2020 ANNUAL REPORT

1 Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL) is a community-based WHO WE ARE organization working to ensure sound science underpins ocean policy and decision-making at the federal level. As the voice of the ocean science and technology community, COL is the trusted resource for policymakers seeking credible information about ocean challenges and opportunities, societal impacts, and science-based solutions. Together, COL members give ocean research and funding priorities a voice at the federal level — and keep them national priorities. Our strong reputation enables us to magnify our members’ ability to shape the future of ocean science and technology.

Beyond advocacy, COL believes that fully understanding our ocean — to ensure its health and our own, to sustainably manage its resources, to provide protection from its threats — is a tremendous endeavor that will benefit all Americans, requiring strong partnerships and leadership beyond the scope of what a single institution or sector can do alone. Both in the past, through such COL-managed initiatives as the Census of Marine Life, and today, our work focuses on convening the ocean science community across every sector around these critical science questions and initiatives, bringing diverse sectors and disciplines together to provide science and solutions for mutual benefit.

OUR VISION Our vision is a global society that views its own well-being as intimately connected to the ocean. We are a consortium of the leading ocean science and technology institutions from academia, aquariums, and industry. Based in Washington, D.C., COL advances ocean research, innovation, education, and sound policy as it positions the ocean science community for success.

OUR MISSION COL shapes the future of ocean science and technology through discovery, understanding, and action, by: Supporting DISCOVERY of the physical, biological, and chemical properties of the ocean critical to life on our planet Building UNDERSTANDING and educating society on the ocean’s influence on human life Taking ACTION to influence policymakers to advance ocean science, education, and marine policy

2 DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) STRATEGIC MISSION STATEMENT

The ocean sciences are severely lacking diversity, and action must be taken to make the field more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. As a community-based organization, COL has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in this critical effort, given our unique work spanning the ocean science community from the ocean-STEM pipeline to public and private ocean shareholders. COL strives to accomplish our mission to shape the future of ocean science and technology through discovery, understanding, and action while fully embodying DEI values. If we are to achieve this mission, we must take action against discrimination and harassment; leverage our position to promote all aspects of DEI; amplify the voices of people and organizations that are tirelessly working in support of these efforts; and actively engage more diverse participation in our community. Our organization’s mission cannot be achieved without this, to the detriment of the ocean sciences and society as a whole. All ocean scientists, no matter their background, should support diversity; diverse perspectives lead to better science. COL is committed to transparency and accountability around our internal and external initiatives concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to effecting positive change in our own internal policies and procedures, through our community influence, and in the design of our programs and initiatives.

3 A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO: BETWEEN PANDEMIC BLUES AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA

At the beginning of 2020, the year looked bright. Fresh off an energizing regional partnership workshop we held in Monterey, the Monterey Ocean Science and Technology (MOST) Summit, in January and several successful town halls at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 in February, our momentum was carrying us towards what would surely be our best Public Policy Forum yet as well as a special NOSB Finals in the Gulf that would coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Then, the spread of COVID-19 across the United States and the rest of the world suddenly went from a distant worry to an imminent danger. Like so many people, we left our offices on a Thursday not knowing we wouldn’t be back in that building the following Monday, or any of the Mondays to follow. Jonathan W. White But now, having weathered the storm that was 2020 and with the benefit of RADM (Ret.), USN hindsight (since hindsight is, of course, 2020), I’m astonished at and proud of all the amazing things the ocean science community accomplished this year. Supporting the reauthorization of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program and other legislation that recognizes the importance of the ocean; successfully transitioning NOSB Finals to a virtual format with only a month’s notice; taking the first steps towards a truly national, multisector ocean exploration enterprise in the United States; advancing the OceanObs’19 Living Action Plan to transform global ocean understanding; building new partnerships around the development and use of uncrewed systems in ocean science — this seems to be a pretty impressive list of ocean accomplishments in a year that was defined by a global pandemic. We did it, though, thanks to the resilience and perseverance of our members and our ocean science champions, and especially the heroic staff of COL. Amidst global turmoil and, at times, great personal grief, our consortium of ocean leaders turned a truly dismal year into one filled with shared progress and success. Looking to the future, I am hopeful that this momentum behind the cause of a healthy, well understood ocean carries into 2021 and beyond. On top of our accomplishments, 2020 also brought about a sea change in the ocean science community with regards to our commitment as institutions and individuals to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Many members of our community have worked tirelessly on advancing DEI goals for years, but the ocean science community as a whole is finally embracing and taking responsibility for the importance of centering DEI in every aspect of our work, from the research process to the climate of our workplaces. Even seemingly minor changes will have huge impacts: At a workshop we hosted this summer to generate recommendations for one of NOAA’s key science and technology focus areas, the entire focus area was renamed “Uncrewed Systems” from “Unmanned” to be more inclusive. While it may seem small, this will set the tone for this critical technology area going forward, and I hope to see more changes like this, since we still have a lot to do. Even with all the uncertainty around the post-pandemic future, I remain optimistic that science will chart the course to a much brighter future for us and our ocean. The success of any voyage, however, relies upon leadership and teamwork to sail successfully along the charted course. COL is an organization that is designed to enable this leadership and teamwork across the broad, multisector “oceanscape” of science and technology that our members represent, along with our colleagues throughout the ocean community. I know that COL is ready to embark on this voyage and sail ahead smartly with new leadership at the helm as I walk down the brow and help cast off the lines.

