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Brown Bag Seminar Archives
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As of January 17, 2017, the NOAA Central Library has hosted 779 lunchtime "Brown Bag" seminars since 1994. This page lists all Brown Bags given at NOAA Central Library. Powerpoint presentations with audio recordings of the seminars are added to the archives, usually within a week of the presentation, if audio is available, and will be maintained for a period of one year.
If you are interested in presenting a Brown Bag seminar, please contact Judith Salter (301-713-2600 ext. 135) or Library Reference (301-713-2600 ext. 157) to schedule a brown bag session. Please send a title of the proposed presentation, an abstract of the presentation and a speaker bio, so that we can reserve your desired presentation time on our NOAA Central Library Events calendar and announce the seminar via the OneNOAA Science Seminar network. Photos and fliers that reflect the topic of the upcoming brown bag seminar are appreciated and will be used to advertise the brown bag seminar in the library, on the NOAA Libraries Facebook page and other NOAA social media as applicable.
2016 Brown Bags
Forecasting the flock: using species distribution models to evaluate the effects of climate change on future seabird foraging aggregations in the California Current System
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2017 at 12:00pm ET
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speakers: Dori Dick, 2016 Knauss Fellow, NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources
Abstract: Ocean management and conservation in the face of climate change depends on robust understanding of current relationships between species and their environment. This study built spatially-explicit models to identify multispecies seabird foraging aggregations (hotspots) in the California Current System and assessed how locations may shift due to climate change. Models for 30 species were built and validated using 15 years (1997-2012) of seabird survey data. We predicted species-specific relative densities during February, May, July and October under three scenarios and assessed current relationships between SST, sea surface height (SSH) and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) to predict future scenarios. Standardized predicted means were averaged by foraging ecotype to create scenario-specific multispecies hotspot maps by month. Results suggest suitable foraging habitat will shift offshore and north, diving and surface feeders will be the most sensitive to a changing climate, and some seamounts may retain suitable habitat in the future.
About the Speaker: Dori Dick is a marine spatial ecologist who uses GIS and spatial analyses to understand what factors influence how species use the ocean and improve marine conservation and management decisions. She has a PhD in Geography from Oregon State University and is a Protected Species Program Specialist on Climate Change with NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources
Reducing Bird Collisions with Buildings and Building Glass: Best Practices
Date: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 10:45am-11:45am ET
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speakers: Lesley Kordella and Meghan C. Sadlowski, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Introductions: Lee Benaka, Fish Specialist, NOAA Fisheries
Opening Remarks: Eileen Sobeck, Assistant Administrator, NOAA Fisheries
Abstract: Glass reflectivity and transparency create a lethal illusion of clear airspace that birds do not see as a barrier. During the daytime, birds collide with windows because they see reflections of the landscape in the glass (e.g., clouds, sky, vegetation, or the ground); or they see through glass to perceived habitat (including potted plants or vegetation inside buildings) or to the sky on the other side. At night, during spring and fall bird migrations when inclement weather occurs, birds can be attracted to lighted structures resulting in collisions, entrapment, excess energy expenditure, and exhaustion. The majority of collisions with both residential and urban buildings happen during the day, as birds fly around looking for food. Annual bird mortality resulting from window collisions in the U.S. is estimated to be between 365- 988 million birds which, according to the latest research, ranks it as the second highest source of direct human-caused bird mortality worldwide. While most people consider bird/glass collisions an urban phenomenon involving tall, mirrored-glass skyscrapers, the reality is that 56% of collision mortality occurs at low-rise (i.e., one to three story) buildings, 44% at urban and rural residences, and <1% at high rises. This brown bag session will focus on explaining some of the major factors involved in building, glass and lighting impacts to birds in buildings we reside and work in every day, and the solutions that can be implemented to help greatly reduce these impacts. Though one of the top human-caused impacts to birds, there are many options for reducing or preventing bird collisions with buildings; several of which are low to no cost or help save in energy and other costs. Join us in learning how you can make a difference in the little things you do everyday to avoid building, glass and lighting impacts to birds.
About the Speakers: Lesley Kordella is a Wildlife Biologist in the Division of Migratory Birds at the USFWS and has spent the past 12 years in the federal government focusing on impacts to wildlife from energy projects. Lesley serves as the UFWS's liaison to the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee, National Environmental Policy Act lead for the proposed rule to authorize incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Coordinator for the Council for the Conservation of Migratory Birds�a group of federal agencies dedicated to migratory bird conservation under Executive Order 13186.
Meghan Sadlowski is an Environmental Scientist in the USFWS's Migratory Bird Division, Branch of Conservation, Permits and Regulations. Ms. Sadlowski has worked in the Migratory Bird Division for over six years, providing support in the development of decision support tools, guidance documents, and other resources focusing on minimization of anthropogenic impacts to birds. She holds a Masters of Environmental Science and Policy from the Johns Hopkins University.
Introducing the NOAA Institutional Repository
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2017, Webinar from 11:30am-12pm ET
Speakers: Stanley Elswick, Sarah Davis and Jennifer Fagan-Fry, NOAA Central Library IR Team
Abstract: Introducing the newest NOAA Library service: the NOAA Institutional Repository (IR).
Predator effects on host-parasite interactions
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 12:30pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Jennafer Malek, PhD, 2016 Knauss Fellow at the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission
Abstract: Both parasitism and predation may strongly influence population dynamics and community structure separately or synergistically. Predator species can influence host-parasite interactions, either by preferentially feeding on infected (or uninfected) hosts-and thus altering parasite prevalence patterns-or by affecting host behavior in ways that increase host susceptibility to parasites. In this study, we tested if predators (the mud crab Panopeus herbstii and the blue crab Callinectes sapidus) influence interactions between the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica and 2 of its most prevalent parasites, Perkinsus marinus and Haplosporidium nelsoni. Using a combination of field and laboratory experiments, we tested for predatory effects on the prevalence and intensity of parasite infections and on oyster immune response (phagocytic activity). Our results consistently demonstrated that crabs do not influence parasite infections in oysters at either individual or population levels. Thus, even though predators often have strong top-down direct and indirect effects on marine communities, we found their influence on host-parasite interactions to be minimal in this system.
About the Speaker: Originally from Connecticut, Jenna's love of the ocean took her to the University of Maine for her Bachelors before starting a graduate career studying oysters. After completing an MS right down the road in College Park, she earned her PhD at the University of Georgia studying how the environment affects host-parasite interactions in coastal systems.
Performance of Potomac River's "Dominant" Vallisneria americana Genotypes in Greenhouse Mesocosm Competition Experiments
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Shanie Gal-Edd, 2016 Knauss Fellow at the NOAA Research Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation
Abstract:The population of Vallisneria americana within the Potomac River appears to be dominated by two genotypes. In order to test the hypothesis that their dominance is due to phenotypic superiority in terms of clonal propagation and growth, a series of greenhouse mesocosm experiments were conducted to compare the "dominant" genotypes with other "rare" genotypes from the Potomac River.
About the Speaker: Shanie is currently a Master's student in University of Maryland's Plant Science program studying Conservation and Restoration Ecology of the Chesapeake Bay. She earned her B.S. in Biology and Ecology while conducting entomology research at the USDA Agricultural Research Station. Prior to studying ecology, she earned a B.A. in Psychology with concentrated coursework in Business and Economics. Most recently, Shanie was a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Directorate Fellow in the Migratory Birds Program Branch of Population and Habitat Assessment, where she initiated and managed Project FlockTogether, a crowdsourcing platform to enable mass-processing of aerial migratory waterbird survey photos.
Two Decades of Science Collaboration with Cuba
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Fernando Bretos Trelles, Curator of Ecology, Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science
Abstract: The larvae of fish, coral and crustaceans as well as migratory sea turtles, sharks and marine mammals flow between our countries, depending on healthy habitats for survival. The US lies upstream from Cuba and hence depends on Cuban biodiversity for the health of its coastal habitats from south Texas to coastal Massachusetts.In light of the recent rapprochement between the US and Cuba, science diplomacy has proven a powerful force to bring together two countries after decades of isolation. Mr. Bretos will discuss his efforts since 1998 to study Cuba's coral reefs and marine wildlife and discuss the challenges facing Cuba in light of an impending wave of tourism and market pressure.
About the Speaker: Mr. Bretos directs the Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program CubaMar.org, a Project of The Ocean Foundation. He has directed major marine biodiversity expeditions, coral reef health studies and marine wildlife conservation programs. He has studied a population of green sea turtles on seven beaches at Guanahacabibes National Park located on the extreme western tip of Cuba. Mr. Bretos also directs the Trinational Initiative for Marine Science and Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean, a multinational program initiated in 2007 to restore coastal and marine resources shared by the three nations of the Gulf of Mexico: Cuba, Mexico and the United States.
Since 1998 his work has built bridges between our countries through joint research on marine resources shared by countries that are separated by only 90 miles of ocean. The larvae of fish, coral and crustaceans as well as migratory sea turtles, sharks and marine mammals flow between our countries, depending on healthy habitats for survival. The US lies upstream from Cuba and hence depends on Cuban biodiversity for the health of its coastal habitats from south Texas to coastal Massachusetts.
Mr. Bretos is also Director of MuVE (www.miamisci.org/muve) at the Patricia and PhillipFrost Museum of Science (www.miamisci.org) a volunteer based habitat restoration project that empowers South Florida residents to restore urban coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, dunes and tropical hardwood forests. As Curator of Ecology he is also helping design marine science based exhibits for a 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art museum and aquarium where the Museum will soon relocate. A 2011 Kinship Fellow and 2010 Audubon Together Green Fellow, he holds a Master's degree in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a bachelor's degree in biology from Oberlin College.
A Look Back at the History of the NOAA Corps
Date: December 2, 2016 from 12:00pm-1:00pm (presentation and webinar)
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
For NOAA Corps meeting info: Contact Eric Johnson and Skip Theberge
Location: NOAA Central Library, 2nd Floor, SSMC#3, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring (online access will also be available)
Notes: The NOAA Central Library has reserved the Brown Bag area (from 11AM-2PM) for the NOAA Corps meeting, with the presentation and webinar occuring during 12pm-1pm EST.
Abstract: This presentation will look back at the history of the Commissioned Service of the Department of Commerce, including its origins in the Coast and Geodetic Survey, some of its outstanding leaders, and some of its accomplishments. The time period covered will extend from the Civil War up to 1970 when NOAA came into being and the Commissioned Service became known as NOAA Corps.
About the Speaker:Albert "Skip" Theberge has been with NOAA and its predecessor since 1969. He served twenty-seven years with NOAA Corps, retiring as a Captain in 1995. He became associated with the NOAA Central Library shortly after retirement and is presently Acting Chief of Reference. He commanded two NOAA ships, served as field party chief of both hydrographic and geodetic survey crews, and managed two major mapping projects - a NOAA/DOE mapping geothermal mapping program and the NOAA NOS Exclusive Economic Mapping Program that pioneered many aspects of multi-beam mapping and GPS use within NOAA during his career in NOAA Corps. He has received both Department of Commerce and NOAA awards including a NOAA Distinguished Career Award, a DOC Gold Medal as part of the NOAA Science Team that helped design the Sant Ocean Hall of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, and recently NOAA Administrator's Awards as part of the teams that discovered and identified the wreck of the Coast Survey Steamer Robert J. Walker and helping recognize the sacrifice of four Weather Bureau personnel lost on an Ocean Weather Station vessel during World War II.
Special webinar: Progress on establishing protected areas in the Southern Ocean: the Ross Sea region MPA (Courtesy post)
Date: Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 1:00pm EST (ONLINE ONLY)
Presentation slides, with audio
Speaker: Mi Ae Kim, Foreign Affairs Specialist, NOAA's Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection (NMFS)
Seminar POC: Lauren Wenzel
Sponsors: Co-sponsored by the NOAA National MPA Center, MPA News, and the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by NatureServe and OpenChannels.org)
Abstract: The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has been working to establish marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean, which would contribute to its objective - the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources. On October 28, 2016, CCAMLR agreed to the establishment of the Ross Sea region MPA, an area of exceptional ecological value and scientific importance. An overview of CCAMLR's MPA efforts will be provided during the webinar, including details about the recently adopted MPA in the Ross Sea.
About the Speaker: Mi Ae Kim is Foreign Affairs Specialist in the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, NMFS
Engaging diverse youth in ocean science
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 12:30pm-1pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Ellen Spooner, 2016 Knauss Executive Fellow, Ocean Science Educator/Communications Specialist with NOAA Fisheries Communications Office
Abstract: From squid dissections to experiments on icebergs, come learn about the ways in which Ellen Spooner has engaged minority and dis-advantaged youth with marine science. Diversity of marine science professionals does not match the diversity of people in the United States. This is due to a variety of reasons but many people are working to change this and make the marine science field reflect the unique and talented population in the U.S. You will hear stories of inspiration, techniques she has gained and challenges faced during her fellowship.
About the Speaker: Ellen went to the University of Arizona for undergrad studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the University of Michigan to study conservation ecology. Her current host offices are shared between NOAA Fisheries Office of Communications and Smithsonian Natural History Museum Ocean Education.
CSI Chesapeake Bay: Who Killed the Copepods?
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 12:00pm-12:30pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Katherine Slater, 2016 Knauss Executive Fellow, Ecosystem Science and Management Specialist with NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology
Abstract: The population of copepod Acartia tonsa, a key species in the Chesapeake Bay's food web, significantly dropped 50% in summer. Since hypoxia, jellyfish bloom and Bay Anchovy spawning are prevalent in summer, the effects of hypoxia, jellyfish predation and anchovy predation were evaluated to understand the reasons for the copepod population decrease. We measured environmental factors and collected zooplankton, jellyfish and fish samples on six cruises in the main channel of the Chesapeake Bay from May to September in 2010 and 2011.
Besides applying the common definition of hypoxia (DO < 2mg/ L), we also estimated whether the temperature-specific oxygen demands were met for supporting the basic metabolism of A. tonsa. By comparing the oxygen supply and demand, we found the hypoxia severity was underestimated with the traditional fixed standard especially in summer. With the new biological standard, the hypoxic water could occupy up to 70% of the water column in the Bay. We found less copepods and less anchovies but more jellyfish under hypoxic conditions. The non-predatory mortality was estimated with neutral red uptake, and predation impacts were estimated from jellyfish and anchovy gut contents. Our results indicated that higher copepod mortalities were due to the combinations of hypoxia and predations, and the relative importance of these stressors varied with environmental conditions. Hypoxia directly caused copepod mortality, but the importance of predation increased with temperature and hypoxia severity. Different hypoxia tolerance also changed the composition of copepod predators, from mostly juvenile anchovies to 50% comb jellyfish when the environment became warm and severely hypoxic. In conclusion, hypoxia in the Bay was underestimated, and temperature and species differences should be considered when evaluating water quality in the future. Hypoxia directly caused copepod mortality, and indirectly boosted predation especially under warmer temperature. Warmth and hypoxia together drove more energy flow to jellyfish instead of to more desirable forage fish.
About the Speaker: Katherine is a doctoral candidate in biological oceanography at the University of Maryland, College Park. She was working at UMCES' Horn Point Laboratory, studying predator-prey interactions between marine species in low-oxygen ecosystems in the Chesapeake Bay. Katherine has a M.S. in marine science from the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, where she is from. She is now working as a fishery ecosystem science and management specialist in the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology
The Global Observing System for Climate Implementation Needs: Focus on the Ocean
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 10:30am-11:30am EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Dr. Katherine (Katy) Hill, World Meteorological Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland
Abstract: The new GCOS Implementation Plan has been developed by the GCOS Community during 2016, and recently submitted to the UNFCCC COP-22 meeting in Marakech for approval. UNFCCC members have committed to observing the climate, guided by this plan, so recommendations and actions have visibility and weight within national governments. The plan strengthens the focus on observing climate cycles, and also has a stronger focus on impacts, adaptation and mitigation. This talk will summarise the main developments in the new plan, particularly focussing on the ocean chapter, which draws on a strengthened multidisciplinary GOOS programme. It will also highlight challenges for the coming years.
About the Speaker:Dr. Katy Hill works within the international system to support the development of sustained ocean observing systems. She is part of the GCOS and GOOS programme offices as secretariat for Ocean Observations Panel for Climate on observing system requirements, design and evaluation, and also works with JCOMM Observations Coordination Group, members of which are the main globally coordinated networks, on the technical aspects of observing system implementation; she also facilitated the establishment of the Tropical Pacific Observing System, TPOS 2020 Project. Katy has an interest in multi institutional collaborative programmes nationally and internationally, and has worked and studied in the UK, Canada and Australia before her current role. Previously, Katy worked for Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System, and also the International CLIVAR Project Office.
What's New in EndNote X8 and Q&A for NOAA
Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2016 at 1:00pm EST
Duration: 1 hour
Location (Online): Online Registration Link: https://thomsonreuters.webex.com/thomsonreuters/k2/j.php?MTID=t4e10c7313701a22e7084c1a623d6a021
Trainer: Donna Kirking, EndNote Trainer, Clarivate Analytics
Class summary: this class covered the new features in EndNote X8. Then we'll open it up for questions on anything having to do with EndNote.
Download EndNote Product Keys for NOAA staff at: https://sites.google.com/a/noaa.gov/nites-endnote
Note:This online training was not be archived by the library, but we will post the link to the recording our archives as soon as it is available from the trainer.
Out of the Vault: Maps, Weather, & War: NOAA and the Nation's Wartime Weather Needs
Date: Thursday, November 10, 2016 at 11:00AM-2PM EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Facebook album: Maps, Weather & War (Facebook)
Speaker: Albert "Skip" Theberge, NOAA Central Library
Abstract: In honor of Veterans Day, the NOAA Central Library hosted a special exhibit, "Out of the Vault: Maps, Weather,& War" on Thursday, November 10, 2016 from 11AM - 2 PM. This exhibit showcased several unique items from the collection with special significance to the armed conflicts that NOAA and its predecessor agencies have served in.
Acting Head of Reference Albert "Skip" Theberge presented an in-depth collections discussion from 11:30 AM - 12 PM.
British charts from the Revolutionary War
Handwritten coast pilot from the Civil War
WW2 reconnaissance maps gathered by the German and Japanese militaries
1944 map of Omaha Beach West, prepared for D-Day
Copies of "The Buzzard," the C&GS's WW2-era informal interagency newsletter
Personal sketches of the Korean War from Weather Squadron service members
Wartime photos of Weather Bureau staff in action
About the Speaker: Skip Theberge, acting head of reference at the NOAA Central Library, retired from NOAA Corps in 1995 after 27 years of primarily hydrographic surveying and seafloor mapping. He headed the NOS Ocean Mapping Section in the late 1980's during the EEZ mapping program. Since retirement from NOAA Corps he has remained active in the ocean mapping community having served for 12 years on the Advisory Committee for Undersea Features of the United States Board on Geographic Names and for three years on its international counterpart. He was part of the NOAA science team that helped design the Sant Ocean Hall of the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History. He is the history editor of Hydro International magazine and the author of over 80 papers dealing with the history of hydrographic and geodetic surveying, seafloor mapping, and various aspects of oceanography.
Submarine Cable Systems for Future Societal Needs
Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio(PDF)
Speakers: Dr. Bruce M. Howe, Ocean and Resources Engineering, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Abstract: More than a million kilometers of submarine cables traverse the world's oceans, bringing Internet service to billions of people. These remarkable systems connect people, nations, and economies, but this infrastructure could provide even more, adding invaluable environmental data for understanding the ocean above and the Earth beneath the seafloor. In light of this potential, an international joint task force (JTF) of three United Nations agencies (ITU/WMO/IOC) is working to incorporate environmental monitoring sensors into transoceanic submarine cable systems. Adding small external environmental sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure, acceleration) to the optical amplifiers/repeaters (spaced every ~ 60 km) of such systems would provide an unparalleled global network of real-time data for ocean climate and sea level monitoring and disaster mitigation from earthquake and tsunami hazards-a Science Monitoring and Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) network. The SMART cable concept and the effort to bring it to fruition will be described.
About the Speakers: To further ocean observing, Dr. Bruce Howe has worked over the years developing and applying ocean acoustic tomography and sensor network infrastructure. The acoustics work included moving ship tomography, Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) and the North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory, demonstrating both large area high resolution ocean mapping as well as basin-scale heat content observations. Howe helped establish on-going Ocean Observatories efforts, working on fixed infrastructure (cable power systems and moorings), mobile platforms (gliders as acoustic/nav/comm nodes), and hybrids (moored vertical profilers). A long-term goal is to integrate acoustics systems in ocean observing for science, navigation, and communications.
At Station ALOHA 100 km north of Oahu, Dr. Howe installed and operates the ALOHA Cabled Observatory in 4728 m water depth - the planet's deepest plug-and-play cabled science observatory. He is part of an international effort (JTF SMART Cables) to incorporate sensors into commercial trans-ocean submarine telecommunication cable systems.
Dr. Howe is currently a professor at the University of Hawaii. He received engineering degrees from Stanford and the PhD in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. From 1986 to 2008 he worked at the Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington.
Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER): Informational presentation and Q&A; on the PEER grant program
Date: November 7, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Callie Raulfs-Wang, PEER Program Manager, USAID
Abstract: Last year, NOAA joined USAID and several other US agencies/programs to participate in the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program. Administered by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), PEER is a competitive grants program that invites scientists in developing countries to partner with US government-supported collaborators, and apply for funds to support research and capacity-building activities on topics with strong potential development impacts.This year, the program is soliciting projects in several focus areas relevant to NOAA's mission and work, including: Rapid Assessment of Tuna Fish Stock in the South China and Sulu-Sulawesi Seas; Assessment of Fish Natural History in the Lower Mekong Region; Biodiversity Conservation in Indonesia; Biodiversity and Climate Resilient Development in Madagascar; Climate Resiliency in Bangladesh; among others.
PEER is designed to leverage agency resources and investments in scientific research and training, while supporting the work of developing country scientists. The program creates opportunities for cross-disciplinary and multi-sectoral research collaboration, and aims to expand the scope of research for both US agencies and their partners. In last year's cycle, two projects supported by NOAA-funded scientists were selected for funding. Pre-proposals for this year's cycle are due January 13, 2017.
During this informational presentation, program managers from USAID will explain the PEER program and this year's focus areas, and will be available for questions/answers on the specifics of the program. If you already have active partnerships in this year's priority regions/topics areas, or if you are interested in developing new connections to scientists in developing countries, please attend!
POC: For more information contact, Abby Lunstrum
Evaluating fishery management strategies under different climate change scenarios in the Bering Sea, initial report from the ACLIM Project
Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2016 3:30pm-4:30pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio audio archive unavailable from Alaska (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Location: NOAA Central Library, 2nd Floor, SSMC3, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD.
Speakers: Anne Hollowed, Kirstin Holsman, Alan Haynie (NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center); Al Herman (PMEL/JISAO)
Seminar sponsors: NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Office of Science and Technology
Seminar POC for questions: Anne Hollowed (NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center) and Judith Salter (NOAA Central Library).
Abstract: What are the best fishery management strategies for resilient fish stocks and fisheries in a changing climate? The Alaska CLimate Integrated Modeling (ACLIM) project is designed to assess the performance of fishery management strategies under different climate change scenarios in the Eastern Bering Sea. This multi-agency, interdisciplinary project is developing new techniques to link global climate models to regional ocean, ecosystem and social-economic models to evaluate the results of different fishery management strategies under a range climate and ecosystem conditions. This seminar will describe the project framework and initial results of this innovative 3 year project. Seminar POC for questions: firstname.lastname@example.com
About the Speakers: Dr. Anne Hollowed is a Senior Scientist with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (NOAA Fisheries). She is also an Affiliate Professor with the School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences at the University of Washington and has been a member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council Scientific and Statistical Committee for 14 years. Her research is on the effects of climate and ecosystem change on fish and fisheries, and the intersection of fisheries oceanography and fisheries management. She leads the Status of Stocks and Multispecies Assessment program (SSMA link) and has led the design and implementation of large interdisciplinary research programs. She served as a lead author for part of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), and has received numerous awards including Gold and Silver Medals from the US Department of Commerce.
Dr. Kirstin Holsman is a research scientist with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (NOAA Fisheries). Her current work is developing quantitative methods for ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management, and methods to assess and manage climate-change impacts on fish and fisheries. Kirstin's work includes climate specific multi-species stock-assessment models for the Bering Sea (AK, USA), Integrated Ecosystem Assessments, bioenergetics and food-web models, and field studies of climate and fishery interactions with marine ecosystems.
Dr. Alan Haynie is an economist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Alan's research is focused on the analysis of fisheries under changing environmental, biological, management, and market conditions and improving management in light of this understanding. Alan's work also explores the design and implementation of bycatch reduction incentives and the benefits and costs of dynamic and fixed spatial closures. Alan was a PI in the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program and is a member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Groundfish Plan Team. Alan oversees the spatial economics toolbox for fisheries (FishSET), a NOAA Fisheries initiative to improve the spatial modeling of fisheries.
Dr. Albert Hermann is a Principal Research Scientist with the University of Washington's Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, and an Affiliate Associate Professor with the UW School of Oceanography. As a member of the Fisheries Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (Eco-FOCI) group at NOAA�s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, he collaborates with physical oceanographers and biologists on numerical models of circulation, plankton and fish dynamics in the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea and the Pacific Northwest. These models are designed to help synthesize past conditions, and provide both seasonal and multi-decadal projections of the future marine environment. A related body of work centers on immersive 3D visualization of model output. He received a NOAA Gold Medal as a contributor to the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program.
Environmental Intelligence to support a resilient nation; an ocean of possibilities
Date: Monday, October 24, 2016 at 11am-12pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Carl Gouldman, Deputy Director, U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) Program
Abstract: Carl Gouldman, Deputy Director of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) program, will provide an overview of the IOOS as a national-regional partnership to provide data, tools, and forecasts needed for tracking, predicting, managing, and adapting to changes in our ocean, coastal and Great Lakes environment. IOOS helps to improve safety, facilitate economic activity, and protect the Nation's coastal environment. Mr. Gouldman will share some recent successes and a look forward for the program.
U.S. IOOS is composed of: 17 Federal agencies; 11 regional associations; the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT), a technology validation and verification organization; and the U.S. IOOS Coastal and Ocean Modeling Testbed. The U.S. IOOS Program, housed in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, works to implement the program in collaboration with to the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee, and with partners, including other federal agencies, the IOOS Association, and the IOOS Regional Associations. Authorizing Legislation: ICOOS Act 2009 Public Law No. 111-11 (33 U.S.C. §3601-3610).
About the Speaker: Carl Gouldman is the Deputy Director, U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) Program. NOAA is the lead federal agency for implementing the U.S IOOS as called for in the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009. Carl joined NOAA as a program coordinator at the Coastal Services Center in 2000 and then spent a year at NOS headquarters staffing the NOAA Ocean Council during NOAA's review of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy Report before joining the IOOS program full time in 2004. He has been a member of the IOOS team since then and served as a Steering Team member for the U.S. IOOS Summit in 2012 and as Acting Deputy Director for the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) for 4 months in 2013. He has been IOOS Deputy since 2014.
Prior to NOAA, Carl was a senior manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation where he led field programs teaching students about bay ecology and conservation. He holds a B.S. in political science from Duke University and a MEM in Coastal Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke. Carl lives in Bethesda with his wife and son while his daughter is now off to college. Carl has been a NOAA fan for life and enjoys spending as much free time outdoors as possible.
Climate Change Impacts on Human Health and Community Resiliency in the U.S. Arctic
Date: Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Becca Derex, M.S., 2016 Ocean and Coastal Policy Fellow, NOS Policy and Constituent Affairs Division
Abstract: The Arctic is impacted by climate change more severely than any other region on the planet. Unprecedented rates of warming, extensive loss of seasonal sea ice cover, and coastal erosion are only some of the challenges faced by Arctic communities. These environmental changes drive many emerging health risks in both human and wildlife populations. Understanding the intricate linkages between environmental conditions, ecosystem responses to change, and human health is critical to establish long-term community resilience against climate change. A holistic "One Health" approach, which incorporates environmental, animal, and human health factors and engages a diverse group of stakeholders to collectively evaluate risks and develop effective responses, is the most promising strategy for addressing climate-driven health challenges in the Arctic. Many organizations, including the Arctic Council Sustained Development Working Group and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, are successfully incorporating the One Health concept into regional resiliency efforts.
About the Speaker: Becca Derex received a Master of Science degree from the College of Charleston Graduate Program in Marine Biology, with specializations in Marine Physiology and Aquatic Toxicology. Her graduate research explored the underlying cell signaling pathways involved in crustacean responses to environmental hypoxia. Prior to beginning the Knauss Fellowship, she worked as a research specialist in the Neurosciences Department at the Medical University of South Carolina where her work focused on the cellular mechanics of neurodegeneration in Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Currently, Becca is the Ocean and Coastal Policy Fellow at the National Ocean Service, where she covers a broad portfolio that includes NOAA's Arctic Program and NOAA's One Health Working Group.
How Natural Resource Management Institutions Promote or Detract from Resilience in Socio-ecological Systems: The Copper River Salmon Fishery as a Case Study
Date: Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 12:30pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Erin Shew, 2016 Climate Preparedness Fellow, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Abstract: Institutions, both formal and informal, serve as a link between the social and ecological components of socio-ecological systems (SESs). They determine important factors such as who has rights and access to resources, and when and how those rights can be exercised. Thus, institutions that are a good "fit" to the SES can promote resilience, while those that are not can create vulnerabilities within the system. The Copper River watershed, which stretches from interior Alaska to Prince William Sound, is heavily dependent on the five Pacific Salmon species for ecological sustainability, economic health, and cultural identity. An analysis of salmon management institutions reveals that the formal management system is a good fit for the watershed while the SES is in a steady state, but lacks the robustness to deal with environmental and social changes that are currently stressing the system. Additionally, informal institutions such as cultural norms and economic systems have created a rigidity trap that generates disincentives to adopt more resilient approaches to management.
About the Speaker: Erin Shew is a masters candidate in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Arctic and Northern Studies, focusing on Environmental Policy. She spent several years working as a forest ecology researcher, hiking the backcountry of Alaska's boreal forests. Prior to beginning the Knauss Fellowship, she worked as a cultural anthropologist for the State of Alaska, conducting research on the use of wild, subsistence resources in rural Alaska and the impacts that drivers such as climate change, proposed development projects, and cultural shifts have had on food security and health. She is currently the Climate Preparedness Fellow at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where she works on instituting climate equity considerations in policy, including building resilience in Arctic communities and developing policy to assist communities with relocation and managed retreat as an adaptation response to the impacts of climate change.
Library Brown Bag: EndNote X7.7 Training session
Date: Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 1:00pm EST
Duration: 1.5 hours
Location: Online and in-person NOAA Central Library, 2nd Floor, SSMC#3, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring (and online through ThomsonReuters)
Trainer: Donna Kirking, EndNote Trainer, ThomsonReuters
Class summary: This class covered the basics of Using EndNote X7, including:
Creating an EndNote library, importing references using online search, searching for and removing duplicates, creating a journals term list, Cite While You Write in Microsoft Word and EndNote Sync and Library Sharing
Download EndNote Product Keys for NOAA staff at: https://sites.google.com/a/noaa.gov/nites-endnote
Note: You can find a recording of this class here.
Pilot Societal Outcome Indicators for the NWS Weather Ready Nation (WRN) Program
Date: Wednesday, September 28, 9am-11am
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Dr. Lou Nadeau, Ph.D., Economist and ERG Vice President
Abstract: The National Weather Service and The Office of Performance, Risk, and Social Science would like to invite NOAA staff across all line offices for a presentation on societal outcome indicators for the NWS Weather Ready Nation (WRN) Program. This presentation will describe the work being done to design societal outcome indicators for the National Weather Service's (NWS's) Weather Ready Nation (WRN) program. NWS routinely tracks a set of internal performance metrics related to efficiency and accuracy such as "false alarm rates" and forecast accuracy. NWS, however, has become more interested in measuring its impact on societal outcomes. In this presentation, I will discuss the steps we took to design societal outcome measures for the WRN program, including the design and implementation of data collection efforts. We developed four sets of societal outcome metrics under the project: measures of public knowledge, measures of public preparedness, measures of the actions taken by the public once an event occurs, and measures of the reduced impact on weather-related injuries. A key aspect of the design was to leverage existing data sources within NWS for cost-effective long-term implementation. Although the initial focus of the work was on WRN, the results of the project can be seen as having a broader application to many NWS activities that are centered around providing information with the goal of influencing individual behavior.
About the Speaker: Dr. Lou Nadeau, a Ph.D. economist and ERG vice president, is an expert in econometrics, statistical analysis, survey design, and process analysis. Lou developed and currently manages ERG's program evaluation and performance measurement practice, which focuses on two areas: evaluating the impacts of federal programs (including developing performance metrics) and valuing ecosystem services. Government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Labor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Commission for Environmental Cooperation have used Lou's services to learn where their programs are making impacts, discover ways to improve program effectiveness, and provide a data-based foundation for enhanced management decision-making.
Sea ice retreat and and ocean surface warming in the Arctic Seas
Date: Monday, September 26, 2016 at 11:00am-12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Dr. Michael Steele, Senior Oceanographer, Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington
Abstract: Arctic sea ice extent has been declining in recent years. Many papers tend to focus on interannual variations in the end-of-summer extent and the means to predict this quantity. Here, we instead explore spatial and interannual variations in the pace of sea ice retreat during the spring and summer. We have found that some areas tend to start their ice retreat earlier, relative to other areas at the same latitude, and that this retreat can be predicted with a several month lead time in some cases. We have also found that the ice edge retreats northward at a highly nonlinear rate, i.e., sometimes it moves quite quickly, while other times it "loiters" in place for days on end. This loitering behavior is the result of an interesting interaction between surface winds, sea ice floes, and open water surface temperature. Finally, we find that the maximum ocean surface warming achieved in any given year depends on the timing of sea ice retreat relative to the atmospheric warming cycle, i.e., on the "phenological" or seasonal relationships between sea ice, ocean temperature, and atmospheric warming.
About the Speaker: Dr. Steele is interested in the large-scale circulation of sea ice and water in the Arctic Ocean. He uses observations collected by in situ sensors and by satellites, as well as numerical model simulations to investigate time and space variations in sea ice and ocean properties. His analysis of ocean observations has focused on the upper layers, which are generally quite cold and fresh. Dr. Steele has active field programs in which data are collected in the field by his team and others, using aircraft, ships, and autonomous sensors like buoys and profiling floats. He is also involved with efforts to improve computer models of the arctic marine system, via the Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis, or FAMOS. Funding for his research comes from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Office of Naval Research, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA). He is involved with many "outreach" programs such as lectures to K-12 and college students. Dr. Steele has been with the Polar Science Center since 1987.
What is a healthy coral: Tissue-loss diseases affecting staghorn corals in the Upper Florida Keys (Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series)
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speakers: Katheryn W. Patterson, Ph.D., 2016 Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement
Abstract: The combined effects of anthropogenic stressors, including global climate change and ocean acidification, increases in coral diseases, and frequency and duration of coral bleaching, put coral-reef ecosystems at high risk. Tissue-loss diseases have caused dramatic declines in Acropora cervicornis (staghorn coral) populations across the Caribbean and tropical western Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the listing of the species as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act and critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Tissue-loss diseases affecting A. cervicornis were investigated using histopathological examinations and bacterial 16S rDNA next-generation sequencing. The microbiomes of apparently healthy A. cervicornis, affected A. cervicornis, and adjacent sediment samples were compared. Sediment associated microbial communities were significantly more diverse than those associated with coral tissue, and microbial communities associated with apparently healthy A. cervicornis were more diverse than communities associated with affected coral tissue. This study confirmed the presence of Vibrionaceae and Rickettsiaceae, both of which have been previously associated with coral diseases. Linear Discriminant analysis revealed that communities associated with the tissue-loss margin of a disease lesion were significantly more enriched with Vibrionaceae than apparently healthy communities. This study also supports the notion that coral tissue-loss diseases are polymicrobial diseases associated with an imbalance of residential bacterial populations and proposes that the increase in bacteria from family Vibrionaceae is a biomarker of tissue-loss disease-affected A. cervicornis colonies. Histopathological examinations of all coral tissues, even apparently healthy tissues, revealed moderate to severe hypertrophy in epidermal mucocytes, dissociation of mesenterial filaments, necrosis of cnidoglandular bands, and atrophy of the calicodermis. This study provides histological and molecular evidence that A. cervicornis health was in decline prior to the presentation of a tissue-loss lesion.
About the Speaker: Dr. Patterson is originally from sweet home Alabama but has called Florida home over the last 13 years. Dr. Patterson has over a decade of experience working in marine science, policy, education, and outreach, particularly in the Caribbean. She received her bachelor's degree in biology from Spring Hill College in 2006, her master's degree in environmental science and policy from George Mason University (GMU) in 2010, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from GMU (2015).
Carla Hayden is being sworn in as the next Librarian of Congress!
Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Carla D. Hayden, Librarian of Congress
Abstract: Carla D. Hayden will be sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress in a historic ceremony in the Thomas Jefferson Building on Wednesday, September 14th at 12PM EST. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Library of Congress YouTube channel. The YouTube broadcast will be captioned.
The ceremony marks two milestones: Hayden will become the first woman and the first African-American to serve as Librarian of Congress. She plans to take the oath using a book, drawn from Library collections, with historic connections of its own: the Lincoln Bible.
NOAA Central Library, 2nd Floor, SSMC#3, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD
About the Speaker: Hayden has recently overseen the renovation of the central branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, a four-year, $112 million project, and has also led $40 million in renovations to other units within the 22-branch Pratt system. The system is named for the businessman and philanthropist who financed its founding in 1886.
Longtime chief executive of the Enoch Pratt Free Library system in Baltimore and a former president of the American Library Association, Hayden took the helm of the Baltimore system in 1993, winning strong praise for her work to ensure that the city's library system offers a broad array of services to assist citizens from all walks of life, from access to books and other learning materials to computer access and job information. A program of outreach into neighborhoods served by the Pratt libraries included after-school centers for teens, offering homework assistance and college counseling; a program offering healthy-eating information for residents in areas with insufficient access to high-quality food; programming in Spanish; establishment of an electronic library, and digitization of the Library's special collections.
Hayden first served as a children's librarian in the Chicago Public Library system, eventually rising to the post of deputy commissioner and chief librarian in that system. She also taught Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She received Library Journal's 1995 Librarian of the Year Award, and served as president of the American Library Association 2003-2004.
Thanks to those of you who joined us in the library to celebrate this historic ceremony! The recording can be viewed on the Library of Congress YouTube channel.
NOAA Line Offices Brown Bag Series: A special session for Knauss Fellows
Date: Wednesday, September 7th 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Louis Uccellini, Director, NWS, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Weather Services
Abstract: These brown bags are your opportunity to learn everything you've ever wanted to know about the NOAA Line Offices, and to ask career questions of NOAA leadership in a small group setting.
About the Speaker: Dr. Louis W. Uccellini is the Assistant Administrator for Weather Services NOAA and Director of the National Weather Service. In this role, he is responsible for the day-to-day civilian weather operations for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas. Prior to this position, he served as the Director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) for 14 years. He was responsible for directing and planning the science, technology, and operations related to NCEP's nine centers. He was the Director of the NWS Office of Meteorology from 1994 to 1999, Chief of NWS's Meteorological Operations Division from 1989 to 1994, and section head for the Mesoscale Analysis and Modeling at the Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Atmosphere from 1978 and 1989.
Knowledge Exchange and Stakeholder Engagement in Natural Resource Science and Management (Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar)
Date: Thursday, August 18, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Laura Ferguson, 2016 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, NMFS Office of Science and Technology
Abstract: Natural resource science and management is complex and increasingly requires transdisciplinary approaches which integrate diverse scientific and societal bodies of knowledge to ask and answer questions that are relevant to both spheres. I compare and contrast three transdisciplinary science strategies to outline how, in what context, and to what end transdisciplinary science is conducted. I discuss how including indigenous and local ecological knowledge in natural resource science extends disciplinary coverage to answer broader ecological questions. Then I explore the NOAA Fisheries Cooperative Research Program as it works with stakeholders to gather data to answer fisheries management questions. Finally, I examine a university-based stakeholder engagement process within a water modeling project. Each transdisciplinary science strategy combines different knowledge types to arrive at an answer greater than the sum of its parts with a greater impact than simply increasing disciplinary or interdisciplinary scientific knowledge. Working with stakeholders and societal knowledge-keepers to ask and answer conservation questions can increase scientific literacy, produce more relevant science, and encourage buy-in of the results and resulting conservation policies. Knowledge exchange through stakeholder engagement can engage citizens, encourage behavior change, improve compliance with policies, integrate multiple disciplines, and promote long-term collaboration through network formation.
About the Speaker: Laura Ferguson is serving her Knauss Fellowship as the Ecosystem and Sea Turtle Coordinator in NMFS Office of Science and Technology. She comes to us from Oregon State University where she earned an M.S. in Marine Resource Management in September 2015. Her thesis was an Oregon Sea Grant-OSU collaboration studying the way in which research team members engage with diverse stakeholders to develop a relevant model of water availability and ecosystem processes in the Willamette Valley. She focused on the experiences of the engagement process participants to identify the challenges and successes of the process. Laura earned a B.S. in marine biology and a B.A. in Spanish from the College of Charleston in 2010. From there she served in the United States Peace Corps in the Peruvian Andes as a community-based environmental management volunteer. Laura is interested in responsible resource use and conservation, scientific outreach and engagement, and marine and aquatic ecosystem dynamics, including one of their most influential members, humans. Outside of the office Laura has too many interests to fit into her free time including: running races, playing volleyball, yoga, singing, playing music, knitting, baking, hiking, and camping. This talk attempts to meld some of her thesis research with her work this year.
