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President's Corner Congressional News Ocean Leadership News 1201 New York Avenue, NW z Fourth Floor z Washington, DC 20005 P: (202) 232-3900 z F: (202) 462-8754 z www.OceanLeadership.org Please add [email protected] to your personal address book to ensure delivery. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change the preferences on your subscriptions to Ocean Leadership emails, please use the following link: http://lists.oceanleadership.org/mailman/listinfo. President’s Corner Congressional News • Senate Committee Discusses Reauthorization of the Chesapeake Bay Program • Senate Markup of Geospatial, Hypoxia Legislation Ocean Leadership News • NOPP Announces $20 Million in Research Grants • ORRAP Meeting Next Week in Washington, DC • The Great Marlin Race is Underway • Faculty Professional Development Opportunity at GSA Ocean Community News • Ocean Sciences 2010 Session: Ocean Technology and Infrastructure Needs for the Next 20 Years • Thinning Cloud Cover Over Oceans Speeds Global Warming • Fish Discovered With Light Sensing Cells • Proposed Algal Biofuel Pilot Facility • Scientists Probe Great Pacific Garbage Patch • Interdisciplinary Climate Change Research Symposium • Application Process For Cohort VII of the MS PHD’s Professional Development Program Now Open • Ridge 2000 Integration & Synthesis Workshop • NOAA and NSF Call For Proposals • Antarctic Climate Evolution Symposium in September • NSF Grant Proposal Deadline: August 15, 2009 Job Announcements To access the job announcements page, go to http://www.oceanleadership.org/about/employment. No new opportunities this week. Calendar of Events President’s Corner The President’s Corner will return next week. Congressional News SENATE COMMITTEE DISCUSSES REAUTHORIZATION OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM In a Senate Environment and Public works hearing on Monday a panel of agency and industry representatives voiced their support for the reauthorization of the Chesapeake Bay Program, including suggestions to expand federal and state authority, increase funding, and incorporate accountability mechanisms. “We need significant changes if we want to significantly improve the bay” stated Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD). John Cosgrove of the Chesapeake Bay Commission and George Hawkins, Director of the Department of the Environment, both praised the use of two year increments in restoration efforts with a 2025 deadline for nutrient sediment reduction. Both panelists recognized the necessity of regulating nutrient sediment runoff as large contributors to Bay pollutants otherwise projected to increase with the growing population. Hawkins stressed the importance of non-point source regulation, recommending a nationally standardized requirement to eliminate inequalities between output standards among industries. As it was recognized that farmers are not the sole contributors to Bay pollution, the committee further emphasized the importance of a Basin-wide approach, including all watershed operations and related parties under the regulatory authority. SENATE MARK-UP OF GEOSPATIAL, HYPOXIA LEGISLATION The Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Executive committee convened to markup two ocean bills. The Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2009 (S.952) would strengthen NOAA’s role overseeing monitoring and control efforts, providing a rapid response mechanism to mitigate the environmentally detrimental effects of marine hypoxia events. The bill would also direct federal officials to create regional action plans that guide state and local governments in preparing for and mitigating the effects of algal blooms. The Committee also marked up the American View Geospatial Imagery Mapping Program Act (S.1078). The bill authorizes the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to expand the AmericaView program, which is designed to use satellite and remote sensing data to support applied research, K-12 education, workforce development, and technology transfer. During the markup, Senator John Thune (R-SD) expressed concern with the Geospatial Mapping Act citing the fact that Landsat data has already been expanded and made available via the internet. The Senator warned it would be unwise to establish legislation “to solve a problem that has already been solved.” Both bills were ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. Ocean Leadership News NOPP ANNOUNCES $20 MILLION IN RESEARCH GRANTS The National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) recently announced that it is awarding over $20 million over four years in research grants to 19 research projects that address one of three specific questions. NOPP is a collaboration of federal agencies to provide leadership and coordination of national oceanographic research and education initiatives. In January, NOPP