4 A RISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS

THE VALUE OF MEMBERSHIP The strength of our consortium lies in the strength of our members: what they each do on their own to advance ocean science and what we can do when we come together. Our membership is unique in that academia, industry, and the larger nonprofit sector (to include aquariums, associations, and philanthropy) all have a seat at the table. Together, we take action on our common priorities and, where opinions differ, find compromises on areas of critical importance to the ocean science community and the world at large. The support, engagement, and leadership of our members is crucial to the success of COL’s programmatic work and advocacy efforts.

ADVOCACY IN ACTION With input and guidance from our member-led Public Policy Committee as well as our larger membership, COL’s advocacy efforts in 2020 focused on securing reauthorizations for key federal programs, growing ocean science funding, and helping Congress and our members navigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the science and technology “oceanscape.” Since 2017, COL has led the community in pushing for a congressional reauthorization of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) that would catalyze ocean innovation and transformative partnerships on a national scale. By facilitating interagency and public-private partnerships among federal agencies, academia, industry, and other members of the ocean science and technology community for over 20 years, NOPP has led to successes such as the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), the Argo program, the JASON Project, and of course the launch of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. The broadly shared goal of a “new NOPP” moved a step closer to being realized when a revitalized version of the program was reauthorized in the fiscal year (FY) 2021National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). We also worked with Congress and our members on important federal initiatives combatting ocean plastics, covered under the Save Ours Seas 2.0 Act, as well as those strengthening the U.S. ocean observing enterprise, through bills including the Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act and Digital Coast Act; all of these were successfully signed into law by the end of the 116th Congress.

5 Each fiscal year, COL weighs in on the federal appropriations process to ensure that Congress understands the funding needs and priorities of the ocean science community. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, in addition to our regular requests, it was critical for COL to share how ocean science — from graduate student funding to next generation blue technology and infrastructure — fits into the larger picture of COVID relief and recovery plans. As the world’s leading maritime nation, the success of our national economy is deeply tied to that of the Blue Economy, and a resilient national recovery must include a significant revitalization of the Blue Economy. Through an extensive and detailed stimulus request, a joint letter with the Oceans Caucus Foundation, and an op-ed for the Aspen Institute cowritten with Johan Bergenas of Vulcan, along with direct conversations with congressional staff, COL worked to ensure Congress had the information they needed to stabilize COVID-era ocean science and technology to serve as a foundation for the new Blue Economy.