Drivers of Peatland Soil Carbon Composition and Potential Greenhouse Gas Production: A Global Perspective (Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar)
Date: Thursday, August 18, 2016 at 12:30pm-1:00 EST
Presentation Slides (pptx)
PDF version, without audio (PDF)
Speaker: Anna Normand, 2016 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the Senate Commerce Committee, Minority Staff
Abstract: With the onset of climate change, there has been increased focus on the drivers of soil carbon (C) cycling. Peatlands store up to 20% C (~529 Pg C) of the global terrestrial soil. While all peatlands store C, the composition of the soil C may vary, which in turn influences the stability of soil organic matter (SOM), potential production of greenhouse gasses (GHG) and associated soil processes. We used 13C Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (ssNMR) to quantify organic matter composition from 110 freshwater peatlands across the globe. Redundancy Analysis (RDA), constrained 52% of data variation along axis 1 representing a decomposition and stability. The model showed statistical significance of the dominant drivers - climate zone, vegetation inputs, land use, and C to nitrogen (N) ratio, but not pH. We incubated soils from peatlands spanning climate, vegetation, and land use in the laboratory under aerobic and anaerobic conditions to measure potential carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) production. Regression models of C chemistry from all sites predicted greenhouse gas production underscoring the importance of C chemical composition on carbon cycling. Understanding peatland stability and GHG production aids in projecting the fate of peat SOM chemical composition. Therefore, results of this study concerning the drivers and contrasting chemical composition of peatland SOM should be considered when developing management strategies and postulating peatland soil stability and response to climate and anthropogenic changes.
About the Speaker: Originally from southwest Louisiana, Anna attained a B.S. degree in Chemistry at Louisiana State University. As a NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Anna is in the final stages of her PhD program at University of Florida in the Soil and Water Sciences Department. With a love of wetlands and outreach, Anna focuses on wetland biogeochemistry with a minor in extension education.
Improving Estimates of Earth's Energy Imbalance
Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio (pptx)
Speaker: Dr. Gregory C. Johnson, Oceanographer, NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Abstract: Earth is gaining energy owing to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations and the ocean's large thermal inertia. This energy gain, an essential diagnostic of global warming and attendant sea level rise, is difficult to measure directly, being the small difference of absorbed incoming solar radiation and thermal infrared radiation emitted to space. With over 90% of this energy gain warming the oceans, the most accurate way to quantify it is to measure increases in ocean temperatures (along with the smaller contributions from other parts of the climate system). In 2005 the international global Argo array of autonomous robotic profiling floats first achieved sparse near-global coverage of the upper half of the ocean volume. Combining the heat uptake in the upper half of the ocean volume from 2005 through 2015 from Argo with previously published estimates of heat uptake trends in other parts of the climate system, primarily the deep ocean, allows an estimate of the total heat uptake rate for Earth's climate system over that decade. This rate anchors a satellite-observed estimate from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), which requires an in situ baseline. Year-to-year variations of upper ocean heat uptake and CERES energy imbalance are well correlated during this time. This agreement between two completely independent and complementary measures of Earth's energy imbalance bolsters confidence in each. The next biggest (and growing) term and uncertainty in the global energy imbalance is deep ocean warming. Measurements there could be improved by implementing Deep Argo.
About the Speaker: Dr. Gregory C. Johnson is an Oceanographer at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. from the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography in 1991. His research group observes the global ocean both from ships (WOCE, CLIVAR/CO2 repeat hydrography, GO-SHIP) and profiling floats (Argo). He analyzes observations from a variety of instruments and platforms to study large-scale ocean distributions of temperature, salinity, other water properties, currents, and their variability, as well as the ocean's roles in climate. He is a lead or co-author of over 100 refereed scientific journal articles. He has contributed to the Global Oceans chapter of annual State of the Climate Report as an author since 2005 and an editor since 2014. He served as a lead author for the contribution of Working Group One to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change from 2010-2013. In 2013 he was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and awarded the Georg Wüst Prize by the German Society for Marine Research.
Cetacean Research and Conservation in Taiwan, with a focus on the Chinese White Dolphin (Sousa chinensis) population
Date: Monday, August 15, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speaker: Lien-siang Chou, Ph.D., Professor, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Abstract: The presentation starts with a summary of whale and dolphin resources in the seas around Taiwan and a brief history of cetacean research and conservation there. The discussion then focuses on the studies and current status of the IUCN critically endangered population of the East Taiwan Strait (ETS) Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis), also known as the ETS Chinese white dolphin, off the west coast of Taiwan. In addition, the talk highlights some recent conservation progresses on the marine protect area for the ETS Chinese white dolphin population, concerns on potential impacts from planned offshore wind farms construction in the area, and proposed monitoring and mitigation measures as well as future conservation studies.
About the Speaker: Dr. Lien-siang Chou is a professor at the National Taiwan University's Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the founder and past president of the Taiwan Cetacean Society. Professor Chou's research interests include cetacean morphology and genetic phylogeography, comparative study of life-history strategies, fisheries interaction, and impacts from whale watching. Since 1990, Professor Chou and her lab have been actively involved in both research and conservation of cetaceans, as well as operating a cetacean stranding response network in Taiwan. Professor Chou received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in zoology from the National Taiwan University and her Ph.D. degree in Ecology from the University of California, Davis.
The Past, Present, and Future of Ecosystem Services Research And Practices
Date: Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 10:00am-11:00am EST
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speaker: Dr. Robert Costanza, Australian National University, Canberra Australia
Abstract: Ecosystems are connected to human well-being in a number of complex ways at multiple time and space scales. The challenge of ecosystem services science (ESS) is understanding and modeling these connections, with a range of purposes including raising awareness and providing information to decision-makers to allow them to better manage our natural capital assets. In order for ecosystem services to occur, natural capital must interact with other forms of capital including: built or manufactured capital, human capital and social capital. Thus ESS is inherently an integrated, transdisciplinary science that is concerned with the way these four forms of capital contribute to human well-being and the synergies and trade-offs among them. The process of valuation of ecosystem services is about quantifying and modeling these synergies and trade-offs. This talk will summarize progress on ecosystem services valuation and management and future directions, including spatially explicit modeling of regional landscapes and new approaches to integrating these models with sophisticated game interfaces to both inform players about system dynamics and to elicit valuation information based on player choices. The talk emphasizes that valuation of eco-services (in whatever units) is not the same as commodification or privatization. Many eco-services are best considered public goods or common pool resources, so conventional markets are often not the best institutional frameworks to manage them. However, these services must be (and are being) valued, and we need new, common asset institutions, like common asset trusts, to better take these values into account. The seminar describe ongoing initiatives in this area as well.
About the Speaker: Professor Robert Costanza is a Vice Chancellor's Chair in Public Policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. He is also currently a Senior Fellow at the National Council on Science and the Environment in the US, a Senior Fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Center, an Affiliate Fellow at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, and a DeTao Master of Ecological Economics at the DeTao Masters Academy, China. Professor Costanza's transdisciplinary research integrates the study of humans and the rest of nature to address research, policy and management issues at multiple time and space scales, from small watersheds to the global system. He is co-founder and past-president of the International Society for Ecological Economics, and was founding editor of the society's journal, Ecological Economics. He currently serves on the editorial board of ten other international academic journals. He is also founding editor in chief of The Solutions Journal a unique hybrid academic/popular journal.
NOAA Line Offices Brown Bag Series: A special session for Knauss Fellows
Date: Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 1:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speaker: Richard Merrick, Scientific Programs and Chief Scientific Advisor, NOAA Fisheries
Abstract: These brown bags are your opportunity to learn everything you've ever wanted to know about the NOAA Line Offices, and to ask career questions of NOAA leadership in a small group setting.
About the Speaker: Dr. Merrick began serving as Director of Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor in 2011. In this capacity, he leads NOAA Fisheries' efforts to provide the science needed to support sustainable fisheries and ecosystems and to continue the Nation's progress in ending overfishing, rebuilding fish populations, saving critical species, and preserving vital habitats. As the head of NOAA Fisheries' scientific operations, Dr. Merrick directs NOAA's six regional Fisheries Science Centers, including 30 laboratories. He joined NOAA Fisheries in 1985 as a marine mammal staff scientist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. In 1997, he transferred to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, where he initially served as Branch Chief for Protected Species, and then as Chief of the Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division where he directed the Center's assessment, ecological, and social science research for fish and protected species. He has led various regional and national efforts to improve fishery and protected resources science, and has broad experience in dealing with a wide variety of controversial fishery and protected species issues. Dr. Merrick holds a Ph.D. in Fisheries from the University of Washington; M.S. degrees in Biological Oceanography and in Marine Resource Management from Oregon State University; and an M.S. in City and Regional Planning and a B.S. from Clemson University.
A presentation on Risk Communication Strategies and Research by Dr. Timothy L. Sellnow and Dr. Deanna D. Sellnow, sponsored by NOAA's Chief Economist and the Office of Performance, Risk and Social Science (PRSS)
Date: Thursday, August 4th 2016 from 10:00am-11:30am
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speakers: Dr. Timothy L. Sellnow and Dr. Deanna D. Sellnow, Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida
Abstract: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Chief Economist and the Office of Performance, Risk, and Social Science would like to invite NOAA staff across all line offices for a presentation on effective risk communication. The objectives of this presentation are: Develop an understanding of risk communication key concepts: including inoculation, uncertainty reduction, and self-efficacy. Discuss specific risk communication recommendations for communication practitioners. Advance knowledge of social science to create effective impact based messaging. Participants can expect to: 1. Identify/list/document the key concepts and topical research areas associated with risk communication. 2. Identify the needs of the user community related to risk. 3. Identify steps to move forward.
About the Speakers: Timothy L. Sellnow is a professor of strategic communication in the Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Sellnow's research focuses on bioterrorism, pre-crisis planning, and strategic communication for risk management and mitigation in organizational and health settings. He has conducted funded research for the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Geological Survey. He has also served in an advisory role for the National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization. He has also published numerous referred journal articles on risk and crisis communication and has co-authored five books on risk and crisis communication. Dr. Sellnow's most recent book is entitled, Theorizing Crisis Communication. Dr. Sellnow is a recipient of the National Communication Associations Gerald M. Phillips Award for Distinguished Applied Communication Research.
Deanna D. Sellnow is a professor of communication in the Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Sellnow's research focuses on strategic instructional communication in a variety of contexts including risk, crisis, health, and online settings. She has conducted funded research for the United States Geological Survey, Department of Homeland Security, and Centers for Disease Control and Protection. She has also collaborated with agencies such as the International Food Information Council about food security across the globe. She has published her work in numerous refereed articles in national and international journals, as well authored or co-authored several textbooks including Effective Speaking in a Digital Age, Communicate!, and The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture.
Library Brown Bag documentary viewing: West of the West: Tales from California's Channel Islands (Part 3 of 3)
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 12:00pm-1:00pm EST
Directors: Peter S. Seaman and Brent Sumner
Producer: Sam Tyler
Presented by: Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and Santa Cruz Island Foundation
About the film:Often called the Galapagos of North America, the eight Channel Islands lie in plain sight of millions of people off the Southern California Coast. Yet few know their names or even how many there are. And fewer still know the fascinating tales of those who've lived, worked, discovered, surfed, dived, rached, wrecked or were rescued on these unique and beautiful islands.
Part 3: Return The dramatic efforts to restore and preserve the Channel Islands. From Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh's devotion to saving Santa Cruz Island to the confrontation of preservationists and animal rights activists over the fate of unique Island species.
Hunting the Rift - Finding Fracture Zones: The First Heezen-Tharp Map
Date: Friday, July 22, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speaker: Albert "Skip" Theberge, NOAA Central Library
Abstract:Various histories, both in published books and found on the Internet, give Bruce Heezen, Marie Tharp, and Maurice Ewing credit for the discovery of the central rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and by extension the world-wide rift system. According to Heezen and Tharp, they discovered the rift valley both by developing bathymetric profiles of the North Atlantic seafloor and by tracking earthquake epicenters. However, a little known paper published prior to World War II by the German scientist Gunter Dietrich, clearly establishes Dietrich's priority of discovery of the Mid-Atlantic rift valley. It will be shown that Heezen was aware of this paper and engaged in a form of bathymetric plagiarism by following Dietrich's tracklines throughout the North Atlantic and claiming Dietrich's discoveries for himself and Marie Tharp. Ironically, in doing so, Heezen was the first to encounter large Atlantic fracture zones, but because of confusion and possibly fear of ridicule suppressed this information for over ten years. As a result, the first Physiographic Map of the Atlantic Ocean had errors approaching 100 nautical miles in the location of the rift valley and no indication of fracture zones. Heezen and Tharp ignored their own data in production of this map and followed the time-honored method of placing the legend over their area of greatest confusion. Surprisingly, Heezen's apparent fascination with Dietrich continued into the 1960's when he formed a polygon with ship trackline that enclosed Dietrich's "most striking depression" and declared the existence of the Kane Fracture Zone.
About the Speaker: Skip Theberge, presently acting head of reference at the NOAA Central Library, retired from NOAA Corps in 1995 after 27 years of primarily hydrographic surveying and seafloor mapping. He headed the NOS Ocean Mapping Section in the late 1980's during the EEZ mapping program. Since retirement from NOAA Corps he has remained active in the ocean mapping community having served for 12 years on the Advisory Committee for Undersea Features of the United States Board on Geographic Names and for three years on its international counterpart. He was part of the NOAA science team that helped design the Sant Ocean Hall of the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History. He is the history editor of Hydro International magazine and the author of over 80 papers dealing with the history of hydrographic and geodetic surveying, seafloor mapping, and various aspects of oceanography.
Economic Consequence Analysis Tool (E-CAT) for Natural Disasters
Date: Thursday, July 21, 2016 at 1:30pm-3:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speaker: Dr. Adam Rose, University of Southern California
Abstract: The Economic Consequences Analysis Tool (E-CAT) is intended for policymakers and analysts who need rapid estimates of the economic impacts of natural disasters, technological accidents, and terrorist attacks. It is programmed in Excel and Visual Basic to facilitate its use. This presentation will explain the E-CAT framework, its theoretical and empirical underpinnings, and illustrate its derivation and use for the cases of an oil spill and a flood disaster. E-CAT is the culmination of 10 years of research at the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) in advancing Economic Consequence Analysis (ECA) by incorporating resilience and behavioral responses to a broad range of threats. The theme of this research has been integrating broader features of consequences into the state-of-the-art tool of macroeconomic simulation and policy analysis -- computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling. The essence of the methodology involves running numerous CGE simulations that yield synthetic data for regression equations for each threat based on the identification of key explanatory variables, including threat characteristics and background conditions. This transforms the results of a complex model, which is beyond the reach of most users, into a "reduced form" model that is readily comprehensible. We have built functionality into E-CAT such that users can switch various impact "drivers" on and off in order to generate customized profiles of economic consequences of numerous disaster events. E-CAT involves a 7-step process beginning with the enumeration of a broad range of potential impacts for each threat, quantification of direct impact drivers, linkage of these drivers to variables in a national CGE model, running the CGE model hundreds of times while varying key parameters particular to each threat, generating regression estimates from the CGE simulation results, incorporating uncertainty, and transporting the reduced-form regression results to a user-friendly spreadsheet program. E-CAT can meet policy-makers' needs for a tool to evaluate the magnitude of various threats in order to make decisions on how to allocate budgets across interdiction, mitigation and resilience options. E-CAT can also be used to provide rapid estimates of recent events that require immediate disaster assistance. A book on E-CAT will be available from Springer Publishers in autumn of this year.
Sponsors: This event is sponsored by NOAA's Chief Economist and the Office of Performance, Risk, and Social Science
About the Speaker: Dr. Adam Rose is a Research Professor in the University of Southern California (USC) Sol Price School of Public Policy, and a faculty affiliate of USC's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE). His primary research interest is the economics of disasters, including natural hazards, terrorism and technological accidents. He has spearheaded the development of CREATE's comprehensive economic consequence analysis framework and has done pioneering research on resilience at the level of the individual business/household, market/industry and regional/national economy. He has also completed dozens of case studies of disaster consequences and recovery, including the September 11 terrorist attacks. He is currently the PI on an NSF grant to study dynamic economic resilience to disasters, with an application to SuperStorm Sandy, and on a contract for FEMA with formulate a deductible for post-disaster assistance. He is also the project leader of the Economic Consequence Analysis Working Group on Maritime Cyber Security. He recently served as an advisor on disaster resilience to the United Nations Development Programme and to the World Bank on financing disaster risk management. He was the research team leader on the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council report to the U.S. Congress on net benefits of FEMA hazard mitigation grants. His other major research area is the economics of energy and climate change policy, where he has done extensive work on international burden sharing and on the economic impacts of state-level climate action plans in the U.S. Professor Rose is the author of several books and 200 professional papers, including most recently The Economics of Climate Change Policy (Elgar) and Economic Consequence Analysis Tool (Springer). He has been appointed to the editorial boards of Environmental Hazards, Journal of Integrated Disaster Risk Management, International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, The Energy Journal, Resource and Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Pacific and Asian Journal of Energy, Journal of Sustainable Energy Engineering, Resource Policy, and Journal of Regional Science. Professor Rose has served as the American Economic Association Representative to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council and a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for National Policy Resilience Forum. He is the recipient of a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, East-West Center Fellowship, International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management Outstanding Research Award, American Planning Association Outstanding Program Planning Honor Award, Applied Technology Council Outstanding Achievement Award, Regional Economic Models Outstanding Economic Analysis Award, and DHS/CREATE Transition Product of the Year Award.
Co-Authors: Zhenhua Chen (University of Southern California), Fynn Prager (California State University, Dominguez Hills) and Sam Chatterjee (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series: South American summer monsoon variability since the last ice age
Date: Thursday, July 21, 2016 at 12:30pm-1:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speaker: Kyrstin Fornace, 2016 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, Integrated Water Coordinator, NOAA Research (joint position between Sea Grant/OWAQ/CPO)
Abstract: The South American summer monsoon (SASM) is a dominant feature of South American climate, producing widespread precipitation across the Amazon basin, central Andes, and southern Brazil during peak monsoon season in austral summer. Characterizing SASM dynamics on geological timescales provides critical context for identifying different influences on South American precipitation patterns and investigating present and future hydroclimate trends. I will present on my work reconstructing hydrologic variability in tropical South America over the past ~50,000 years and discuss current understanding of the controls on SASM precipitation on glacial-interglacial, orbital, and millennial timescales. In general, existing climate records suggest increased SASM precipitation during cold periods in the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes or periods of high local summer insolation. However, discrepancies between records from different regions within the SASM domain also point to complex expression of local and remote forcing during the last glacial period.
About the Speaker:Kyrstin is a Knauss Fellow in NOAA Research in a joint position between Sea Grant, Office of Weather and Air Quality, and Climate Program Office. She received PhD in chemical oceanography from the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in 2015. Her dissertation research focused on past monsoon variability and the effects of past climate change on terrestrial carbon cycling in tropical South America.
Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series: Migrating without a map: How a non-homing fish finds a suitable river
Date: Thursday, July 21, 2016 at 12:00pm-12:30pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speaker: Trevor Meckley, Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at NOS-National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science(Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research-CSCOR)
Abstract: The sea lamprey spawning migration in river systems and the role larval odor and sex pheromones play in tributary and mate selection behavior have been immensely studied. By comparison, virtually nothing is known about lamprey behavior in large lacustrine and oceanic environments. We made an unprecedented attempt to understand how sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, return to coastal environments, locate river plumes and enter rivers of the Laurentian Great Lakes during their spawning migration. VEMCO acoustic arrays provided high resolution (30s intervals, <5m accuracy) 3D paths of sea lamprey movement in an offshore array with 3 km2 of coverage over 3 km from a coastline and on the coast in front of the Ocqueoc River (2 km2 of coverage). The offshore array revealed that 81% of individuals arrived at the nearest coast within 72 hours and sea lamprey achieved arrival by following local bathymetric contours towards shallower water. The coastal array captured sea lamprey movement in front of a river under two conditions, (1) a low larval sea lamprey population following removal (2010); and, (2) higher larval population following larval recruitment (2011). Although larval odor did not significantly influence river plume encounter or river mouth localization, the coastal array revealed that larval odor does influence the decision of sea lamprey to enter rivers.
About the Speaker: Originally from Gettysburg Pennsylvania, Trevor attained a B.S. degree in Biology at Millersville University (PA). He received a M.S. and Ph.D. at Michigan State University from the Fisheries and Wildlife Department while studying under the guidance of Dr. Mike Wagner. At MSU Trevor studied many aspects of the invasive Great Lakes sea lamprey migration
Note: Following Meckley's presentation, Kyrstin Fornace presented her research: "South American summer monsoon variability since the last ice age."
Library Brown Bag documentary viewing: West of the West: Tales from California's Channel Islands (Part 2 of 3)
Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at 12:00pm-1:00pm EST
Directors: Peter S. Seaman and Brent Sumner
Producer: Sam Tyler
Presented by: Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and Santa Cruz Island Foundation
About the film: Often called the Galapagos of North America, the eight Channel Islands lie in plain sight of millions of people off the Southern California Coast. Yet few know their names or even how many there are. And fewer still know the fascinating tales of those who've lived, worked, discovered, surfed, dived, rached, wrecked or were rescued on these unique and beautiful islands.
Part 2: Settlers: Tales of the adventurers and dreamers who came to the Channel Islands. Included are chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr.'s vision for Catalina Island and the wreck of the gold buillion filled steamer Winfield Scott.
Library Brown Bag documentary viewing: West of the West: Tales from California's Channel Islands (Part 1 of 3)
Date: Friday, July 15, 2016 at 12:00pm-1:00pm EST
Directors: Peter S. Seaman and Brent Sumner
Producer: Sam Tyler
Presented by: Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and Santa Cruz Island Foundation
About the film: Often called the Galapagos of North America, the eight Channel Islands lie in plain sight of millions of people off the Southern California Coast. Yet few know their names or even how many there are. And fewer still know the fascinating tales of those who've lived, worked, discovered, surfed, dived, rached, wrecked or were rescued on these unique and beautiful islands.
