  The analysis  gave all three   Washington locations lower technical ratings – and higher estimated costs – than the Port of Newport site.

The report report has a 30-day public comment period, and Washington’s Sen. Maria Cantwell vowed to continue fighting the relocation. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, however, called the report definitive.

Read more …

Read the full NOAA report (.pdf)

Volunteers to chronicle Pacific research cruise

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Annie and MichaelA pair of volunteers for Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center  cast off next week for a six-week research cruise to the equatorial Pacific – and plan to post their adventures on the Web for for the rest of the world to share.

Salem retirees Michael Courtney and Annie Thorp will join a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) crew aboard the R/V Wecoma on a mission to repair, maintain and, if necessary, replace 14 buoys moored to the seabed several hundred miles south and west of Central America. The buoys are part of an array of 70 positioned along the Equator and stretching clear across the Pacific to north of New Guinea; they gather critical data about tropical atmospheric and ocean conditions and transmit it in real-time by satellite to researchers around the world.

This will be the second cruise for the Salem retirees, who have been volunteering at the HMSC since early last year – and this time, they’ll be sharing the experience with the world via their new blog, Buoy Tales.

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Follow Michael and Annie’s research cruise blog, Buoytales

Oregon Sea Grant delivers federal dollars for ocean research, outreach efforts

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An ambitious plan to research, understand and inform the public about marine issues ranging from climate change to invasive species will receive nearly $14 million in federal and state dollars via Oregon Sea Grant over the next four years.

“We’re proud to be able to continue supporting an integrated program of coastal science serving Oregon,” said Stephen Brandt, director of the Oregon Sea Grant Program headquartered at Oregon State University. “The research projects, in particular, address some of the critical issues facing Oregon and the coast, and reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting research that addresses current issues of human health and safey, social progress, economic vitality and ecosystem sustainability.”

Oregon Sea Grant recently received the first of four $2.3 million biennial grant installments from its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Half of that money will go to support  the 10 research proposals – among 60 submitted – that made it through Sea Grant’s  rigorous, competitive grant program for 2010-2012. The federal dollars are expected to leverage at least $1.2 million a year in state matching funds.

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NOAA’s Spinrad named research director at OSU

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Rickard SpinradCORVALLIS, Ore. – A leading federal science director and accomplished oceanographer, who has overseen research efforts at two major federal agencies, is the new vice president for research at Oregon State University, OSU officials have announced.

Richard W. (Rick) Spinrad, assistant administrator for research for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will leave his Washington, D.C., post and return to Corvallis, where he received his master’s degree (1978) and doctorate (1982) in oceanography. He will begin his new duties at OSU on July 1.

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Oregon coast climate change videos online

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Five new, short videos about climate change at the Oregon coast produced by Oregon Sea Grant respond to the concerns of coastal residents. Those concerns, expressed through a 2008 survey of 300 coastal Oregonians, frame the topics of the videos:  How do scientists predict climate change? Shoreline Effects of Climate Change, Broader Coastal Ocean Effects, What is Government Doing?

Joes4_still An Introduction video provides background on the set. The videos, hosted by Sea Grant climate change specialists, focus answers to Oregonians’ questions through interviews with experts, including scientists from NOAA and OSU  and coastal planners. The producer of the climate videos is Joe Cone, assistant director of Oregon Sea Grant; editor is Stevon Roberts; the videos were supported in part by a grant from the NOAA Climate Program Office. Transcripts are available on the video pages.

New publication reveals perceptions and opinions of climate change

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A new publication from Oregon Sea Grant, An Analysis of a Survey of Oregon Coast Decision Makers Regarding Climate Change, reveals that

• most people are concerned about climate change and how it may affect the Oregon coast
• the most frequently cited risks associated with effects of climate change on the Oregon coast involved physical processes such as sea-level rise and erosion
• few are ready now to respond to climate change
• people would be willing to take action in work if there were compelling information, new funding, and a sense of local urgency
• coastal professionals have needs for assistance regarding climate change, particularly credible, relevant information to provide the public
• coastal professionals have low amounts of information on climate change topics they consider important for the performance of their work

You can order this 20-page publication (color cover, B&W insides) for $3.50 plus shipping and handling by calling 541-737-4849 or e-mailing sea.grant.communications@oregonstate.edu. You may also download it from http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/sgpubs/onlinepubs.html#socialsci