ALL HANDS ON DECK: ADVANCING MEMBER INTERESTS, NATIONALLY AND REGIONALLY At the beginning of 2020, before having to reimagine how we would hold events for the rest of the year, we convened the first-everMonterey Ocean Science and Technology (MOST) Summit, hosted by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). This first-of-its-kind event gathered leaders from Monterey Bay- area COL members as well as their congressman, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), to advance ocean science and technology by identifying shared interests and increasing collaborative research and partnership efforts related to ocean research, education, and technological innovation. Participants viewed the MOST Summit as a seed from which to build future discussions and potential partnerships, and when we are again able to gather in person in calmer seas, we hope to hold more of these regional partnership-building events. This year, like many other organizations, we had to make the difficult call to cancel our annual Public Policy Forum, originally scheduled for March 12. While we were disappointed not to be able to share Ascending from the Summit: Transforming U.S. Ocean Science & Technology Partnerships with the science policy community after months of planning and preparation on the part of our COL staff and the COL members planning to take part in the event, our disappointment could not last long as we turned our attention to the immediate needs of the community. In response to the uncertainty regarding how to move forward during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, COL hosted a series of virtual meetings exclusively for COL members ADVOCACY BY THE NUMBERS: where leadership at the National Science Foundation (NSF), 3 OP-EDS PUBLISHED with members and partner organizations National Oceanic and Atmospheric on the importance of ocean science to COVID recovery Administration (NOAA), and 7 RESPONSES TO THE FEDERAL REGISTER, commenting on Office of Naval Research (ONR) discussed their agencies’ COVID- public documents or answering requests for information 19-related plans and members’ 10 COL-LED PUBLIC LETTERS to Congress on COVID relief, concerns in greater depth. What appropriations, support for ocean legislation, and more was the status of ongoing projects? Would research cruises still sail? 7+ COMMUNITY OR COALITION LETTERS to Congress in Would agencies be able to extend support of science policy and science funding funding for halted projects? These dialogues proved invaluable for 34 EDITIONS OF OCEAN NEWS WEEKLY featuring 98 stories all involved, helping lessen the written for the ocean science community covering congressional unmoored feeling in the early days action, virtual events, and more of adapting to the pandemic.

6 MAKING WAVES: PROGRAM INITIATIVES IN 2020

BUOYING OCEAN EDUCATION AND THE OCEAN-STEM WORKFORCE Building and supporting the ocean science workforce has long been a key priority for COL and our members. For over a decade, COL’s self-funded Ocean Science Educator’s Retreat (OSER) project has been collecting data to help analyze long-term trends in the academic ocean science workforce. In 2020, we used these data to explore how the academic ocean science community is doing at retaining women throughout their academic careers and into senior-level faculty positions. While ocean science reached gender parity in the number of higher degrees granted to men and women years ago, preliminary trends do not reflect the path towards parity occurring at the same rate for faculty positions, meaning that the community still has work to do. This year’s OSER meeting focused on the experiences of women in academic ocean science, including how they differ based on other aspects of their identity and how institutional leadership can better support all women through an intersectional approach. Recommendations from this year’s workshop will help strengthen our data collection, which will allow us to answer new questions about the academic ocean science workforce, and a report on the workshop’s findings is forthcoming. Equal in importance to ocean education at the university level is the ocean-STEM pipeline and promoting ocean literacy in America’s youth. Since 1997, the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) has given high school students the opportunity to compete alongside and against their peers to test their knowledge of ocean science, technology, history, and policy, filling a critical gap in high school Earth and ocean science education. For over 20 years, winners of NOSB’s regional competitions have gathered in the spring to compete at NOSB’s National Finals competition, and despite only having about a month to plan, coordinate, and execute a virtual Finals due to COVID-19, this year was no exception. Given the success of the virtual Finals format, COL held a special exhibition match where the 2020 champions competed against experienced ocean scientists in the “Battle of the Ages: NOSBs vs. PhDs” to celebrate World Ocean Day. With an ending score separated by just one question, the high school National Finals champions (“NOSBs”) beat the all-star team of expert COL member representatives (“PhDs”), demonstrating the program’s success in educating its students.