Part 1: Ancient Peoples: The earliest history of the Channel Islands. Beginning with the discovery of the oldest human remains ever found in North America, 13,000 year old Arlington Springs Man, to the true story of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas, the inspiration of the best selling children's book Island of the blue Dolphins.
Insights into Earth's energy imbalance from multiple sources
Date: Monday, July 11, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Kevin E Trenberth, Distinguished Senior Scientist, NCAR
Abstract:The current Earth's energy imbalance (EEI) is mostly caused by human activity, and is driving global warming. The absolute value of EEI represents the most fundamental metric defining the status of global climate change, and can best be estimated from changes in ocean heat content (OHC), complemented by radiation measurements from space. Sustained observations from the Argo array of autonomous profiling floats and further development of the ocean observing system to sample the deep ocean, marginal seas and sea ice regions are crucial to refining future estimates of EEI. New estimates of EEI and corresponding rates of change of OHC will be presented to highlight major outstanding issues that include lack of sufficient continuity in many OHC estimates. The energy imbalance problem can also be done locally and the framework provides a new way of dealing with surface fluxes in the context of a fully coupled ocean-atmosphere system. For instance, we can estimate observed meridional ocean heat transports observed by the Rapid Array indirectly. Combining multiple measurements in an optimal way holds considerable promise for estimating EEI and thus assessing the status of global climate change, improving climate syntheses and models, and testing the effectiveness of mitigation actions. Progress can be achieved with a concerted international effort.
About the Speaker: Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth is a Distinguished Senior Scientist in the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. He was a lead author of the 1995, 2001 and 2007 Scientific Assessment of Climate Change reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize which went to the IPCC. Recently his primary research has focused on the global energy and water cycles and how they are changing. His work mainly involves empirical studies and quantitative diagnostic calculations. Trenberth is a primary advocate for the need to develop a climate information system that is an imperative for adaptation to climate change.
Note: a recording of this presentation is not archived as Dr. Trenberth's research publication is forthcoming (see http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0339.1. The current citation is: Trenberth, K., J. Fasullo, K. von Schuckmann, and L. Cheng, 2016: Insights into Earth's energy imbalance from multiple sources. J. Climate. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0339.1, in press.
Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series: Hanging by a thread: Seasonal weakening of mussel attachment strength is predicted by high temperature and low pH.
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides, with audio(pptx)
Speaker: Laura Newcomb: Program Analyst Fellow with NOAA Research Office of Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes
Abstract: Hanging by a thread: Seasonal weakening of mussel attachment strength is predicted by high temperature and low pH. Mussel aquaculture is an economically important industry worldwide, where mussels are commonly farmed on lines suspended beneath rafts or long lines. Mussels mold individual tethers, known as byssal threads, forming stretchy attachments to the aquaculture rope or other mussels. These byssal threads are critical in keeping mussels attached to the lines. Weakened byssal threads increase the chance of "fall-off" from aquaculture lines, reducing farm yields. We use laboratory studies to identify two environmental conditions, low pH (below 7.6) and high temperature (above 18° C), that weaken byssal threads in the mussel M. trossulus (native to the eastern Pacific). However, it is unknown whether these conditions are encountered in the field, or if they lead to weak mussel attachment. Therefore, we measure mussel attachment strength and a suite of water conditions including temperature and pH. We find mussel tenacity is stronger in the winter than in the summer. We find high temperature (> 14° C) and low pH (< 7.5) best predict periods where attachment strength is weak. These results suggest ocean warming and ocean acidification may increase fall-off and threaten mussel aquaculture. Monitoring these conditions near farms can identify periods when attachment is expected to be weak and adapting alternative farming practices could produce higher yields.
About the Speaker: Laura Newcomb is a Knauss Fellow in the NOAA Research Office of Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes. Dr. Newcomb received her PhD in Biology from the University of Washington in 2015.
Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series: Mesopelagic fish responses to environmental discontinuities in the California Current Ecosystem: oxygen minimum zones and oceanic fronts.
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2016 at 12:30pm EST
Presentation Slides(pptx)
Speaker: Amanda Netburn: Ocean Exploration Fellow with NOAA Research Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Abstract: Mesopelagic fish responses to environmental discontinuities in the California Current Ecosystem: oxygen minimum zones and oceanic fronts. Throughout the ocean, there are abundant and diverse fishes aggregated at mesopelagic (200-1000 m) depths that are critical for pelagic food webs and carbon transport. Understanding their vulnerabilities to predicted environmental changes can inform ecosystem-based management efforts.These animals encounter environmental gradients, including reduced oxygen at depth and oceanic fronts. There is evidence that mesopelagic fish habitat is limited by hypoxia at depth, and studies have shown that fronts can influence abundance, composition, and reproduction of marine animals. For the first study I will present, I measured activities of metabolic enzymes in mesopelagic fish in varied oxygen conditions throughout the southern California Current Ecosystem to investigate response to declining oxygen. For the second study, I compared the abundance, compositions, and reproduction of mesopelagic fish assemblages at frontal systems. My results suggest that deoxygenation may cause metabolic suppression, while fronts can alter the assemblage structure and reproduction of mesopelagic fishes.
About the Speaker: Amanda Netburn is a Knauss Fellow in the NOAA Research Office of Ocean Exploration and Research where she leads the effort to develop water column priorities and sampling protocols within the exploration context. Dr. Netburn also provides policy, engagement, and scientific support to the program. Netburn received her PhD in Oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego in 2016 and her Masters in Marine Conservation and Biodiversity in 2010.
NOAA Line Offices Brown Bag Series: A special session for Knauss Fellows
Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides(pptx)
Speaker: Russell Callender, Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service.
Abstract: These brown bags are your opportunity to learn everything you've ever wanted to know about the NOAA Line Offices, and to ask career questions of NOAA leadership in a small group setting.
About the Speaker: Dr. Russell Callender is the Assistant Administrator for NOAA's National Ocean Service. Dr. Callender brings more than 20 years of science, policy, and management experience that includes senior positions in Sea Grant and two line offices in NOAA.
Brown Bag: NOAA's Risk Roadmap: Possible Routes to Success
Date: Thursday, June 30, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides(pptx)
Speakers: Dr. Tony Wilhelm, Chief Risk Officer and Director of NOAA's Performance, Risk, and Social Science and LaTaiga Proctor, PMP, Enterprise Risk Management Program Manager, U.S. Census Bureau
Abstract: Effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) allows visibility and management of risks that exist at every level of an organization and enables organizations to generate greater value in achieving strategic and operational priorities. Dr. Wilhelm will update us on the status and maturation activities of NOAA's ERM program. LaTaiga Proctor, U.S. Census Bureau's ERM Program Manager, will describe the leading-edge ERM Playbook the Census Bureau has rolled out.
About the Speakers: Dr. Tony Wilhelm, Chief Risk Officer and Director of NOAA's Performance, Risk, and Social Science Office within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Tony oversees our efforts to develop a sustainable, robust and efficient risk management program at the corporate/enterprise level. He most recently worked in the private sector on enterprise strategic planning and risk analysis in cloud application services. Prior to that, Tony served as Chief of Staff (Acting) of DOC's National Telecommunications and Information Administration where he spearheaded performance management, risk analysis, and strategic planning for the agency and ran its Recovery Act broadband grant programs. Tony earned his Ph.D. in public policy from the Claremont Graduate University's School for Politics and Economics, and his M.A. in Government from the University of Virginia.
LaTaiga Proctor, Enterprise Risk Management Program Manager, Office of Risk Management Program Evaluation, U.S. Census Bureau. Ms. Proctor developed a model ERM program for the Census Bureau that is advanced, award winning, and recognized across the federal government. The framework includes an ERM plan, policy, and system. Ms. Proctor has nearly 20 years of Federal Government experience, and 10 years of private sector experience. Ms. Proctor has a BA in Sociology and a MS in Finance from the University of Maryland.
Library Brown Bag: Getting started with EndNote
Date: Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Duration: 1 hour
Location: Online and in-person
Trainer: Donna Kirking, EndNote Trainer, ThomsonReuters
Class summary: This class will cover the most commonly used functions in EndNote, showing how to import references from online databases and use them in a Microsoft Word document with Cite While You Write.
NOAA Line Offices Brown Bag Series: A special session for Knauss Fellows
Date: Friday, May 27, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides(pptx)
Speaker: Craig McLean, Assistant Administrator, NOAA Oceanic & Atmospheric Research
Abstract: These brown bags are your opportunity to learn everything you've ever wanted to know about the NOAA Line Offices, and to ask career questions of NOAA leadership in a small group setting.
About the Speaker: Craig McLean is the Assistant Administrator for NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research having served as Deputy Assistant Administrator for OAR's Programs and Administration. He is responsible for daily operations and administration of NOAA's research enterprise including a network of research laboratories and the execution of NOAA programs including the Climate program, National Sea Grant, and Ocean Exploration. He has previously served in NOAA as Executive Officer of the National Ocean Service, and was the founding Director of NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration. McLean served in uniform for nearly 25 years, retiring from NOAA's Commissioned Corps in the grade of Captain after service at sea, underwater, and in operational, legal, and marine resource management positions. McLean served aboard hydrographic, oceanographic, and fisheries research ships and was the first commanding officer of NOAA's largest fisheries research vessel, the 224-foot Gordon Gunter. He led NOAA's innovation and planning for the Smithsonian Institution's Ocean Hall, and achieved a National Ocean Action Plan goal of securing a permanent, dedicated ship for the national ocean exploration program, the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. A lifelong diver, he began exploring deep shipwrecks through decompression diving while in junior high school. These experiences have taken him to the Amazon River searching for freshwater dolphins, and to the USS MONITOR and RMS TITANIC searching for solutions in historic shipwreck management. Craig McLean is also an attorney and has practiced marine resource law for NOAA. He has been awarded the Departmental Silver and Bronze Medals, the NOAA Corps Commendation Medal, and Special Achievement Medal. He is a frequent speaker on ocean related subjects, rooted in his diverse NOAA career experience in fisheries, coastal and marine area management, directing research, law, and both surface and submerged marine operations. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club, and of the Marine Technology Society, and a Past-President and Chairman of the Sea-Space Symposium.
Unmanned Maritime Systems and Advancements in Adaptive Autonomy
Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides(pptx)
Speaker:Andrew Ziegwied, ASV Global Scientific Sales Manager - Americas
Abstract: The presentation will showcase our unmanned and autonomous maritime systems benefit to scientific applications, research capabilities, and ocean observations. Whether it be forecasts to help to protect the public from harmful algae blooms or integrated environmental and water quality monitoring of the ecological impacts of climate change and acidification, ASV's provide an ideal platform for multiple fully integrated sensors and payloads, such as: ADCP (current meter), CTD, Multi-beam Sonar, Acoustic Telemetry, and Passive Acoustic Sonar (PAM) for marine mammal detection, allowing for bespoke solutions. Autonomous behaviors can now integrate sensor data and interpretation methods to enable adaptive, multi-vehicle missions using combinations of USV, UUV and Glider assets to reduce the complexity and frequency of operator input when supervising large fleets of autonomous systems from the shore. Autonomous Surface Vehicles can offer considerable reductions in cost, an increase in operational flexibility, improved data timelines and quality, whilst mitigating safety concerns of manned vessels.
About the Speaker: Andrew Ziegwied, ASV Global Scientific Sales Manager - Americas, is an applied oceanographer with extensive government and commercial consulting experience providing integrated instrumentation solutions with the international MacArtney Underwater Technology Group. Andrew is a University of Washington School of Oceanography graduate. His background includes field work and project management with Evans-Hamilton, Inc. and application engineering with instrument manufacturer Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc.
Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series: Climate Change Related Impacts on Food Insecurity and Governance in the U.S. and Canadian Arctics
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides (pptx)
Speaker: Monique Baskin, M.S., M.A.I.A, Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the Arctic Research Program, Climate Observation Division
Abstract: Arctic communities have shifted from being relatively self-sufficient to being a mixed subsistence based community - relying on traditional and nontraditional food to survive. Dramatic physical impacts from climate change have rendered the region extremely vulnerable to food insecurity. The way governing organizations deal with food insecurity and other factors may directly affect food insecurity.
About the Speaker: Monique Baskin, a 12 year Air Force Veteran, is a George Washington University graduate where she received her masters in International Affairs, with an Environmental focus and graduate certificate in Environmental Health, Science and Policy. A lifelong learner, she has two other master's degrees in Exercise Physiology and National Security Affairs. She speaks Japanese and is the mother of a five-year old little girl.
Get Ready for Bike to Work Day!
Date: Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Regina Spallone, Fishery Management Specialist
Presentation Slides (pptx)
Abstract: NOAA SSMC bicycle commuters will share tips on equipment, planning, safety, laws, health benefits, and SSMC logistics, such as routes, parking, showers and lockers. This presentation is perfect for bikers considering riding to work for their first time on Bike to Work Day, Friday, May 20, 2016. While this talk will be geared specifically towards Silver Spring bicycle commuters, some tips may be applicable to others outside the area. A special hands-on demonstration will be included on gear, clothing, helmet fit, and more.
About the Speakers: Regina Spallone works for NOAA Fisheries in the Domestic Fisheries Division within the Office of Sustainable Fisheries. Since 2005, Regina bike commutes about one or two days each week year round from her suburban Maryland home to the NOAA offices in Silver Spring. Regina is active in the NOAA Bike Team since 2008, addressing the concerns of local bike commuters and managing the bike commuter incentive program, Bike Bucks. For this, Regina has been awarded the NOAA Green Steward Award in 2009 and the DOC Energy and Environmental Stewardship Award in 2013.
Coral reefs, climate change, and atoll sustainability: will Micronesians become the US's first climate change refugees?
Date: Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Curt Storlazzi, USGS
Presentation Slides (pptx)
Abstract: Although absolute rates of sea-level rise (SLR) and projected 2100 global sea levels are still under deliberation, the models consistently suggest that eustatic sea level will be considerably higher by the end of the century and rates of SLR will far outstrip vertical coral-reef accretion rates, which will have a profound impact on coral reef-lined islands. Atoll islands are low-lying carbonate Holocene features, many of which have maximum elevations of less than 4 m, that support 1000 year-old cultures, yet the amount of land and water available for human habitation, water and food sources, and ecosystems is limited and extremely vulnerable to wave-driven flooding and inundation from SLR. The USGS, NOAA, Deltares, and academia are carrying out a multidisciplinary effort to understand how SLR and climate change may impact low-lying atoll islands in Micronesia using field observations and global climate model outputs to drive coupled hydrodynamic and hydrogeologic models for a number of SLR and climate change scenarios. Rising sea levels and climate change will reduce the ability of coral reefs to mitigate wave-driven flooding in the future, leading to more frequent, persistent, and extreme marine flooding and overwash on atoll islands, damaging infrastructure, habitats, and agriculture. More importantly, the increased marine flooding, along with decreased precipitation, will result in salinization the islands' limited freshwater drinking supplies with such frequency that the freshwater lenses will not be able to recover. Our findings suggest that such "tipping points" - when the islands can no longer sustain a freshwater lens and thus human habitation - will likely occur in decades, not centuries as previously thought. This will result in significant geopolitical issues if mitigation efforts are unsuccessful and it becomes necessary to abandon and relocate island-states.
About the Speaker: Curt Storlazzi is a research geological oceanographer who specializes in coastal hydrodynamics and sediment transport. He presently leads a U.S. Geological Survey team of 8 PhD researchers and 10 operational staff examining the geologic and oceanographic processes that affect the growth and vitality of coral and bedrock reefs, along with their role in enhancing the resiliency of coastal communities and ecosystems. Curt is the author or co-author of 132 peer-reviewed scientific papers and reports, and currently serves on the Monterey Bay Sanctuary's Research Activity Panel.
Benthic Nitrogen Cycling and Nutrient Bioextraction in a Chesapeake Bay Oyster Aquaculture Farm.
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Abby Lunstrum, 2016 John Knauss Fellow, Office of International Affairs, NOAA
Presentation Slides (pptx)
Nitrogen Animation (YouTube)
Abstract: Oyster aquaculture is recently being considered as a tool to mitigate coastal eutrophication via "Nutrient Bioextraction". While nutrients- for example, nitrogen (N)- extracted directly by harvest are easily quantified, indirect removal by sediment denitrification and burial are poorly studied. These processes, along with related benthic N pathways, were measured seasonally at an off-bottom oyster (Crassostrea virginica) farm in a Chesapeake Bay tributary. Both enhanced denitrification and burial within the farm contributed to N extraction, but were small in comparison to harvested N, which accounted for 90% of total N extraction. Denitrification was limited by sediment anoxia and enhanced dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). As a result, sediment NH4 flux was the highest measured N emission from the farm, exceeding total N lost via bioextraction.
About the Speaker: Abby received a M.S. in Environmental Sciences from University of Virginia in 2015. Prior to that, she was a Fulbright fellow at Xiamen University, China, where she studied carbon sequestration in mangrove reforestation projects.
The influence of environmental factors on the age, hatch dates, and growth of juvenile Atlantic menhaden in Choptank River, MD.
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Alex Atkinson, 2016 Knauss Fellow, NOAA NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation
Presentation Slides (pptx)
Abstract: Since 1993 Atlantic menhaden has experienced sustained low juvenile production (recruitment) in the Chesapeake Bay. Factors controlling growth, abundance, and mortality of larval and juvenile menhaden change throughout ontogeny such that larval growth rates could carry over to juvenile growth and survival. The effects of winter thermal conditions on the hatch dates and growth of larval and juvenile Atlantic menhaden in Atlantic shelf and Chesapeake Bay habitats were examined using otolith (ear-stone) increment analyses and growth models. For 2010-2013, truncated hatch-date distributions provided evidence for a winter recruitment bottleneck in Atlantic menhaden in Atlantic shelf and Chesapeake Bay habitats were examined using otolith (ear-stone) increment analyses and growth models. For 2010-2013, truncated hatch-date distributions provided evidence for a winter recruitment bottleneck in Atlantic menhaden caused by cold temperatures. Hatch-dates of surviving juveniles were skewed towards warmer months for years characterized by colder temperatures. Reduced larval growth rates, influenced by reduced temperature and food availability, carried over to juvenile growth rates. A growing degree-day model performed well in simulating observed juvenile growth rates in the Choptank River tributary of Chesapeake Bay. 3 highlights: Hatch-dates of surviving juveniles are skewed towards warmer winter months, Increment analysis shows larval growth rates could carry over to juvenile growth rates and skewed hatch-date distributions provide evidence of a winter recruitment bottleneck in Atlantic menhaden.
About the Speaker: Alex is originally from a suburb of Chicago and completed her undergraduate biology degree at the University of Rochester. She gained exposure to marine science through SCUBA diving and internships researching gray whale populations in British Columbia and benthic communities in Florida. This past January, she completed her Masters degree in Fisheries science at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
The California Underwater Glider Network
Date: Friday, April 8, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Dr. Daniel L. Rudnick, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Presentation Slides (pptx)
Abstract: The overarching goal of the California Underwater Glider Network is to sustain baseline observations of climate variability off the coast of California. The technical approach is to deploy autonomous underwater gliders in a network to provide real-time data. The CUGN uses Spray underwater gliders making repeated dives from the surface to 500 m and back, repeating the cycle every 3 hours, and traveling 3 km in the horizontal during that time. The CUGN includes gliders on three of the traditional cross-shore CalCOFI lines: line 66.7 off Monterey Bay, line 80 off Point Conception, and line 90 off Dana Point. The glider missions typically last about 100 days, and cover over 2000 km, thus providing 4-6 sections on lines extending 300-500 km offshore. Since 2005 the CUGN has covered 206,000 km over ground and 223,000 km through water in over 9900 glider-days, while doing 91,000 dives. The last two years have been unusually warm in the California Current System, starting with the warm anomaly of 2014-2015, and continuing through the El Niño that started in 2015 and is currently on the wane. The causes of the warming are studied using a climatology of glider data. In particular, the effects of atmospheric forcing and oceanic advection are addressed. NOAA support through the Climate Observation Division and the Integrated Ocean Observing System is gratefully acknowledged.
About the Speaker: Daniel L. Rudnick earned his Ph.D. in oceanography in 1987 from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and his B.A. in physics in 1981 at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Rudnick is currently a professor and director of the Climate Ocean Atmosphere Program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Dr. Rudnick is an observational oceanographer whose research focuses on processes in the upper ocean. Topics of note include fronts and eddies, air-sea interaction, the stirring and mixing of physical and biological tracers, boundary currents and coastal circulation. Dr. Rudnick is keenly interested in observational instrumentation, having been involved in the use and/or development of moorings, towed and underway profilers, and autonomous floats and underwater gliders. Dr. Rudnick has sailed on over 25 oceanographic cruises, over half as chief scientist. Dr. Rudnick has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Rudnick was a member of the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council, and has served on various panels and committees for NSF, NOAA, and ONR. Dr. Rudnick is Chair of the Executive Steering Committee of the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS), a component of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).
Life on Ice: Seasonal variation in antifreeze protein concentration from a species of Antarctic fish.
