IOOS and Partners Host International Session on Ocean Observing at Oceanology International 2012 Conference

The setting could not have been more fitting. The Royal Institution of Great Britain is the oldest independent research body in the world.  The Royal Institution was founded in March, 1799 with the aims of introducing new technologies and teaching science to the general public.  It is where Michael Faraday, famed scientist, studied and lectured, and is now famous for its Christmas lectures which were started by Faraday in 1825. 

The Royal Institution served as the venue for Catch the Next Wave - Tomorrow's Solutions to Today's Ocean Challenges, a one-day conference focused on taking a longer term view of the capabilities that will shape our future ability to explore, understand, predict, and exploit the oceans.  The “who’s who” of technology attended this conference on March 12, 2012, with Graham Hawkes, founder of Ocean Technologies, delivering the keynote speech.  He started the day discussing his efforts to “fly” deep into the ocean, and all of us listening wanted to know when we could get a ride in his vehicle. 

The conference included global experts’ presentations on key disruptive technologies and where these technologies are emerging in the marine sector. The program included presentations in the topic areas of power sources, sensors, nanotechnology, materials, robotics, and cyber-infrastructure.  The presentation format showcased an expert from outside the marine sector speaking on a topic, followed by a marine sector expert speaking on the same topic.  This format fostered cross-sector discussions to generate innovative ideas for sampling the ocean. Stay engaged.

The next three days centered on Oceanology International 2012, held at the ExCel exhibition and conference center in London’s Docklands.  OI is the global forum where industry, academia, and government share knowledge and connect with the marine technology and ocean science community, improving their strategies for measuring, exploiting, protecting, and operating in the world’s oceans.  OI 2012 broke records as the largest event to date, with more than 7,700 unique visitors from more than 70 countries.

Under the auspices of the Group on Earth Observations, the  Global High Frequency Radar Initiative was launched during OI.  The meeting co-chairs included Jack Harlan, U.S. IOOS Program Office; Lucy Wyatt, Australia Integrated Marine Observing System; and Enrique Alvarez-Fanjul, Physical Oceanography Department, Puertos del Estado  (Spain).  About 40 people attended, representing 11 countries from Europe, Asia, and North America.  Jack provided an overview of U.S. uses of High Frequency Radar, and associated issues (See presentation).  From there, the discussion grew wide ranging. High Level tasks:

• Set up working groups to address data management (including visualization and quality control), training and education (including outreach to governments), and network infrastructure development,
• Set up a template to collect High Frequency Radar use stories,
• Publish fact sheets on U.S. IOOS use of the CODAR SeaSonde High Frequency Radar system,
• Set up a template to describe existing networks.

On March 15, Zdenka Willis, U.S. IOOS Program, chaired the Ocean Observing and Forecasting session.  United States notables included keynote talks by Sam Walker, BP (but still an IOOSian), and Eric Lindstrom, NASA.  Clayton Jones, Teledyne Webb Research, enthralled us with advances in glider technology.  Liesl Hotaling, University of South Florida, gave an excellent presentation on Ocean Observing and how to convey this information in an understandable way, both through informal and formal education. 

On March 14, Scott Glenn, MACOORA, provided the keynote speech in the Oil and Gas session, where he talked about U.S. IOOS contributions to Deepwater Horizon. 

We built and reinforced partnerships during these meetings.  We met with David Mills, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (UK), who is working to build the United Kingdom Integrated Marine Observing Network (UK-IMOM) and wants to coordinate with U.S. IOOS.  We also met with Barbara Fogarty of Ireland’s Marine Institute, who is national coordinator for Ireland’s advanced marine technology program and is developing decision support tools, including SmartBay Ireland.  SmartBay is Ireland’s national test and demonstration facility for marine information and communications technology.

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Additional Information:

• Global High Frequency (HF) Radar Surface Current Mapping GEO Task presentation (ppt)
  
  
• Scott Glen, MACOORA, presentation: U.S. IOOS Response to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill:
  The Critical Role of Modern Ocean Observing Networks
  
  
• Oceanology International 2012 presentations and photos available
  
  
• Catch the Next Wave

• HF Radar