7 ONE FLEET, MANY SHIPS: ONE CONSORTIUM, MANY INITIATIVES Throughout 2020, COL worked extensively to help our members in every sector build community and consensus around critical ocean science topics, particularly within new or emerging fields. This work brought our members and partners outside the consortium together around a range of topics crossing specialties and disciplines and resulted in new plans of action for essential scientific efforts. Ocean observing, one of the backbones of ocean scientific research, still faces obstacles in fully integrating the functions and standards of ocean observing systems across regions and platforms. The Measuring the Performance of Ocean Observing Systems: Pilot Metrics for Sea Level Rise, Ocean Acidification, and Harmful Algal Blooms report, published in March, formulated metrics to better describe the functions of observing systems looking at sea level rise, ocean acidification, and harmful algal blooms, which in turn will lead to more effective management of changes in the marine environment. Similarly, the newly chartered Biology - Integrating Core to Essential Variables Task Team of the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee, for which COL provides program support, will reconcile and standardize biological observations and their data streams across local, regional, and federal sources using best practices to inform national needs and ultimately feed seamlessly into the Global Ocean Observing System. Looking at ocean technologies specifically, the Underwater Glider User Group (UG2) Steering Committee, officially established last summer, is developing a community hub for scientific collaboration, information, and resource sharing for glider users while the virtual Workshop to Support Implementation of NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems (UxS) Strategy gave over 120 science and technology community stakeholders an opportunity to provide recommendations for the implementation of NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems Strategy. This workshop’s feedback reflected a wide variety of perspectives that will strengthen NOAA’s implementation in support of the elements of our national security and prosperity that rely on a healthy and well-understood ocean and atmosphere. Likewise, the virtual Workshop to Identify National Ocean Exploration Priorities in the Pacific resulted in dozens of hours, over the course of several months, of productive discussion among nearly 60 workshop participants representing almost 50 organizations across government, academia, industry, and the philanthropic/nonprofit sector. The detailed workshop summary report, prepared by COL and delivered to NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER), focuses on the potential and promise of ongoing and future collaborative ocean exploration activities in the Pacific. This report will give expedition strategists an effective road map for planning future science and exploration activities and will inform the development of relevant national strategies for ocean exploration efforts in the Pacific, and beyond, for years to come. In the final year of the program, COL coordinated the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative’s (GoMRI) scientific synthesis effort to capture and collate 10 years of research into new understanding and improved practices. The synthesis effort included 20 unique thematic workshops and 10 conference special sessions, collecting input from nearly 600 different experts. Over 50 new products, ranging from reports and peer-reviewed journal articles to books and webinar series, have stemmed from these efforts, which celebrate the science, researchers, students, and outreach efforts of GoMRI and provide critical knowledge and guidance for future oil spills. All GoMRI synthesis products can be viewed here.

8 CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES AND OUTCOMES In addition to our efforts toward building community consensus on individual topics, COL also worked on large-scale community projects. Following up on the success of OceanObs’19, which COL helped organize in 2019, COL took action to implement the conference’s recommendations and Living Action Plan. One critical new initiative that came out of OceanObs’19, the Observing Air-Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS), is currently convening international experts to develop an integrated strategy to better observe air-sea interactions. The team developing the strategy submitted a prospectus to Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and has been approved as an official SCOR Working Group. The OceanObs Research Coordination Network (RCN) Workshop, held in February, enabled the post-OceanObs’19 community of practice to establish and strengthen partnerships as well as to develop and share capacity. It also resulted in the formation of community working groups around Impacts and Applications, Ocean Observing Systems, Technology and Interoperability, Data Management and Products, and Governance. COL, along with our partners, hosted the eighth and final Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science conference, which featured 28 concurrent sessions over three days. This conference, which has become an annual unifying event for the Gulf region and was attended annually by approximately 800-1000 members of the highly collaborative Gulf of Mexico research and management community, will evolve to the newly envisioned Gulf of Mexico Conference (or GoMCon) in 2022. Following up on our Workshop to Identify National Ocean Exploration Priorities in the Pacific, COL partnered with OER to host an ocean exploration-focused town hall at the virtual AGU Fall Meeting 2020. Attended by over 80 participants, the event focused on opportunities for collaborations and partnerships, which will be vital as a national strategy for ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization is implemented — a priority for many of our members. Discussions also addressed the potential structure and benefits of a centrally coordinated and inclusive national ocean exploration program in the future.