Date: Thursday, March 24, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Lauren Fields, PhD - Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at NMFS Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection
Presentation Slides (pptx)
Abstract: McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, is almost constantly at its freezing point of about -1.9�C but data from temperature loggers located at various locations throughout the Sound show some seasonal temperature variability depending on location. Blood samples from a species of fish collected from three locations within McMurdo Sound and at different times during the austral summer were analyzed to determine differences in antifreeze glycoprotein (AFGP) concentration and activity. Conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD) casts were performed at time of sampling to directly compare environmental temperature with blood antifreeze concentration and activity. Fish collected from a location where no seasonal warming occurs exhibited high concentrations of AFGP while fish collected from a location late in the season after the onset of seasonal warming possessed significantly less AFGP. High AFGP levels and activity were correlated with freezing temperatures while lower AFGP levels were observed in late-season specimens when warmer summer water temperatures were recorded via temperature loggers.
About the Speaker: Lauren Fields received her PhD in 2015 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her dissertation work focused on Antarctic fish physiology. A Massachusetts native, she did her undergraduate work at Mount Holyoke College.
Discovery of a spawning ground reveals diverse migration strategies in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)
Date: Friday, March 11, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Dr. David Richardson, Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Abstract: Atlantic bluefin tuna are a symbol of both the conflict between preservationist and utilitarian views of top ocean predators, and the struggle to reach international consensus on the management of migratory species. Currently, Atlantic bluefin tuna are managed as an early-maturing eastern stock, which spawns in the Mediterranean Sea, and a late-maturing western stock, which spawns in the Gulf of Mexico. However, electronic tagging studies show that many bluefin tuna, assumed to be of a mature size, do not visit either spawning ground during the spawning season. Whether these fish are spawning in an alternate location, skip-spawning, or not spawning until an older age affects how vulnerable this species is to anthropogenic stressors including exploitation. We use larval collections to demonstrate a bluefin tuna spawning ground in the Slope Sea, between the Gulf Stream and northeast United States continental shelf. We contend that western Atlantic bluefin tuna have a differential spawning migration, with larger individuals spawning in the Gulf of Mexico, and smaller individuals spawning in the Slope Sea. The current life-history model, which assumes only Gulf of Mexico spawning, overestimates age-at-maturity for the western stock. Furthermore, individual tuna occupy both the Slope Sea and Mediterranean Sea in separate years, contrary to the prevailing view that individuals exhibit complete spawning-site fidelity. Overall, this complexity of spawning migrations questions whether there is complete independence in the dynamics of eastern and western Atlantic bluefin tuna and leads to lower estimates of the vulnerability of this species to exploitation and other anthropogenic stressors.
About the Speaker: David has been a Research Fisheries Biologist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center since 2009. His research addresses the ecology of marine fishes, with a specific focus on the early life stages. Research at the NEFSC has addressed mechanisms underlying multi-decadal patterns in the abundance of small pelagic species, and the effects of these patterns on predator species such as Atlantic cod. Prior to joining the NEFSC, David was a PhD student at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. David's PhD research addressed the physical and biological characteristics of sailfish and marlin spawning grounds at both fine scales, such as sub-mesoscale eddies, and at larger regional scales.
Preserving the Working Waterfront: Stories from Around the Nation
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Stephanie Showalter-Otts, National Sea Grant Law Center and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law, firstname.lastname@example.com
Abstract: In 2014, the National Sea Grant Law Center, Maine Sea Grant, and NOAA's Office for Coastal Management received funding through the NOAA Preserve America Initiative to capture and preserve oral histories showcasing working waterfront preservation efforts. Ten working waterfront champions were invited to share the story of their community's working waterfront initiative. The resulting "Preserving the Working Waterfront" oral history collection, archived with NOAA's Voices of the Fisheries, includes audio recordings of the full interviews, transcripts of the interviews and audio slideshows highlighting key elements of their stories. This presentation will provide an overview of the project, discuss the value oral histories can add to working waterfront outreach efforts, and feature a screening of several audio slideshows. The presentation will also provide information on the related Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit and its existing case studies and tools. For more information on the project and to view the slideshows, please visit the National Working Waterfront Network's website at: http://www.wateraccessus.com/oralhistory.cfm.
About the Speaker: Stephanie Showalter Otts is the Director of the National Sea Grant Law Center and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Stephanie received a B.A. in History from Penn State University and a joint J.D./Masters of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School. She is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and Mississippi. As Director, Stephanie oversees a variety of legal education, research, and outreach activities, including providing legal research services to Sea Grant constituents on ocean and coastal law issues. Her duties also include the supervision of law student research and writing projects and providing assistance to organizations and governmental agencies with interpretation of statutes, regulations, and case law. Stephanie also teaches a foundational course on ocean and coastal law at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Her research on natural resources, marine, and environmental law issues has been published in a variety of publications.
Introduction to Enterprise Risk Management
Date: Tuesday, February 23 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Liz Ryan, on detail to the NOAA CFO Risk Office
Presentation Slides (pptx)
Abstract: This is an introduction to Enterprise Risk Management. Learn what it is, why it is coming up in the federal sphere, and some best practices on how some agencies have approached it. We will highlight basic frameworks and stories from other agencies on how Enterprise Risk Management has helped their organizations.
About the Speaker: Liz Ryan is currently completing an assignment in Enterprise Risk Management for the NOAA CFO Risk Office. She is a member of the National Marine Fisheries Service Buyback Program and is currently participating in the Executive Leadership Development Program at the Department of Commerce.
Note: This seminar was sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Training and Capacity Building Committee
The Impact of Lightning on Intensity Forecasts Using the HWRF Model: Preliminary Results
Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Ms. Keren Rosado, Graduate Research and Training Scholar, NOAA EPP/MSI CSC. Keren Rosado is a doctoral candidate at Howard University's NOAA Center for Atmospheric Science.
About the Speaker: Keren Rosado is a PhD candidate in Atmospheric Science at Howard University under the supervision of her academic advisor Dr. Gregory Jenkins. Miss Rosado is a fellow of the NOAA Educational Partnership Program (EPP) with Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Graduate Research and Training Scholarship Program (GRTSP). Miss Keren Rosado research interest is tropical cyclone intensification and its correlation with lightning. Miss Rosado is currently doing her thesis research at NOAA NCEP under the supervision of Dr.Vijay Tallapragada. Her research involves the implementation of a lightning parameterization into the HWRF with the goal of use this tool as corroboration of the intensity forecast of the model.
Abstract: In this research we are investigating the role of lightning during the life cycle of tropical cyclones using the HWRF hurricane model. The hypothesis is that an improvement in the forecast of lightning will lead to corresponding reductions in the HWRF hurricane model intensity bias. This research is designed to address the following two questions: "How well does the HWRF model forecast lightning spatial distributions before, during, or after tropical cyclone intensification?" and "What is the functional relationship between atmospheric moisture content, lightning, and intensity in the HWRF model?" In order to address these questions a lightning parameterization called the Lightning Potential Index (LPI) was implemented into the HWRF model. A 120 hours simulation of an Idealized tropical cyclones and Atlantic hurricane Earl 2010 was performed. Preliminary results from this investigation had shown: the correlation between lightning and intensity changes exists; the potential for lightning increase to its maximum peak hours prior to the tropical cyclone reach it maximum speed.
NOAA Sponsors: Jacqueline Rousseau and Audrey A. Trotman, OEd EPP
The physical basis for decadal climate predictions and the GFDL decadal climate prediction system
Date: Thursday, January 28, 2016 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Thomas L. Delworth, PhD, NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ
Abstract: There have been remarkable changes in the climate system over the last few decades, ranging from a rapid reduction in Arctic sea ice to changes in Atlantic hurricane actvity to prolonged drought in the western U.S. These changes are a combination of the response of the climate system to anthropogenic forcing and natural climate variability. There is tremendous societal interest in understanding the nature of such decadal scale climate changes, and the extent to which they can be predicted in advance.
In this talk we present the physical basis for making predictions of how the climate system will change over the next decade due to both natural variability and anthropogenic radiative forcing changes. We summarize what parts of the climate system may be predictable on such timescales, and the physical processes that create such predictability. We then describe a prototype decadal prediction system that has been developed at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), and present results from experimental decadal predictions that have been performed over the last several years.
About the Speaker: Dr. Delworth is a Research Scientist at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) and member of the GFDL Science Board. He is also on the faculty of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program at Princeton University.
1994-1997 Brown Bags
1998-1999 Brown Bags
2000 Brown Bags
2001 Brown Bags
2002 Brown Bags
2003 Brown Bags
2004 Brown Bags
2005 Brown Bags
2006 Brown Bags
The NWS is in the process of prototyping three Services Evolution Initiatives that will position the agency for the future and may lead to fundamental changes in the way the agency operates. Join General Johnson in this brown bag session to learn about the exciting period of discovery the agency is currently undertaking.
2007 Brown Bags
Since then over 65 governments and more than 40 international organizations have joined the activity from around the World. Back home, the US has formed a national, interagency planning and coordination committee, the "USGEO", that reports to the President's National Science and Technology Council. NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher is the US co chair of GEO. In June 2005 he named Helen Wood as the NOAA GEOSS Integration Manager. Earlier she served as Director of the Secretariat for the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations, from its formation in 2003 until September 2005. Recently she was appointed co-chair of the USGEO.
Tuesday, November 27 - Pam Rubinoff, Coastal Management Extension Specialist, University of Rhode Island Sea Grant program, and Lynn Richards, Senior Policy Analyst EPA Smart Growth program, will discuss "Waterfront Smart Growth Elements".
Thursday, December 13 at 11:30 - Annual Holiday Brown Bag Seminar featuring NOAA Administrator Vice Admiral Lautenbacher and the "One NOAA Holiday Band and Chorus." Please join library staff in enjoying treats, coffee, and the holiday spirit. NOTE: To be held in SSMC#3, Conference Room #4527.
2008 Brown Bags
Thursday, February 7
Friday, February 15
Abstract: What do meteorologists, hydrologists, farmers, emergency managers, newspaper reporters, golfers and baseball players have in common? They all keep track of precipitation! Precipitation is one of the most important of all climate elements for daily life. Yet, precipitation varies tremendously from place to place and from month to month and year to year. These variations have widespread impacts. This seminar will describe a project where people of all ages, using very simple and low cost instruments, are helping scientists study storms and precipitation patterns. Volunteers provide valuable data for NOAA applications while learning directly about climate processes, impacts and research. Methods for measuring rain, hail and snow will be demonstrated, and CoCoRaHS results will be shown including precipitation patterns from recent storms.
Henry Reges is the National Coordinator for CoCoRaHS at Colorado State University. He was formerly with the American Meteorological Society in Boston, MA. Nolan Doesken is the State Climatologist for Colorado and has worked for the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University since 1977. He initiated the CoCoRaHS project after an extremely localized storm in 1997 dropped over 14 inches (350 mm) of rain near his home but was not well detected by existing observing systems. Nolan Doesken has worked closely with National Weather Service headquarters on several snow measurement projects.
Wednesday, March 5
Worldwide aquaculture production is growing rapidly. The experience of Alaska wild salmon suggests that aquaculture may have significant and wide-ranging potential implications for wild fisheries. Salmon farming exposed wild salmon�s natural monopoly to competition, expanding supply and driving down prices. Wild salmon has faced both inherent as well as self-inflicted challenges in competing with farmed salmon. The economic pressures caused by competition from farmed salmon have been painful and difficult for the wild salmon industry, fishermen and communities. However, these pressures have contributed to changes which have helped make the salmon industry more economically viable. Farmed salmon has greatly expanded the market and created new market opportunities for wild salmon. Farmed salmon has benefited consumers by lowering prices, expanding supply, developing new products, and improving quality of both farmed and wild salmon. Salmon farming has had no apparent direct effects on Alaska wild salmon resources, but could have indirect effects on wild salmon resources which might be positive or negative. The experience of Alaska wild salmon suggests that anyone interested in wild fisheries should pay close attention to what is happening in aquaculture. No wild fishery market�especially for higher valued species�should be taken for granted.Tuesday, March 11
Dr. Daniel R. Brooks, Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Toronto and Fellow, Royal Society of Canada, will present "Emerging Infectious Diseases: Evolutionary Accidents Waiting to Happen." Sponsored by NOAA Restoration Center.
Powerpoint slides
Today�s bio-diversity crisis is not just one of lost habitats and extinct species. It is also a crisis of emerging infectious diseases (EID�s), such as HIV in humans, Ebola in humans and gorillas, West Nile virus and Avian Influenza in humans and birds, chytrid fungi in amphibians, and distemper in sea lions. There is every reason to take these events seriously, because EID�s appear to have a long evolutionary history. Geographical restriction and specialized transmission mean that in most time periods, most pathogens occur in a small number of host species, often only one, but retain the ability to infect more. However, climate change alters everything. Species move out of their areas of origin and ecosystems change. Pathogens come into contact with susceptible hosts that they have never before encountered, and that never had the opportunity to evolve resistance. As a result, EID�s are not just possible; they are inevitable. Indeed, every episode of climate change has produced them. If EID�s were rare, management through crisis response might be cost-effective. But EID�s are not rare at all. Rather, they are a common outcome of geographic dispersal associated with large-scale environmental changes.
We face a potential crisis, however, that stems from our fundamental ignorance about the biosphere, for it is impossible to be proactive about species of pathogens whose existence has not been documented. This makes many pathogens �evolutionary land mines� awaiting us as we relocate to novel habitats, move species around, and alter existing ecosystems. Nevertheless, most resources are still being allocated for responses to known EID�s rather than to assessing the risk of potential EID�s. Simply put, we must complete the global inventory of pathogenic species. Now. The question is whether we find them before they find us.
About the Speaker: Professor Daniel R. Brooks is a parasitologist of world renown and teaches in the Department of Zoology at the University of Toronto, Ontario, CANADA. He was conferred the honor of Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2004 and has received numerous awards and honors for his research contributions from organizations and institutions of higher learning in Canada, the U.S., and other countries. He has conducted research in Canada, the U.S., Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil,, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Ecuador. In addition to his teaching and mentoring duties at U.T., he is coordinator of the Inventory of Eukaryotic Parasites of Vertebrates in the Area de Conservaci�n Guanacaste, Costa Rica, a World Heritage Site. He studies parasites in many countries and is interested in the dynamics of emerging infectious diseases around the world. He is currently amassing a database of parasites which will contain all published phylogenetic trees for parasitic helminths (worms) of vertebrates (including DNA information), in an effort to recognize, predict, and prevent parasitic infestations in humans in the future. He views unknown parasites and pathogens as �evolutionary land mines� awaiting us as we relocate to novel habitats, move species around, and alter existing ecosystems.
Thursday, March 20 from 11:30 - 1:00
Friday, March 21 at 12 noon
Abstract: Initial results are reported from a study designed to provide science-based approaches for mitigating risk of sonar to beaked and other whales. The study on beaked and other whale behavioral responses to mid-frequency sonar and other sounds was conducted at the AUTEC range near Andros Island, Bahamas, where Blainvilles beaked whales (/Mesoplodon densirostris/) can regularly be detected using passive acoustic monitoring of their echolocation clicks. Tags recorded sound at the whale and behavior of the whale. Data were collected from 10 tags; 6 on Blainvilles beaked whales, 4 on pilot whales. 109 hours of data were collected from tags; 74h from beaked whales; 34h from pilot whales. Playbacks of mid-frequency sonar and killer whale sounds were performed on 1 tagged beaked whale and 2 tagged pilot whales.The tagged beaked whale responded to both sonar and killer whale sounds by premature cessation of clicking during foraging dives (RL = ~117 dB re 1 �Pa for the killer whale sound, ~145 dB for the sonar), with unusually slow and long ascents. Following the two exposures, the beaked whale exhibited sustained and directed avoidance of the area for at least 10 hours.
Thursday, April 10 at 11:30 am
Thursday, April 10 at 12:45 pm
Wednesday, April 16 at 12 noon
Thursday, April 17 at 12 noon
Abstract: The eastern Bering Sea is responding to climate change which is having a profound impact on all levels of the food chain, including commercial and protected species and humans. Changes in the presence of sea ice (timing, extent, and thickness) impacts the heat content and stratification of the water column, nutrient supplies, the timing and magnitude of the spring bloom, zooplankton biomass and species composition, and fish distributions. NOAA�s North Pacific Climate Regimes and Ecosystem Productivity program (NPCREP) is working with academic and other partners to measure and quantify these changes and synthesize the results. Our research will provide key observations and the understanding necessary to infer how future changes in climate will impact the abundance and production of ecosystem goods and services.
Wednesday, April 23 at 12 noon
Wednesday, April 30 at 12 noon
Abstract: The programs of the national Sea Grant network partner with other NOAA programs and offices throughout the country in many ways. In an effort to formalize and better facilitate such relationships, the "NOAA in the Carolinas" initiative was launched to promote regional partnership development, coordination, and communication among NOAA programs.
Two speakers discussed "NOAA in the Carolinas" and some of its successes on April 30th at the Ralph Rayburn Beltway Brown Bag seminar, which will take place at noon in the NOAA Library, second floor of SSMC 3. Darin Figurskey, NWS MIC, Raleigh, NC will speak on Sea Grant�s role and relationship with the "NOAA in the Carolinas" effort and the initiative�s continued success, while Suzanne Van Cooten, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) will discuss the development of the Coastal & Inland Flood Observation and Warning (CI-FLOW), which began after the massive flooding associated with Hurricane Floyd in North and South Carolina. The research staff at NSSL in Norman, Oklahoma along with a Sea Grant network outreach team began working on CI-FLOW in 2000 to create a "mountains to the sea" precipitation, flood and surge observing system to better monitor, model and ultimately forecast, in association with the NOAA NWS, inland flooding and storm surge often associated with tropical storm systems.
"NOAA in the Carolinas" was conceived in 2004 by the North Carolina Sea Grant program as a way to demonstrate NOAA�s presence in the state and highlight how NOAA offices cooperate and collaborate with each other across the region. All of these relationships pre-date "One NOAA" and clearly demonstrate how programs do and must continue to work together to achieve mutual goals. Four successive annual meetings have been conducted and the effort is now formally associated with NOAA�s regional program in the southeast-- SECART.
Thursday, May 1 at 12 noon
Abstract: Maine has the most extensive and diverse marine aquaculture sector of any state in the nation. Maine also has some of the strictest aquaculture environmental regulations and monitoring requirements in the world. Based on farm gate sales � worth over $80 million dollars annually � Maine has been the number one marine aquaculture state for 10 of the last 15 years. On a per acre basis, farm raised salmon, oysters, mussels, and baitfish are the most valuable agricultural crops raised in Maine. But, like any human activity, aquaculture involves risk and can have environmental impacts. The Maine Aquaculture Association and its member growers are widely recognized as pioneers in the development of innovative and sustainable farming methods designed to enhance their stewardship of Maine's marine environments. Through a 14-point set of environmental guiding principles, cooperative bay management and a comprehensive code of practice, Maine�s aquatic farmers are leading the way in a new, environmentally sustainable way to produce seafood. With good science, political will and technical expertise, achieving a balance between conservation and economic development has been possible in Maine.
Speaker Bio: Sebastian Belle is the Executive Director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, the oldest state aquaculture association in the country. He has been working in commercial fishing and aquaculture for over 30 years. He has worked in 14 different countries growing over 15 species using a number of different production methods.
Monday, May 12 at 12 noon
Wednesday, May 21
Tuesday, June 3
Wednesday, June 11
Thursday, June 12
Friday, June 13 at 11:00 am
Wednesday, June 25th
Unlike many other techniques, HFR is unaffected by weather conditions such as clouds, fog or precipitation. Because its signal hugs the ocean�s surface, and is conducted by it, HFR can observe the ocean at distances far beyond the line-of-sight (distances often exceed 200 km). Also, this surface-hugging mode makes the placement of HFRs more flexible, in that they can be located almost anywhere along the shoreline. By combining data from two HFRs, a two-dimensional map of surface currents can be produced, spanning thousands of square kilometers.
Currently, about 100 HFRs are operating on US coastlines. Nearly all are owned by research universities working in partnership with NOAA IOOS. NOAA�s current HFR efforts are led by the IOOS Program in partnerships with NOS/CO-OPS and NWS/NDBC. This technology was developed in the 1970�s and 1980�s in a NOAA Research laboratory in Boulder, Colorado and was referred to as Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar (CODAR). After that development, a commercial company was spun off that markets the HFRs under the name CODAR Ocean Sensors SeaSondes�. More than 90 percent of the HFRs in the US are of the CODAR type. The seminar will give an HFR overview including details on the national HFR data server and management system, regional capabilities and future plans.
Thursday, June 26
Wednesday, July 2
Thursday, July 17th at 12 noon
NOAA is proud to lead a national partnership of 17 federal agencies and 11 regions working together to link marine data in an easy-to-use standard format that will provide users with a composite picture of our nation's waters in an accurate and timely manner. This seminar will discuss some of the complexities of the national IOOS efforts, what NOAA and its partners are doing to integrate our ocean and coastal data, and IOOS benefits to data users, the general public, and the nation.
Marine Policy Issues: First in a Series of Panel Presentations given by Knauss Sea Grant FellowsAnatomy of a Good Policy: Legislation & Community management of Marine Resources in West Hawaii
Powerpoint slides (pdf)
Presented by Paulo Maurin, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program:
Abstract: This presentation examines Act 306, which went into effect in 1998 and established large Fish Replenishment Areas in West Hawaii. The Act was a response to increasing aquarium fish collecting activities and local community concern over exploitation of the Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens). The research reexamines tropical aquarium fish collecting patterns in the area and presents key policy and management elements that implemented the West Hawaii Fisheries Council, a successful and sustained structure for the co-management of local marine resources involving fish collectors, government, university and grassroots organizations.