solicited proposals to improve wind wave predictions on global and regional scales, to investigate the ability to create and use biological, bio- optical, optical and chemical sensors in the oceans and to improve tropical cyclone intensity forecasting. While each of the NOPP research recipients will work in collaboration with other institutions and scientists, the lead researchers for these three research programs are below. Wind Wave Predications: • Dr. Fabrice Arduin, Service Hydrographique et Oceanographique de la Marine • Dr. Alexander Babanin, Swinburne University of Technology • Dr. Michael Banner, The University of New South Wales • Dr. Tim Janssen, San Francisco State University • Dr. James Kaihutu, Texas A&M University Texas Engineering Experiment Station • Dr. William Perrie, Bedford Institute of Oceanography Biological, Bio-Optical, Optical and Chemical Ocean Observing: • Dr. Kenneth Johnson, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute • Dr. Alex Chekalyuk, Columbia University • Dr. James Sullivan, WET Labs, Inc. • Dr. Govind Rao, University of Maryland- Baltimore County • Dr. Peter Ortner, University of Miami • Dr. Emmanuel Boss, University of Maine Tropical Cyclone Intensity Forecasting: • Dr. Wayne Schubert, Colorado State University • Dr. Chris Velden, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Dr. J. Scott Tyo, University of Arizona • Dr. Takemasa Miyoshi, University of Maryland • Dr. Yongsheng Chen, York University • Dr. Michael Reeder, Monash University • Dr. Shuyi Chen, University of Miami and Dr. Isaac Ginis, University of Rhode Island ORRAP MEETING NEXT WEEK IN WASHINGTON, DC The Ocean Research & Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP) provides advice and guidance on ocean matters to the heads of federal agencies. The ORRAP will be meeting at Ocean Leadership on August 11 and 12. Principal areas of discussion will be Ecosystem Approaches to Management (regionally focused); Arctic Observing Needs; the No Child Left Inside Coalition; and Industry’s role in offshore science and energy. The complete agenda can be found under the Meetings header on the ORRAP web page www.nopp.org/site/orrap. THE GREAT MARLIN RACE IS UNDERWAY The Great Marlin Race was established to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT). HIBT is collaborating with Stanford University's Dr. Barbara Block, allowing teams competing in the HIBT to sponsor a pop-up satellite archival tag. Dr. Block is a member of the Tagging of Pacific Predators project. The tags, placed on marlins, will detach from the fish at a pre-programmed date and float to the ocean surface. The tags will then transmit data via the Argos satellite system back to the lab. For the Great Marlin Race, the tags are programmed to pop off after 180 days. At that time, the fish that has traveled the farthest distance will be declared the winner! The team that sponsored the tag on the winning fish will receive free admission to next year's tournament. To learn more about the race, or view how far the marlins have traveled, please visit the Great Marline Race online. (http://thunnus.stanford.edu:81/joomla/index.php/about-gtopp/special-events/the-great-marlin- race.html). FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY AT GSA A short course for university faculty on Teaching Climate Change and Earth History Using Ocean Drilling Data in Introductory Geoscience Courses will be offered in conjunction with the fall GSA meeting on Saturday Oct 17 from 8-5 pm in Portland, Oregon. The workshop cost is $30, and includes continental breakfast and lunch. This one-day short course is designed for faculty teaching undergraduate introductory geoscience courses in climate change, oceanography, historical geology, or Earth science in which data and content on climate change, geologic time, age determination, and Earth history are important. Learning materials introduced and distributed in the short course will be anchored in fundamental practices and discoveries of scientific ocean drilling research programs (IODP, legacy DSDP and ODP, and ANDRILL), and will infuse essential scientific observational, analytical, and synthesis skills, and critical thinking into inquiry- based classroom exercises for group work in both small and large classes. If you have questions about course content, please e-mail [email protected]. The instructors for the short course are Kristen St. John, James Madison University; Mark Leckie, University of Massachusetts–Amherst; Megan Jones, North Hennepin Community College; and Kate Pound, St. Cloud State University, The U.S. National Science Foundation, the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and GSA’s Sedimentary Geology Division have sponsored this short course. To register for this professional development opportunity please go to the GSA fall meeting short course
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