MANAGING A SEA OF DATA COL data management has been actively engaged with several NSF-funded activities that have great impacts on the ocean and Earth science community. The Urban Flooding Open Knowledge Network is working to connect geospatial data and hydrologic models to develop a knowledge graph related to flooding. This graph will facilitate developing a better understanding of the short- and long-term impacts of urban flooding, allowing planners and policymakers to mitigate the human and economic losses. Another funded effort focuses on connecting the resources of the NSF EarthCube Council of Data Facilities (CDF) by leveraging schema.org and other semantic patterns. This allows the connection between data based on concepts and leverages the same pattern used by Google and other groups in such products as the Google’s Dataset Search. CDF data scopes from the ocean to the atmosphere and from deep time to present. COL also had new activities focused on data uptake and management through NASA’s Physical Oceanography Program, aiming to create an interoperable landscape of standardized, analysis-ready, automated data access across a broad range of data types in a manner suitable for predictive big data science. This work further supports the ocean observing enterprise, integrating satellite and in situ design for maximum added value as well as providing open science and software on the cloud for more accessible science.

9 ON THE HORIZON

IN 2021, COL WILL…

… work with the new administration and Congress to further our ocean science priorities. Heading into the 117th Congress and under the auspices of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to “build back better,” COL will continue to provide policymakers with unbiased scientific information. We will also continue to support the work of our federal agencies in their roles advancing our community’s shared goals of scientific understanding. … support increased engagement in ocean education across the myriad disciplines of ocean science. Fully understanding our ocean and its complex, interconnected systems is key to building a sustainable future. To do so, however, we need an ocean-literate nation, and we need to diversify the ocean-STEM workforce. Programs like the NOSB, which is funded largely by federal donations and in-kind volunteer hours, need the ocean science community’s support now more than ever to help achieve this goal. … promote the goals and initiatives of UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) within the United States and globally. Many of our members are represented on the Ocean Decade U.S. National Committee as well as on the international committee, and COL will do our part make the UN Decade of Ocean Science successful beyond our wildest dreams. As an Ocean Nexus organization and through our engagement with several “ocean shots,” we will partner across disciplines, nationally and internationally, to provide science and critical engagement that responds to the needs of society. … and more.

10 IN MEMORIAM

Last year, our consortium lost some of our most beloved and influential individuals. Their legacy lives on in their family, friends, colleagues, and anyone lucky enough to have learned from them.

Dr. Larry Atkinson Dr. Ru Morrison Dr. Larry Swanson Old Dominion University Northeastern Regional Association Stony Book University School of of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

11 MEMBER LIST

Alabama Georgia Oregon Dauphin Island Sea Lab Savannah State University Oregon State University Skidaway Institute of Oceanography of Alaska UGA Pennsylvania Alaska Ocean Observing System Pennsylvania State University Alaska SeaLife Center Hawaii ARCUS University of Hawaii Rhode Island North Pacific Research Board University of Rhode Island University of Alaska Fairbanks Louisiana L3Harris ASV Global, LLC South Carolina California Chevron USA South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium Aquarium of the Pacific Louisiana State University University of South Carolina Esri Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium Texas Estuary & Ocean Science Center, San Consumer Energy Alliance Francisco State University Maine Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Harte Research Institute Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute Shell L3 MariPro, Inc. The IOOS Association University of Maine Sonardyne, Inc. Liquid Robotics, Inc. Texas A&M University MBARI Maryland University of Texas at Austin Moore Foundation Johns Hopkins University APL Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Severn Marine Technologies, LLC Virginia Saildrone University of Maryland Center for College of William & Mary Stanford University Environmental Science Institute for Global Environmental U.S. Naval Postgraduate School Strategies UCSD Scripps Institution of Massachusetts Old Dominion University Oceanography Massachusetts Institute of Technology Teledyne CARIS University of California, Davis New England Aquarium U.S. Arctic Research Commission University of California, Santa Barbara University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth University of California, Santa Cruz Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Washington University of Southern California Sea-Bird Scientific Mississippi University of Washington Colorado University of Southern Mississippi Vulcan, Inc. Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences New Hampshire Washington, D.C. NERACOOS Marine Technology Society Connecticut University of New Hampshire NOIA Exocetus SURA Mystic Aquarium New Jersey Monmouth University Urban Coast Wisconsin Delaware Institute University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee MARACOOS Rutgers University University of Delaware British Colombia, Canada New York JASCO Florida IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Earth2Ocean Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Bermuda FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Stony Brook University Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences Institute Florida Institute of Oceanography North Carolina *List of members as of December 31, 2020 Nova Southeastern University Duke University University of Florida East Carolina University University of Miami North Carolina State University University of South Florida University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill University of North Carolina, Wilmington

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