The Proposed Oregon Coast National Marine Sanctuary: A Case Study in Marine
In late 2005, Governor Ted Kulongoski proposed that the Oregon Ocean Stewardship Area should be designated a National Marine Sanctuary. He then consulted with the Oregon Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC), and asked that body to determine the feasibility, extent and public support for his proposal. This presentation will examine the background, objectives and progression of the proposal as it developed since its inception. The policy process will be compared to models offered by Kingdon (1995) and Sabatier & Mazmanian (1983).
Examining Effectiveness in Regional Ocean Governance Regimes
Abstract: The research examines regional ocean governance regimes including the United Nations Environment Programme�s Regional Seas Programmes and efforts underway by the Global Environment Facility, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in managing Large Marine Ecosystems and linked watersheds. The research applies international relations theory, and specifically regime theory, to expand the knowledge base regarding the formation, dynamics and effectiveness of such regimes in an effort to understand when, how and why they work, or conversely, fail.
Tuesday, August 5 at 12 noon
Thursday, August 7 at 12 noon
Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in Euphotic Estuarine Sediments:
A Case Study from Chesapeake Bay
Laurie McGilvray, Chief, Estuarine Reserves Division, NOS Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, provided an overview of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and the Graduate Research Fellows Program.
Thursday, August 28
Thursday, September 4
Using GPS collars to monitor the activity and habitat use of Canada lynx in Minnesota
The Decay of Particulate Organic Matter in the Ocean and of Bills in the U.S. Senate
Regional adaptation in feeding preference for chemically-rich seaweeds by the marine herbivore, Ampithoe longimana
Wednesday, September 10
Tuesday, September 16 at 11:00
Thursday, September 18 at 12 noon
Fine scale genetic population structure in the threatened Acropora palmata and
Acropora cervicornis in Southwest Puerto Rico
Do closed fishing areas in New England qualify as marine protected areas?
October 2 at 12 noon
Abstract: This is a one year retrospective by Jack Hayes, Director of NOAA National Weather Service. Jack will discuss accomplishments and outline some of the record-breaking weather, water, and climate events the agency has seen during the past year. He will also explore how the NWS is planning to meet the growing demands for weather, water and climate services. Jack has a wealth of domestic and international experience to draw on in this brown bag luncheon. He has held several SES positions within NOAA (NOS, OAR, and NWS), as well as domestic and international experience working for the Air Force and the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization.
On October 7 at 12 noon
October 9 at 12 noon
October 23rd at 12 noon
Emily McDonald, Sea Grant Fellow, Office of Ocean Exploration & Research presented:
Luis Leandro, Sea Grant Fellow, Office of Legislative Affairs presented:
15th Annual Library Book Fair on November 5 from 10-3
November 6 at 12 noon
November 19 at 12 noon
Powerpoint slides (ppt format)
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract:Atlantic Sea Scallops (Placopecten magellanicus), valued at $385 million (ex-vessel value) in 2007, support the top revenue generating commercial fishery in the United States. Found on the seafloor in Northwest Atlantic waters ranging from Newfoundland to North Carolina, they are typically harvested using a New Bedford style scallop dredge, that is dragged along the seafloor bottom by a fishing vessel. The Northeast Fisheries Science Center has been conducting sea scallop surveys aboard the R/V Albatross IV (and more recently the R/V Sharp) with a modified New Bedford style dredge annually since the late 1970s as a means to help estimate scallop population sizes and structure and provide management advice. In recent years however, optical survey methods using cameras to photograph and analyze scallop populations have emerged as a potential alternative to the dredge survey. One such optical survey method, Habcam, short for Habitat Mapping Camera System, was developed as a collaborative project between the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the fishing industry, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Habcam, unlike a dredge is non-invasive. It is towed above the seafloor by a commercial scallop boat and can collect as many as 300,000 high resolution images per day. In 2007, calibration experiments between the NMFS dredge survey and Habcam were conducted, in which sea scallop abundances and size class distributions were measured at the same stations by both dredge and Habcam surveys. This presentation will provide an overview of the different sea scallop survey methods and 2007 calibration experiment, as well as discuss preliminary results of the 2007 calibration experiments, with an examination of how optical and dredge survey methods compare, and the potential impacts measurement errors can have on optical survey methods.
Lora Clarke (Office of Science and Technology, NMFS) will present "High Connectivity in a Locally Adapted Marine Fish Species: A possible scenario?"
November 20 at 12 noon
December 2 at 12 noon
December 4 at 12 noon
Abstract: The National Sea Grant Law Center was established in 2002 to provide legal research, education, and outreach services to the National Sea Grant College Program and its constituents. Through a quarterly newsletter, a monthly e-mail case alert, and a bi-annual scholarly journal, the Law Center helps Sea Grant extension agents, coastal managers, and the general public stay informed of developing legal issues and recent court opinions. The Law Center's groundbreaking Advisory Service provides non-biased legal research and analysis to the Sea Grant, its partner agencies, and their constituents. Through its Advisory Service, the Law Center has informed the debate over ballast water regulation in the Great Lakes and water quality trading in Chesapeake Bay. The Law Center has increased understanding of and reduced opposition to coastal projects around the country by providing easy-to-understand information on the existing permitting and liability regimes. Current projects include an education and outreach project on offshore alternative energy siting and permitting and a symposium on water quantity. This presentation will provide an overview of the Law Center, its services, and recent projects.
Bio: Stephanie Showalter received a B.A. in History from Penn State University and a joint J.D./Masters of Studies in Environmental Law degree from Vermont Law School. As Director for the Sea Grant Law Center, Stephanie advises Sea Grant constituents on ocean and coastal law issues, researches and publishes papers on natural resources, marine, and environmental law issues, and supervises law student research and writing projects. Her main areas of research include invasive species, aquaculture, and coastal development. Stephanie also teaches as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Mississippi School of Law offering courses such as ocean and coastal law, wetlands law and policy, and wildlife law.
December 9 at 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
11:00-11:30: "Hunting Hurricanes -- Now and Then",
Followed by the NOAA Holiday Band and Treats and Coffee!
Hurricane Ike Powerpoint slides
B-29/Guam Hurricane Powerpoint slides
December 10 at 12 noon
Powerpoint slides (in pdf format)
Abstract:The relationship between sea surface temperature (SST) and Atlantic hurricane activity has been explored in several recent scientific publications and it has been the subject of much debate. A causal relationship between /absolute/ SST and Atlantic hurricanes implies a continued and dramatic increase in hurricane activity, and implies that the recent increase is partly man-made. A causal relationship between /relative/ SST and hurricane activity implies a future similar to the past (with big variability and small trend), but the recent increase cannot be attributed to human actions. This talk will show the importance of applying our dynamical understanding of tropical cyclones, in addition to the observed record, to address this question.
Bio: Gabe has been a research oceanographer at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J. since June of 2006. He was a visiting scientist at the lab from 2003 to 2006. His research interests include ocean-atmosphere coupling and climate change and variability. He earned his degrees from Rutgers University and the University of Washington and has won many awards for his work, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and a 2007 NOAA/OAR Outstanding Paper award.
December 11 at 12 noon
Abstract: On February 23, 2008, three teams of students from the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) made history by becoming the first DCPS students to participate in a National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) competition. NOSB is a national academic competition for high school students in the ocean sciences. Each year thousands of students across the country take part in the competition but until recently, DCPS students had never participated. These DCPS students and their teachers were part of NOAA's pilot project "NEMO" designed to interest students in the ocean sciences and initiate DCPS participation in the NOSB program. NEMO is primarily an after school program that includes a weekly meeting between students and teachers (using activities provided by NOAA) and field trips opportunities coordinated by NOAA every other month. This presentation will provide an overview of NOAA's project NEMO, program evaluation methods and results, lessons learned on engaging inner city high schools in the ocean sciences and initiating their participation in a NOSB competition, and NEMO's future direction.
December 18 from 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Powerpoint slides (in pdf format)
Brief Description: A two-year study to study on how some marine mammals, including beaked whales, respond to various sounds, including simulated military sonar signals, was recently completed on an underwater listening range in the Bahamas. This project, called the Behavioral Response Study (BRS), was spearheaded by NOAA's Office of Science and Technology in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and scientists from several institutions and many countries. Diving and vocal behavior in four cetacean species was measured before, during, and after sound exposure to obtain measurements of how the animals react to human sounds in their environment.
Abstract: Beaked whales have mass stranded during a few military exercises involving the transmission of active, mid-frequency tactical sonar, but the cause is unknown. A recent series of experiments on a specialized acoustic range [including 80+ elements capable of recording up to ~48 kHz covering ~600 sq. miles] were conducted in the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO), Bahamas to provide empirical measurements of the behavioural responses of beaked whales and other odontocete cetaceans. A total of nine playback sequences (including measurements during "control" and "exposure" intervals) were conducted on four species of odontocete cetacean [Blainville's beaked whale, /Mesoplodon densirostris/ (n=2); Melon-headed whale, /Peponocephala electra/ (n=1); short-finned pilot whale, /Globicephala macrorhynchus/ (n=4); false killer whale, /Pseudorca crassidens/ (n=2)]. In addition, observations were made of odontocete vocalizations at a coarser (group) level using the hydrophone array during playback sequences. The results demonstrated that one of the tagged Blainville's beaked whales responded to playbacks of simulated naval sonar once the (gradually increasing) received levels (RL) reached 136 dB re: 1�Pa and killer whale RL reached 102 dB re: 1�Pa by interrupting foraging dives, prematurely ceasing vocalizations, and sustained avoidance of the playback area after exposure to the killer whale sounds. The other beaked whale playback included a single exposure to a pseudo-random noise signal of comparable level in the mid-frequency band; measurements of the response were limited by the premature disattachment of the tag, but there were some apparently similar responses in cessation of vocalizations and foraging. The other species tested appear to be categorically less sensitive to MFA and control sounds than beaked whales, demonstrating some changes in vocal and movement behaviour but nothing like the clear avoidance responses to relatively low-level sound exposures in the beaked whales. That beaked whales appear to have a particular sensitivity to acoustic exposure is not surprising, given their disproportionate occurrence in the stranding events that have apparently resulted from sonar training exercises. However, considerable uncertainty remains regarding the specificity of responses as a function of signal-type and context. Our results demonstrate that useful scientific information can be obtained through controlled exposure experiments on beaked whales and a range of other species without causing serious negative effects on the target or non-target species. Subsequent consideration is now on how best to optimize methodologies to increase sample sizes, expand the species tested, and integrate these results with complimentary opportunistic studies.
2009 Brown Bags
January 26 at 12 noon
Abstract: NOAA's Tropical Moored Buoy Array Program is a coordinated, multi-national effort to implement a sustained moored buoy observing system in the global tropics for climate research and prediction. The array addresses NOAA Strategic Plan goal of "Understanding climate variability and change to enhance society's ability to plan and respond." This presentation will review the scientific background motivating development of the program, highlight progress in understanding and forecasting climate variability originating in the tropics, and describe plans for completing and sustaining the array.
January 27 at 12 noon
January 29 at 12 noon
Abstract: A compound in the fats found in Louisiana oysters could be a key ingredient in treating and preventing cancer according to LSU AgCenter food science researcher Dr. Jack Losso. Dr. Losso has found that ceramide found in oysters can restrict blood vessel growth and development of cancer cells in test tubes. It can also inhibit blood vessel growth in rats. By preventing the formation of blood vessels, called angiogenesis, the compound keeps cancer cells from multiplying because they can't grow without nutrients from the blood. Ceramide works on human breast cancer cells both in test tubes and in laboratory rats. When breast cancer cells come in contact with ceramide, they begin dying within 48-hours. These findings and other significant human health findings related to oysters will be presented at this seminar.
February 4 from 10-12 EST and 1-3 EST - Endnote Training
Abstract: Endnote is a bibliographic management tool that allows researchers, students, and librarians to search online bibliographic databases, organize their references, images and PDFs, and create bibliographies and figure lists instantly. This class will cover all the basics of using Endnote, Endnote for Web, and using Endnote to insert and cite references as you type your paper. NOAA has a site-wide license for Endnote. To download Endnote, see NOAA NITES site.
Registration is required:
Class Syallabus:
Note: This training is open only to NOAA employees or contractors who work full-time at a NOAA facility. To set up training and access to Endnote for your agency or organization, please contact:
Doug Nguyen, Customer Education Specialist, ResearchSoft, Scientific Thomson Reuters, O: +1 415 344 3985
February 11 from 12 noon - 1 pm
Powerpoint slides
Abstract: The National Cancer Institute's Natural Products Branch (http://dtp.nci.nih.gov/branches/npb/index.html) located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is a high-tech prospector for natural marine products which could help fight or cure cancer. Dr. Newman, a world leader in this line of investigation, will discuss the work of the Natural Products Branch which acquires crude natural materials from both terrestrial and marine environments, usually via competitive contracts world-wide, for extraction and screening of chemicals and compounds which could be of value in the fight against cancer. The responsibilities of his research branch include the selection and evaluation of the materials to be tested, and the procurement of large quantities of raw materials necessary to produce sufficient quantities of those active agents selected for preclinical and clinical evaluation.
February 19 from 12 noon - 1 pm
Abstract: There are numerous questions NOAA managers must face when it comes to managing their staff:
If you arent sure of the answers to these and other workforce-related questions, CSI can help. As part of its commitment to have the scientific, technical, and mission support expertise necessary to accomplish its mission, NOAAs Workforce Management Office established CSI. CSI employs internal consultants with a wide variety of specialized expertise areas like recruiting, workforce planning, competency modeling, instructor-led training, e-Learning, alternative dispute resolution, and instructional design. This presentation will provide an overview of the various services CSI provides and give NOAA managers the tools they need to develop, value and sustain a world-class workforce.
Bio: Mr. Springer has over 20 years of experience in both the private and public sectors helping organizations use their most valuable resource, people, more effectively. He has worked as both an internal and an external consultant to a wide range of organizations including Fortune 100 companies, local and Federal public sector organizations, and national associations. His areas of expertise include performance management, competency modeling, career development, staffing, compensation/classification, and organizational development.
Feb. 23 at 12 noon
Abstract: This presentation will provide an introduction to the CERES S'COOL Project, a 12-year-old NASA K-12 education project which brings the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project into schools to motivate authentic science experiences for students. The project emphasizes sky and weather observations, introduces remote sensing and validation, and involves students as part of the CERES research team.
Bio: Dr. Lin H. Chambers - Dr. Chambers is a physical scientist in the Climate Science Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center. She received her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1991. Dr. Chambers has worked in a variety of radiative transfer applications, including nonequilibrium flows and cloud inhomogeneity effects. She is a member of the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Science Team. Research activities have focussed on assessing the effect of inhomogenous clouds on satellite remote sensing and cloud/radiation parameterizations, as well as on better understanding the radiative properties of Tropical cloud systems.
Dr. Chambers is also director of the outreach component of the CERES effort, the Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) Project, and she was the Contrail Scientist for the GLOBE program. She leads the MY NASA DATA project at the Langley Atmospheric Science Data Ceter to make real NASA earth-observing data accessible to the K-12 and citizen science community.
Feb. 26 at 12 noon
Kathleen M. Herrmann will present "Conservation Action Plans in CNMI."
Alyssa Edwards will present "American Samoa Population Growth and its
Impacts on Coastal Resources."
Elaina Todd will present "RARE Pride Environmental Campaign in Guam"
March 11 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Bio: Dr. Kirk Bergstrom is founder and President of WorldLink, a media and education group based in San Francisco, California. In this capacity, he has directed special projects for the National Science Foundation, PBS, Walt Disney Imagineering, State of the World Forum, California Science Center, and Tech Museum of Innovation. Recently, Kirk completed production on a new PBS special entitled Nourish: Food + Community which explores the possibilities of a sustainable food system. He also directed the award-winning PBS program Power Shift: Energy + Sustainability and a companion traveling exhibit. Kirk received two national Emmy Awards for his film Spaceship Earth: Our Global Environment.
Dr. Bergstrom also serves as principal investigator of a NSF-funded project entitled Interactive Earth: Tools for Earth System Science. A digital mapping tool, the program includes more than 100 global data sets and an interdisciplinary curriculum organized around real-world issues. He also designed the Eye on Earth multimedia exhibit that explores the art and science of remote sensing.
Kirk�s work in interactive media originated in 1982 with the critically acclaimed Los Angeles TeleVote, one of the first large-scale experimentsin teledemocracy. In 1985, he was invited by Walt Disney Imagineering to participate in designing future interactive facilities and exhibits for the EPCOT theme park in Florida. From 1992-96, Kirk served as Executive Director of the Global Youth Summit, a week-long educational program that brings together young leaders from around the world. Convened in Rio de Janeiro during the 1992 Earth Summit and later in San Francisco as part of the State of the World Forum, the Global Youth Summit has served youth from over 40 nations.
Kirk earned a B.A. degree in Cinema Production from the University of Southern California and a M.A. in Futures Studies from the University of Hawaii. He received his Doctorate in Education from the University of San Francisco.
March 12 at 12 noon
March 17 at 11-12 and 1:30-2:30
Lexis-Nexis is a global information service providing access to thousands of news, legislative, business and legal information sources. Includes major newspapers, law journals, international news, intellectual property records, industry and market reports, and more.
Available for NOAA staff in Silver Spring via www.nexis.com. Available to all NOAA staff outside Silver Spring via user id and password. Contact your NOAA Library for more information. Contact email@example.com if you are a patron of the NOAA Central Library. For a list of NOAA libraries see http://www.lib.noaa.gov/about/lib_network.html.
March 18 at 12 noon
March 19 at 12 noon
Abstract: Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated - How these fishing practices can affect the seafood you consume
NOAA Fisheries Service international trade experts speak on this and other U.S. seafood fisheries management issues.
POSTPONED: March 25 at 12 noon
Abstract: Observations of different parts of the Arctic system present a coherent picture of change over the past half century. The climate models used to project future changes capture the past variations to varying degrees Here we survey the performance of global climate models in simulating Arctic climate, with particular attention to simulations of the seasonal cycle, natural variations and greenhouse-driven changes. The role of low-frequency variations in confounding future projections will be given special attention, as will the impacts of deficiencies in model simulations of sea ice and the Arctic terrestrial surface. We will then address the downscaling of Arctic climate simulations by presenting the results of initial attempts to produce high-resolution scenarios of climate change for Alaska.
March 26 at 12 noon
Abstract: Increasingly, coastal and marine resource managers are asked to
enhance communication, coordination and integration across ecological,
jurisdictional, and sector boundaries. But was would such integrated,
ecosystem-based management look like in operation? How do we implement
integrated management across the watershed-estuary-ocean divide? This
research employs communication network analysis methods to examine the
governance networks underlying cases of collaborative watershed planning and
Atlantic herring fisheries management. Specifically, the focus is on the
extent of collaboration, roles of network leaders and managers, and the
enhancement potential of the existing networks. Ramifications for
integrated, ecosystem-based management are discussed. Bio: Troy Hartley is a Research Associate Professor in coastal and marine
policy and the Director of Virginia Sea Grant at the Virginia Institute of
Marine Science (VIMS). Dr. Hartley's research interests are in coastal,
marine and fisheries policy and management, specifically in the
communication networks and stakeholder processes underlying integrated
planning and management, adaptive management, collaborative management,
ecosystem-based management, and other forms of governance networks.
April 3 at 12 noon
Abstract: Arctic climate is changing at a pace faster than the global average in the recent decades. Arctic haze - an accumulation of long-range transported aerosols - exerts substantial surface warming in winter by interacting with clouds. The formation of Arctic haze and its influence on local climate are poorly understood. Here we find, with the help of a state-of-the-art global climate model, that the poleward transport of European air pollution is controlled strongly by the second climate mode of the North Atlantic - European region. This is supported by the strong correlation of measured surface aerosol concentrations and longwave downward radiative flux with the second mode. A shift of the mode from negative to positive phases doubles the abundance of Arctic haze. This finding is essential for understanding Arctic climate variability and change. The seminar is part of the NODC International Polar Year (IPY) Seminar Series
(http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/General/NODC-About/Outreach/NODC-seminars09.html#IPYSeminars). April 2 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Bio: Mr. Wells is an ex-marine who has been a Federal employee for 37 years. For the past 31 years, he has worked exclusively in the Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management arena. Mr. Wells studied at the University of Hawaii, Chaminade, where he received his B.S. degree in Political Science. Mr. Wells has been involved in many aspects of the Federal EEO Program and the Diversity Management process (e.g. EEO Counseling, Investigations, Complaint Adjudication, FEORP, Affirmative Employment Programs, Disability issues, (Reasonable Accommodations, Accessibility, etc.), Community Outreach, Special Emphasis Programs, Student Programs, Upward Mobility, EEO and Diversity Management Training, and development of online EEO and Diversity Management training.
April 8 at 11:30 AM
April 15 at 12 noon
April 21 at 12 noon
April 22 at 12 noon
April 23 - Bring a Child to Work Day April 28 at 12 noon
Lexis-Nexis is a global information service providing access to thousands of news, legislative, business and legal information sources. Includes major newspapers, law journals, international news, intellectual property records, industry and market reports, and more. Available for NOAA staff in Silver Spring via www.nexis.com. Available to all NOAA staff outside Silver Spring via user id and password. Contact your NOAA Library for more information. Contact email@example.com if you are a patron of the NOAA Central Library. For a list of NOAA libraries see http://www.lib.noaa.gov/about/lib_network.html.
March 18 at 12 noon
March 19 at 12 noon
Abstract: Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated - How these fishing practices can affect the seafood you consume NOAA Fisheries Service international trade experts speak on this and other U.S. seafood fisheries management issues.
POSTPONED: March 25 at 12 noon
Abstract: Observations of different parts of the Arctic system present a coherent picture of change over the past half century. The climate models used to project future changes capture the past variations to varying degrees Here we survey the performance of global climate models in simulating Arctic climate, with particular attention to simulations of the seasonal cycle, natural variations and greenhouse-driven changes. The role of low-frequency variations in confounding future projections will be given special attention, as will the impacts of deficiencies in model simulations of sea ice and the Arctic terrestrial surface. We will then address the downscaling of Arctic climate simulations by presenting the results of initial attempts to produce high-resolution scenarios of climate change for Alaska.
March 26 at 12 noon
Abstract: Increasingly, coastal and marine resource managers are asked to enhance communication, coordination and integration across ecological, jurisdictional, and sector boundaries. But was would such integrated, ecosystem-based management look like in operation? How do we implement integrated management across the watershed-estuary-ocean divide? This research employs communication network analysis methods to examine the governance networks underlying cases of collaborative watershed planning and Atlantic herring fisheries management. Specifically, the focus is on the extent of collaboration, roles of network leaders and managers, and the enhancement potential of the existing networks. Ramifications for integrated, ecosystem-based management are discussed.
Bio: Troy Hartley is a Research Associate Professor in coastal and marine policy and the Director of Virginia Sea Grant at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). Dr. Hartley's research interests are in coastal, marine and fisheries policy and management, specifically in the communication networks and stakeholder processes underlying integrated planning and management, adaptive management, collaborative management, ecosystem-based management, and other forms of governance networks.
April 3 at 12 noon
Abstract: Arctic climate is changing at a pace faster than the global average in the recent decades. Arctic haze - an accumulation of long-range transported aerosols - exerts substantial surface warming in winter by interacting with clouds. The formation of Arctic haze and its influence on local climate are poorly understood. Here we find, with the help of a state-of-the-art global climate model, that the poleward transport of European air pollution is controlled strongly by the second climate mode of the North Atlantic - European region. This is supported by the strong correlation of measured surface aerosol concentrations and longwave downward radiative flux with the second mode. A shift of the mode from negative to positive phases doubles the abundance of Arctic haze. This finding is essential for understanding Arctic climate variability and change. The seminar is part of the NODC International Polar Year (IPY) Seminar Series (http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/General/NODC-About/Outreach/NODC-seminars09.html#IPYSeminars).
April 2 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Bio: Mr. Wells is an ex-marine who has been a Federal employee for 37 years. For the past 31 years, he has worked exclusively in the Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management arena. Mr. Wells studied at the University of Hawaii, Chaminade, where he received his B.S. degree in Political Science. Mr. Wells has been involved in many aspects of the Federal EEO Program and the Diversity Management process (e.g. EEO Counseling, Investigations, Complaint Adjudication, FEORP, Affirmative Employment Programs, Disability issues, (Reasonable Accommodations, Accessibility, etc.), Community Outreach, Special Emphasis Programs, Student Programs, Upward Mobility, EEO and Diversity Management Training, and development of online EEO and Diversity Management training.
April 8 at 11:30 AM
April 15 at 12 noon
April 21 at 12 noon
April 22 at 12 noon
April 23 - Bring a Child to Work Day
April 28 at 12 noon
Abstract: Despite increasing dissatisfaction among many stakeholder groups, fisheries management often does not allow for a meaningful exchange of information and ideas between stakeholders and managers. Stakeholders in several prominent U.S. fisheries have been frustrated by a perceived lack of inclusion of their views in fishery management decisions, which has led to distrust of management and the potential for problems with compliance. Our objective was to develop a process that allowed stakeholders to develop recommendations to 1) improve the fishery through voluntary measures and 2) provide management recommendations that they supported. We developed a �stakeholder-centered� process that allowed stakeholders to evaluate how well alternative options could achieve their goals using a decision analysis model. The first application of this collaborative process was to the king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) fishery off the southeastern Atlantic coast of the U.S. The stakeholder workgroup developed objectives for the fishery, performance measures to guage whether objectives were reached, and options that could be used to reach the objectives. Objectives included traditional and non-traditional goals such as maintaining high and stable catches and retaining the ability to catch large fish, and options included both voluntary changes in fishing practices (e.g., adoption of techniques that reduce catch and release mortality) and mandatory regulations (e.g., size limits or bag limits). Through an iterative process, stakeholders assisted in developing a model to allow them to compare how well their options met their vision for a quality fishery. The workgroup developed a consensus suite of recommendations, including more conservative length and bag limits than those recommended by the Council�s Scientific and Statistical Committee, based on the results of the decision analysis. The immersion of stakeholders in the available science and model development and evaluation eventually led to recognition that more conservative management was necessary to achieve their objectives. This project demonstrated that stakeholders can be included in a meaningful participatory process that can improve fisheries management, but inclusion requires increased time and an effort to provide science without jargon or condescension.
Bios: Tom Miller is a Professor of fisheries science at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Dr. Miller's research focuses on a range of fisheries topics including fisheries ecology with emphasis on early life history, population dynamics and stock assessment, and quantitative methods in ecology with emphasis on modeling, and experimental design and statistics. Mike Wilberg is a Professor of fisheries science at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Dr. Wilberg's research focuses on fisheries management, development and evaluation of stock assessment methods, fisheries population dynamics, decision analysis, survey design, and statistical estimation and modeling in ecology.
April 29 at 12 noon
April 30 at 12 noon
April 30 from 2:00 - 3:15 pm
May 4 at 12 noon
Abstract: Arlene Blum, a biophysical chemist, carried out research in the 1970s that contributed to removing brominated and chlorinated tris, cancer-causing flame retardants, from children's sleepwear. Chemicals such as tris can cause neurological and reproductive impairments, thyroid abnormalities, endocrine disruption, and/or cancer. They often bio- accumulate up the food chain and persist in humans, wild animals, and the environment. Blum will describe her interdisciplinary research and policy work to protect health and the environment while maintaining fire safety. Currently, Blum is working with a global team of scientists and NGOs to stop hundreds of millions of pounds of unneeded toxic fire retardant chemicals being added to consumer products worldwide. If time permits, Arlene Blum will share also dramatic images and stories from her historic mountaineering expeditions and will relate how her climbing career led to her current work in environmental health and public policy.
May 5 at 12 noon
Abstract: The Simrad ME70 is a new multibeam-echosounder system that was designed for quantitative fisheries research and is installed on each of the new, acoustically-quiet, NOAA Fisheries survey vessels (FSVs). The ME70 has configurable beams and transmits in the range of 70-120 kHz to provide calibrated, acoustic backscattering data throughout the detection range (Fisheries Mode). With hardware and software add-ons, the ME70 can also collect soundings that are expected to meet IHO S-44 Order 1 standards (Bathymetric Mode). Furthermore, with custom algorithms and software, bathymetric data can be obtained from the ME70 operating in Fisheries Mode, and volume backscatter can be sampled from the ME70 operating in Bathymetric Mode. This flexibility may allow data to be concurrently and efficiently collected on fish and their seabed habitat. Here, we describe a method to process the echo amplitude and phase data from multiple split-beams formed in Fisheries Mode to estimate seabed range, slope, roughness, and normalized surface scattering strength (a hardness metric). We compare the resulting bathymetry to that collected with the ME70 operating in Bathymetric Mode in the same area of the Bay of Biscay. (Authors for this paper include: George R. Cutter, David A. Demer (NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center) and Laurent Berger (IFREMER, France).
May 6 at 12 noon
May 7 at 12 noon
May 14 from 11:30-12 and 1-1:30
May 14 at 12 noon (originally scheduled for March 25)
May 19 at 12 noon
Powerpoint presentation - Loomis
Abstract: Many studies have used valuation techniques to predict the potential effect of coastal restoration on human uses, but few provide empirical evidence that restoration indeed affects the way people use and perceive the coast. We take two approaches to examining how coastal restoration affects uses and perception.
May 21 at 10 am in the NOAA Science Center
Abstract: The unprecedented challenge that climate change poses to fish, wildlife, and natural systems has led to an ongoing transformation of the conservation agenda. This seminar will provide an overview of efforts within the conservation community to reorient their mission, show some practical examples of how natural resources adaptation to climate change is taking place on the ground, and share an update on relevant federal legislation. In addition, opportunities for NOAA and other federal agencies to partner with non-governmental organizations will be discussed, highlighting in particular how NGOs can help make connections with grassroot constituencies and governments at the state and local levels. This seminar is co-hosted with the NWS Office of Hydrologic Development.
May 21 at 12 noon
Abstract: Up until about 160 years ago, the surface of the 70% of our planet covered by water was totally unknown except for small areas bordering the fringes of most continents. Since that time there has been an explosion of knowledge concerning our view of the seafloor. Many individuals and organizations were responsible for this. This presentation will introduce some of the significant individuals and their accomplishments in the history of seafloor mapping. It will also track the evolution of seafloor mapping technologies and how they influenced our view of planet Earth.
May 27 at 12 noon
May 28 at 12 noon
May 20 at 12 noon
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Although the state of Oregon has had an ocean resources management program for more than 20 years, recent events have converged to drive new program activities and create synergies to solve ocean management problems that are expanding the state's ocean management capacity and reach. Bob Bailey, Oregon Coastal Program Manager, will discuss current ocean planning work on marine reserve designations, ocean wave energy development proposals, the West Coast Governors Agreement on Ocean Health, and initiatives with coastal fishermen, local governments, NGOs, universities, and state and federal agencies to apply science, marine spatial databases, and GIS capacity to problems of ocean management. Along the way he will discuss the key roles of various NOAA programs ...as well as blind luck and good timing(!)...in moving these issues forward.
May 29 at 12 noon
June 3 at 12 noon
Abstract: Foundations of Success (FOS) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the practice of conservation through Adaptive Management - working with practitioners to test assumptions, adapt, and learn. The University of Maryland's Master's Program in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology (CONS) provides students with the multidisciplinary, conceptual and experiential learning experience necessary to address the biodiversity crisis that now faces the planet. This presentation will provide an overview of Adaptive Management and will introduce attendees to FOS's 2009 training program, Adaptive Management for Conservation. The content of this training program follows the steps of the Conservation Measures Partnership's Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, which are quickly becoming an industry standard.
June 4 at 12 noon
June 5 at 12 noon
June 8 at 12 noon
June 9 at 12 noon
Abstract: Predicting the impact of climate change on higher trophic levels in marine ecosystems (e.g., fisheries) is hampered by uncertainties in the factors controlling the propagation of primary production through the marine food web. A marine ecosystem model and two compilations of observed and derived phytoplankton and mesozooplankton productivity estimates are thus used to diagnose the factors controlling global patterns in the ratio of mesozooplankton productivity to primary productivity (referred to as the z-ratio). Results suggest a modest yet significant (/r/ = 0.4) increasing trend in /z/-ratios with productivity, from values of ~0.01-0.04 in the oligotrophic sub-tropical gyres to >0.1 in highly productive upwelling regions. Two mechanisms were responsible: 1) zooplankton gross growth efficiencies increased as ingestion rates far exceeded basal metabolic costs in productive regions; and 2) the increasing dominance of large phytoplankton in such systems shortened the trophic distance between primary producers and mesozooplankton. Results suggest that climate-driven changes in primary production may be amplified at higher trophic levels.
June 10 at 12 noon
The 2007 Magnuson-Stevens Act calls on the United States to promote improved monitoring, control, and surveillance for high seas and Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) fisheries; improve the effectiveness of RFMOs through adoption of IUU vessel lists, stronger port state controls, and market-related measures; and build capacity in other countries to ensure sustainable fisheries and regulatory enforcement.
To further NOAA Fisheries Service efforts in Africa, we have been collaborating with the U.S. Navy's African Partnership Station (APS) to improve maritime safety, security, and resource stewardship. We participated in an on-board, fisheries-focused reception in Senegal in 2007, including a speech by a representative of the Senegalese Ministry of Fisheries on the importance of fisheries to maritime security in the region. In early April 2008, NOAA Fisheries coordinated a 10 day observer training workshop on board APS vessel, HSV2 Swift, in Tema, Ghana. We worked with the Ghanaian Ministry of Fisheries to offer a training program for up to 35 fishery observers. The program trained observers to improve the ways they collect data for scientific research and monitoring of fish stocks and bycatch within domestic and international fisheries. NOAA Fisheries also provided Ghana with safety and scientific equipment for use by observers while performing their duties. In February 2009, NOAA Fisheries in coordination with the Ministry of Fisheries Senegal and through the US Navy's APS, USS Nashville, provided a second observer training to 40 Senegalese observers and several interested NGO's and university students. The presentation will discuss these ongoing activities and future plans for a coordinated engagement working with a variety of partners dedicated to improving fisheries management and combating IUU fishing in West Africa.
June 17 at 12 noon
June 18 at 12 noon
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Historically, Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) has been described as one of the most devastating fish diseases on a worldwide basis and has decimated fresh-water reared rainbow trout in the European continent for many years. Disease events known as early as the 1930's were thought to have a viral cause (a viral etiology), but it was not until the early 1960's when the techniques of fish cell culture became available, that the virus was cultured and proven as the cause of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia. A major event in the history of VHS occurred in 1988 and 1989 when VHSV was isolated from apparently normal returning sea-run chinook and coho salmon in the Puget Sound area of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Discovery of VHSV in marine fish made the fish health community think of VHSV as a pathogen of marine fish that somehow moved into the freshwater trout culture facilities of Europe in the 1930's. The emergence of VHSV in the Great Lakes Basin of North America in 2005 marked another major milestone in the history of this virus and the disease it causes. Of additional concern is the fact that VHSV has also been isolated from Atlantic herring, Striped bass and mummichog in the Northwest Atlantic (Gulf of Maine, Bay of Fundy). These isolations revealed the presence of a virus that was genetically most closely related to the Pacific Northwest genotype. This discovery presents a potential a risk to Atlantic species, in that the no one knows the relative susceptibility of these species to infection and possible losses due to disease from VHSV. As a pathogen that is listed by the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) as reportable, the finding of VHSV in these new locations has significant trade implications on a national and international level and has already demonstrated economic impacts to bait dealers, and commercial fish processors in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
In response to the discovery of a freshwater form of VHSV in the Great Lakes and a Pacific genotype in Northwest Atlantic, New York Sea Grant proactively and effectively responded to the issue through sponsored research integrated with extension outreach on a statewide, regional and national scale. These efforts include pioneering research on VHS diagnostics, technical/policy discussions with legislative offices, an information workshop for marine Sea Grant colleagues, facilitated meetings between regulatory authorities and affected businesses, partnerships with regulatory agencies and fish health experts to develop a national outreach plan and applied research with prominent fish health experts.
June 24 at 12 noon
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The Fishing Ecosystem Analysis Tool (FEAT) is a system for analyzing and spatially displaying commercial and recreational catch data in combination with the place-based approach to defining and measuring fishing communities envisioned by National Standard 8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Fishing communities in Hawaii are currently defined at the island level, which is overly broad for conducting social impact analysis. A suitable scale for many analyses is Zip Code Tabulation Area, which the U.S. Bureau of the Census developed by aggregating census blocks. We refer to these areas as Socioeconomic Zones because they can be characterized using Census socioeconomic variables such household income, poverty level, education, ethnicity and many others. Socioeconomic zones can be linked to commercial marine license catch data and recreational catch data using anglers' zip codes. This allows for spatial analysis and reporting of catch variables such as species, pounds landed, port of landing, gear used, and fishing area location. We can then associate any of these variables with socioeconomic zones and characteristics. Data from 10 years of commercial marine license catch reports and 7 years of recreational catch data currently are entered into the database. We will provide a number of examples of possible analyses that can be conducted with FEAT, which has the capability to tie in with other Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) data systems and to be used for many purposes other than analysis of human dimensions data.
June 30 at 12 noon
Powerpoint presentation (Lupton_063009.ZIP, 100 MB including ppt and video clips)
Abstract: The NOAA Vents Program has recently been studying activity on submarine volcanoes along volcanic arcs. These studies have revealed that several of these submarine arc volcanoes are venting fluids highly concentrated in carbon dioxide. One in particular, NW Eifuku volcano in the northern Mariana Arc, is releasing droplets of pure liquid CO2 into the ocean at about 1600 m depth, about one mile under the ocean surface. The high CO2 concentrations at this vent site, which is appropriately named Champagne, locally produce acidic or low pH conditions that affect the mussels and other organisms that inhabit the volcano. Five other volcanoes on the Mariana and Tonga-Kermadec Arcs have also been found to be venting CO2 as a pure gas phase. These sites represent valuable natural laboratories for studying the effects of acidic CO2-rich environments on marine ecosytems.
July 1 at 12 noon
Ed Kruse, International Affairs Specialist, NOS International Program Office, and Doctoral candidate, University of Maryland, Marine Estuarine and Environmental Science program, will present "Reducing Threats of Land-based Sources of Pollution to Human and Ecosystem Health: A case study for the Island of Dominica."
Abstract: Dominica is the northern most windward island in the Caribbean Sea. It�s economy is mainly supported by agriculture however the importance of tourism and specifically eco-tourism is a growing economic sector. A preliminary assessment of the vulnerability of the Springfield catchment area to impacts from anthropogenic pollutants was conducted to identify potential threats to the watershed and the drinking water supply. The Springfield catchment area serves as the drinking water source for the City of Roseau and the surrounding environs. Data were collected on water flow, land use, and basic physical/chemical parameters (DO, pH, nitrogen, dissolved solids) to establish an initial baseline. A preliminary inventory of point and nonpoint sources of pollution was obtained and the data were geocoded for analysis by the geographic information system. Data on landuse, soils, vegetation and topography were also collected and brought into ArcGis. Analysis of the data collected revealed several potential anthropogenic sources of contamination which could pose detrimental impacts to the catchments water quality. Important threats identified by this study included: (1) heavy erosion and sedimentation during high rainfall periods, (2) migration of pesticide and fertilizer residues into raw drinking water; (3) unregulated trash disposal within the catchment area, (4) potential high levels of disinfection by products (trihalomethanes and haloaetic acid) from chlorination of the drinking water., and runoff from road surfaces (oil,grease). Anthropogenic effects observed in the field or documented in the data review ranged from pesticide and fertilizer residues from farming practices, sedimentation, disinfection by products resulting from chlorination of organic rich water, and poorly planned human development development in the headwaters of the catchment area. The catchment is traversed by a major road connecting Roseau with the primary airport at Melville Hall. All drainage form the road drains directly into the catchment basin through a series of culverts and through direct runoff from the road surface. It is recommended that a source water protection plan be developed and implemented in combination with additional monitoring of water quality for disinfection byproducts, herbicides/pesticides, and microbiological contaminants particularily parasites that are resistant to disinfection by chlorinati.
July 16 at 12 noon
Thursday, July 16 from 2:00 - 3:00 EST
Session #1, Thursday, July 16, 2-3pm EST: An Overview of CSA Illumina Databases:
These databases are available to all NOAA staff nationwide via the NOAA Central Library's databases page. (Note MGA is available only to NOAA staff in Silver Spring, Camp Springs, Miami, Boulder, and Seattle.) Featured will be an introduction to CSA Illustrata, a database employing "deep indexing" to categorize and enable searching of tables, figures, graphs, charts and other illustrations from the scholarly research and technical literature. The webinar will be presented by a Customer Training Specialist from CSA.
Thursday, August 6
Abstract: The Rhode Island Ocean SAMP, or Ocean Special Area Management Plan, will define use zones for Rhode Island's offshore waters through a research and planning process that integrates the best available science with open public input and involvement. From 2008 to 2010, through a public policy process that includes scientific research and stakeholder involvement, the Ocean SAMP will make Rhode Island the first state in the nation to zone its offshore waters for diverse activities including renewable energy development. This process will also protect current uses and habitats through zones for commercial fishing; critical habitats for fish, marine animals, and birds; marine transport; and more.
Leading this project is the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), the state's coastal management agency. Among other responsibilities, CRMC is charged with managing the state's submerged lands. CRMC has already zoned Rhode Island's near-shore waters for a variety of uses, from industrial ports to conservation areas. CRMC is leading the SAMP effort with the support of the University of Rhode Island (URI). Federal agencies such as the Minerals Management Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which have authority in federal waters, will participate, as will state agencies including the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. Research projects undertaken by URI scientists will provide the essential scientific basis for Ocean SAMP policy development. These projects assess wind speeds, appropriate technologies, marine life, geology, meteorology, and more. Information about each project is available on the Ocean SAMP web site.
Tuesday, August 11 at 10:30 am EST
Abstract: On May 28, 2008 Governor Deval Patrick signed the Oceans Act of 2008. The Oceans Act requires the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs to develop a comprehensive ocean management plan, following a scientific and stakeholder process that leads to a draft plan by summer of 2009, and the final promulgation of the plan by December 31, 2009. The plan will use comprehensive science-based planning to assure long-term protection and sustainable use of ocean resources and to accommodate the siting of appropriate scale offshore renewable energy facilities. The draft plan was released for public comment on June 30, 2009. Mr. Carlisle will talk about the process for developing the plan and the information it contains. More information on the Ocean Management Plan can be found on the Massachusetts CZM Program web site: http://www.mass.gov/czm/czm.htm. Sponsored by the NOAA NOS Office of Coastal and Resource Management, Atlantic Coastal Management Programs and Planning/Budgeting.
Bio: Bruce Carlisle is the Assistant Director of the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Program in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Mr. Carlisle has been with CZM since 1993, serving in several positions, including coordinator of the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program and manager of the Wetlands Restoration Program, before being promoted to Assistant Director in 2005. Mr. Carlisle has a masters in Environmental Policy from Tufts University.
Wednesday, August 12 at 12 noon
Abstract: Today, the National Weather Service has some of the most thorough products and precise lead times for predicting weather events; yet, with all its definitive data some people, because of adverse risk behavior, still succumb unnecessarily to weather incidents. This paradox has caused NWS to consider employing methods, thought to be unconventional in an empirical scientific environment that will examine this challenge. NOAA and the National Weather Service representatives recognize the importance of social science research and integrate disciplines such as, anthropology, psychology, sociology, economics, and communications to meet their goals and mission. This interdisciplinary approach will provide an opportunity to enhance and improve the ability of the NWS to protect life and property. As a part of this initiative, NWS has undertaken the task of investigating the impacts of culture on weather related risk communication on diverse and vulnerable populations. NWS Communications Director, Curtis Carey, Ph.D. and NOAA Graduate Scientist, Vankita Brown, are working together to discover ways in which culture influences risk perception and behavior during times of severe weather events and natural disasters. In June, Brown traveled to New Orleans for two weeks to talk with emergency management personnel, academic professionals, and residents for phase one of her ongoing research project on communicating risk across cultures. She will present her initial findings in this brown bag luncheon. Her study will serve as a framework or model to assist forecasters in developing more effective protocols and mechanisms for communicating risks to diverse and vulnerable publics.
Bios: Curtis D. Carey, Ph.D., has a unique combination of international and domestic communications experience, serving in a variety of commercial broadcasting, government, military, and academic positions. He is currently the director of Communications and Executive Affairs for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service. He has served as a national press officer for NOAA and the Department of The Interior, managing media relations on issues ranging from domestic energy policy to environmental sciences Dr. Carey has a B.A. (cum laude) in Asian Studies with a minor in Communication from the University of the State of New York; a Graduate Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communication from the University of Denver; a M.A. in Communication from the University of Oklahoma; and a Ph.D. in Communication and Culture from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Vankita Brown is a doctoral student in Mass Communications and Media Studies at Howard University in Washington, DC. She was granted the prestigious NOAA Graduate Scientist Fellowship in 2007 and is assigned to the National Weather Service. Her current research involves understanding how culture affects decision making and behavior in the threat of natural disasters.Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Brown worked for various non-profit agencies in public relations. She is a member of Community Service Public Relations Council and CORO Women in Leadership. Brown is a recent recipient of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's Inez Kaiser Graduate Student of Color Award. She has a M.A. in Media Communications Management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri and a B.A. in Mass Communications from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.
Friday, August 21, at 12 noon
Abstract: It�s time to "Chart the Future" to better prepare for the external developments and challenges we face while continuing to serve as the nation�s most trusted source on environmental leadership. Join us in our commitment to reassess and renew the mission, vision, and goals of NOAA as part of the Next Generation Strategic Plan. The objective of the Next Generation Strategic Plan is to inform and respond to the priorities of the new administration; to engage and respond to stakeholders; to respond to the long-term external challenges facing the agency; and to meet the GPRA and related requirements. This initiative aims to support our role in helping understand and predict changes in Earth's environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation's economic, social, and environmental needs.
Thursday, September 10 at 12 noon
Powerpoint slides (pdf, 1,380 KB)
Abstract: With this brown bag seminar the European Commission would like to increase the knowledge within NOAA about our 7th Framework Programme and lay the foundation for developing ways to collaborate on research and policy topics (Examples, but not limited to: space weather, earth observation, data management, modelling, ocean management, climate change impacts). The European Commission launched new calls for research proposals in a variety of areas -- all open to partnerships with countries from outside the European Research Area, including the United States. U.S. research institutions, universities and industry are invited to join research proposals under the Cooperation, Capacities and People Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development (FP7). Sponsored by NOAA Research, International Activities Office.
Tuesday, September 15 at 12 noon
Wednesday, September 16 at 12 noon
Abstract: Panel Discussion on best practices, policies, and innovative use of social media tools within NOAA and Department of Commerce. Has your program considered using YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Addthis.com, Flickr, or other Web 2.0 tools? Lively discussion promised on using these new technology and communications tools to make NOAA data and science more useful, more efficient and more transparent to the public.
Thursday, September 17 at 12 noon
Abstract: Over the last several years, the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) program, based at the University of Arizona, has worked with a wide variety of stakeholders in the Southwest to increase their capacity to cope with ongoing drought conditions. In recent years, stakeholders have become increasingly concerned with understanding and planning for anticipated climate changes, including the possibility of prolonged drought conditions throughout the region. The warmer and drier conditions already experienced in the Southwest are resulting in significant cultural and socioeconomic impacts that are expected to worsen with increased warming. In Arizona and New Mexico, American Indian Nations are managing large areas of land and water resources, yet they often lack robust climate data and information to inform their decisions. This presentation will focus on emerging CLIMAS efforts to partner with the Hopi Nation and Navajo Nation to: 1) help develop a network of natural resource managers that ensures better access to drought and climate information and 2) improve climate and drought monitoring on the southern Colorado Plateau. This emergent work with Native Nations is part of ongoing CLIMAS efforts to build the long-term partnerships necessary to foster climate adaptation capacity throughout the Southwest.
September 22 at 12:00 noon
Abstract: Program Evaluation is a tool used to describe why your program is seeing the results it is. Join me as I describe the tools and pointers I learned from a detail assignment at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Evaluation Support Division. The presentation will provide some ideals that NOAA can adapt to build capacity to conduct program evaluation. What other organizations in NOAA are interested in Program Evaluation? Please, sign-up for the new Program Evaluation Network during the presentation.
September 24 at 12:00 noon
Tuesday, September 29 at 12:00 PM
Powerpoint slides (pdf)
Abstract: All life in the ocean is connected and in the same way our human cultures are all connected. Diversity is a strength in the ocean world. So too in ours. The goal of the Ocean for Life program is to bring better understanding of the diverse marine world and of the diverse peoples of the world. Our lives depend on close connections to the ocean -- and on the close connections that link us all. During two field studies, one to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (July 15-30) and the other to the Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries (July 29-Aug 9), high school students from Western and Middle Eastern countries worked together to learn more about marine science and each other's cultures. The students captured their experience by creating youth media projects based upon the three themes of Ocean for Life: a sense of place, interconnectedness, and ocean conservation and stewardship. These projects will be shared along with highlights from the two field studies. Upon returning to their home communities, the participants are encouraged to use their experience to become better stewards of their local environment, promote its connection to the ocean, and strengthen the links they have built to the communities and cultures of their fellow participants. We will also discuss how you can help this effort, through serving as a mentor and/or forum moderator on www.oceanforlife.org.
Tuesday, October 6 at 12 noon
Wednesday, October 14 at 12 noon
Thursday, October 15 at 12 noon
Tuesday, October 20 at 12 noon
Thursday, October 22 at 12 noon
Friday, October 23 at 12 noon
Wednesday, November 4 from 10-3
Thursday, November 5 (rescheduled from Nov 4) at 12 noon
Tuesday, November 17 at 12 noon
Wednesday, November 18 at 12 noon
Tuesday, December 1 at 12 noon
Thursday, December 10 at 11:30
Abstract: This seminar will look at two research areas: i.) the functional morphology of gelatinous zooplankton and its relationship to swimming, feeding, and ecology, and ii.) trends in gelatinous zooplankton over the entire Northeast Shelf of the US. These two lines of research would ultimately intersect to better understand the size and type of impact gelatinous zooplankton has on this system.
Morphology and kinematics of scyphomedusae and hydromedusae generate flow fields that entrain prey. Swimming resulted in a pulsed series of toroids which travel along the medusan oral arms and tentacles. Prey was entrained in this flow and the location of encounter was influenced by the phase of the pulsation cycle during which entrainment occurred. Flow-field velocities, measured by tracking particles adjacent to the bell margin during contraction, increased with bell diameter. Differences in body design produce differing flow patterns and capture strategies. These relationships can provide insight into prey selection.The number of ctenophores found in approximately 60,000 stomachs of the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) over the last 30 years provided an estimate of the abundance of ctenophores across the Northeast Continental Shelf of the US. There have been a few such major increases in ctenophores in enclosed (e.g. Caspian Sea) and semi enclosed (e.g. Mediterranean Sea) ecosystems, with concomitant significant effects on those ecosystems and the productivity of their fishery resources.
2010 Brown Bags
Wednesday, January 20 at 12 noon
Thursday, January 28 at 12 noon
Wednesday, February 3 at 11:00 AM
Wednesday, February 3 at 12 noon
Thursday, February 4 at 12 noon EST
Tuesday, February 9 at 12 noon EST
Wednesday, February 10 at 12 noon EST
Thursday, February 11 at 12 noon EST
Wednesday, February 24 at 12 noon EST
Thursday, February 25 at 12 noon EST
Wednesday, March 10 at 12 noon EST
Thursday, March 11 at 12 noon EST
Monday, March 15 at 12 noon ET
Tuesday, March 16 at 12 noon ET
Thursday, March 18 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, March 24 at 12 noon ET
Thursday, March 25 at 12 noon ET
Tuesday, March 30 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, March 31 at 12 noon ET
Thursday, April 1
Thursday, April 1 at 12 noon ET
Tuesday, April 6 at 12 noon ET
Thursday, April 15 at 12 noon ET
Monday, April 19, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Tuesday, April 20 at 12 noon ET
Wednedsday, April 21 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Speakers: Mark S. Dixon, Yaqin Li, and April N. Croxton, NOAA Northeast Fishery Science Center Milford Lab
Abstract: Increasing global demand for seafood is being, and will continue to be, met by increased aquaculture production. Suspension-feeding shellfish, a premium aquaculture product, obtain nutrition directly from phytoplankton primary production and are considered to have environmental benefits beyond human food value. Relatively-recent innovations, Floating Upwelling Systems (FLUPSYs) are now a common and important component of many shellfish-aquaculture operations. A FLUPSY is an in-situ nursery system designed to increase water flow, and therefore microalgal food delivery, to post-set shellfish. Typically the system is incorporated into a floating dock array and deployed in a productive, coastal waterway. The widespread use of FLUPSYs is a testament to their success. The placement of FLUPSYs, however, leads to questions about their potential impacts -- negative, neutral, or ecosystem service -- upon the local environment. This presentation will include preliminary results of this study, including methodologies that are transferable to other aquaculture settings.
This OneNOAA Science Seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Aquaculture Program and the NOAA Central Library.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 12:30pm ET
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at 12:30pm ET
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 11:15 AM ET
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 12:30 PM ET
Thursday, June 17, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 12:30 PM ET
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 12:30pm ET
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 12:30pm ET
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 10:00 AM ET
Neural and psychological research over the past fifteen years has confirmed that story architecture accomplishes each of these feats.
Two key questions emerge:
Finally (and most importantly) what does that mean for scientists who want to communicate their findings and results?
This session explores what science has shown us about the explicit elements of effective story architecture and how to harness their communications power to make your points and case. Neural sciences have revealed an exacting and explicit definition for story architecture that links directly to how human brains and minds process incoming narrative information. In this session I will demonstrate both the elements and limits of that structure and lay out the process for using it to improve the success of science outreach communication.
Specifically, attendees will receive:
Note: This seminar will be held in the NOAA Science Center. For further information please contact LuAnn Dahlman.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 12:30pm ET
Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 12:30 PM ET
Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 12 noon ET
About Toastmasters:The Vision of Toastmasters International empowers people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through our member clubs, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change. Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality. Through its member Clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening and thinking � vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership, foster human understanding, and contribute to the betterment of mankind. It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually expand its worldwide network of Clubs, thereby offering ever-greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs. The mission of a Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.
Toastmasters International�s core values are integrity, dedication to excellence, service to the member, and respect for the individual. These are values worthy of a great organization, and we believe we should incorporate them as anchor points in every decision we make. Our core values provide us with a means of not only guiding but also evaluating our operations, our planning, and our vision for the future.
Remote access via webinar will NOT available.
Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 10 AM EST
Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 12:30 pm ET
Thursday, October 7, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 12:30pm ET
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 12:30 PM ET
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 12:30pm ET
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 12 noon ET
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 12 noon EST
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 12:30pm EST
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 12 noon EST
Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at 12 noon EST
Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Speaker: Alison Reed, NOAA Office of International Affairs
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Holiday Brown Bag: A Lifetime of Growth, Service and Success through Mentoring
Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Kenneth Carey, Senior Principal Systems Engineer, Noblis Center for Sustainability
Abstract: Serving as a mentor is a challenging endeavor but one that has the opportunity to change lives, and sets the stage for a fulfilling career. A mentor gets the satisfaction in knowing they had an impact on someone�s professional and personal development, and the opportunity develop a mentee�s leadership, scientific, and communicative skills, and build confidence. They also can gain a fresh perspective from the mentee, and a link with a future generation. Mentees can gain an ally to help them find jobs, and navigate life�s �challenges�. They can benefit immensely from a mentor�s experiences, and expand their professional and personal network.
One of the greatest tools for a mentee�s success will be the relationships that are established with more experienced and seasoned people. The mentor/prot�g� relationship has been used throughout history, setting the stage for advancements in science, medicine, technology and politics. Strategies and helpful hints will be presented, followed by suggestions on getting started. Concepts on moving forward and opportunities for you to informally mentor will be discussed, and motivation for being a part of a mentoring relationship are presented.
Note: This will be our annual Holiday Brown Bag Seminar, featuring performances from the NOAA Holiday Band from 11:30am to noon and from 1:00pm to 1:30pm. Refreshments and treats will be served.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Transport of contaminants from sediments to the water column and environmental remediation strategies
Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Priscilla Viana, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, Division of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF)
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metal contaminants have accumulated on the bottom of rivers and lakes due to chemical interactions and transformations and due to their relatively long environmental persistence. Gas ebullition, in addition to normally occurring diffusive and advective transport of contaminants, increases contaminant availability to the bioactive zone and water column. Increased incidences of fish disease and decreased species biodiversity in pollution-impacted benthic/aquatic environments are some of the costs to ecological and human health posed by these contaminants.
My study focuses on quantifying and modeling the transport of contaminants from sediments to the water column and on investigating the effectiveness of active capping as a mitigation strategy to minimize the release of these contaminants. Active capping both isolates contaminated sediments from the water phase while offering degradation and/or sequestration of contaminants by the active materials. I modeled the transport of Cd, Cr, Pb, Ag, As, Ba, Hg, CH3Hg and CN through sand (25 cm), granular activated carbon (GAC, 2 cm), organoclay (2 cm), shredded tires (10 cm) and apatite (2 cm) caps by deterministic and Monte Carlo methods. Sand caps performed best under diffusion due to the greater diffusive path length. Apatite had the best advective performance for Cd, Cr and Pb. Organoclay performed best for Ag, As, Ba, CH3Hg and CN. Organoclay and apatite were equally effective for Hg. Monte Carlo analysis was used to determine output sensitivity. Sand was effective under diffusion for Cr within the 50% confidence interval (CI), for Cd and Pb (75% CI) and for As, Hg and CH3Hg (95% CI). Under diffusion and advection, apatite was effective for Cd, Pb and Hg (75% CI) and organoclay for Hg and CH3Hg (50% CI). GAC and shredded tires performed relatively poorly. Although no single cap is a panacea, apatite and organoclay have the broadest range of effectiveness.
I am also quantifying and modeling metal contaminant and PAH transport from the sediment to the water column due to gas ebullition as recent research suggests that another important factor affecting cap performance is gas ebullition due to organic matter biodegradation primarily under methanogenic conditions. Gas bubbles may damage the cap layer, opening preferential holes in the cap or even rupture the cap. Additionally, my results demonstrate that gas ebullition may be an important pathway for release of PAH and heavy metal pollutants to the water column. Comparison of diffusive and advective release rates (measured through a benthic chamber study) to field ebullition facilitated rates suggest that PAHs are released at >10 times greater rates by biogenic gas production. Although the increase in release rate is not as great for metals, ebullition facilitated release rates are frequently much greater.
Using our field study and modeling results, we worked with the Wetlands Initiative and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD-GC) to improve the stewardship of the highly contaminated local aquatic resources. We proposed placement of an organoclay mat with an underlying sloped sand layer and a high permeability gas venting system to allow biogenically-produced gas migration to shoreline collectors through an innovative support grid. The project design included an overlaying wetland to remove nutrients from the adjoining Chicago River and to provide a public recreational space.
Note: This seminar is part of the Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Ingredients for Protection: How Guangzhou, China Can Learn from Boston and New York City�s Experiences with Surface Drinking Water Source Protection
Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Shannon Cosentino-Roush, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Today more than 1 billion people around the globe and nearly a quarter of China�s total population lacks access to clean drinking water. This raises the question: what can be done to ensure clean and safe drinking water not only on a global scale, but more specifically in the context of this research, in Guangzhou, China?
Historically, many communities used preventative measures to maintain the quality of their local drinking water. They took water from non-polluted upstream areas, passed regulations limiting polluting activities, and preserved land around the drinking water source. Yet, over time as technology improved, many communities began to rely more heavily on treatment and other methods rather than on drinking water source protection. Today, though treatment remains a vital tool, it is important to recognize that the value of source water protection in the struggle to ensure clean drinking water cannot be overlooked.
As China struggles to deal with its large population, an increasingly polluted environment, and water shortages, it must figure out an effective and efficient way to ensure clean drinking water. Specifically, the interest in source water protection became increasingly apparent when a professor from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China approached Vermont Law School�s China Program with the question: How does the United States protect its surface drinking water sources? Thus, the mission began: to research examples of United States� cities engaging in drinking water source protection and to assess how their experiences might be applied in Guangzhou, China.
This presentation discusses the two primary pieces of federal legislation underlying surface drinking water source protection in the United States: the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. It then explores how two United States� cities, Boston and New York, incorporate and expand on the federal approach, in order to extrapolate effective themes and strategies useful for implementing and improving upon source water protection. Subsequently, this presentation discusses the current water pollution situation in the Pearl River Delta region in China, particularly the urban center of Guangzhou, and analyzes the relevant national and local laws governing over drinking water source protection. Finally, this presentation concludes by applying the extrapolated themes to Guangzhou in order to provide suggestions for improving the city�s source water protection efforts in the future.
Note: This seminar is part of the Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Unwanted Medicines and Educating our Communities: What Have we Learned, How are we Doing and What are the Next Steps? Experiences from the Great Lakes States
Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Susan Boehme, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program Outreach Coordinator and Liaison to the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Medicines are produced in increasing volumes every year. With this growth comes concern regarding environmental fate of unwanted medicines. Recent studies identified pharmaceutical compounds in fresh and marine waters nationwide, and several of these bioactive compounds are potentially harmful to aquatic organisms, even in small quantities. Additionally, improper medicine disposal poses poisoning risks to children, the elderly and pets and can lead to drug/identity theft. Unused medicines may accumulate in homes or be flushed, placed in the trash, or given to others, all of which have significant disadvantages. One approach for decreasing amounts of unwanted medicines reaching the environment is the organization of collection programs that ensure safer methods of disposal. This presentation will describe the status of our efforts in the Great Lakes Region including collection programs, outreach and education with an eye toward what is still needed, and what should be our next steps to expand the program nationally. Should we focus more on the front end of the cycle including drug manufacturing, and reducing the amounts of waste from the home, or should we focus on non-residential waste of pharmaceuticals including confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), hospitals and clinics? Where do we go from here?
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Turning Japanese: A Year in Japan as a Mansfield Fellow
Date: Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Michael Clark, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS
Abstract: I participated in the Mansfield Fellowship between September 2008 and September 2010. This two-year fellowship provides Federal government employees with the opportunity to learn Japanese and then spend a year working in Japan on issues relevant to their expertise and interests. The first year was spent learning Japanese in DC and the second year was spent in Japan working at a variety of offices, including: the Fisheries Agency, with a member of the Japanese Legislature (Diet), at a seafood trading company, with a fisheries economist at Tokyo University, and at their Fisheries Research Agency.
In terms of value and volume, Japan is one of the world's most significant consumers of seafood; over 60 percent of which is imported from countries like the United States. The cultural significance and economic importance of seafood have led to efforts by the Japanese Fisheries Agency to try and increase Japan's self-sufficiency rate for seafood products, however; overfished stocks, aging fishermen and migration from coastal communities, and the decreasing price of imports have made it difficult to achieve this goal.
Significant differences exist between Japan and the United States concerning their approach to fisheries management. These differences stem from a unique history in Japan where fishermen have traditionally maintained more autonomy concerning management decisions, resulting in a more "bottom-up", co-management regime between fisheries cooperatives and government. Furthermore, commercial fishermen are the predominant stakeholder in Japan meaning environmental NGOs, recreational fishermen, and the general public are not as involved in the management process as they are in the United States.
Japan is a country unlike any other I have visited: a wealthy country where you can still experience culture shock. Japan is modern, but not at all western. A country that has been responsible for numerous technological advancements in a variety of industries while adhering to rigid cultural norms that are will not likely change anytime soon. Please consider joining me on December 16th to learn about this experience.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
2011 Brown Bags
Biological and Behavioral Response Studies (BRS) in southern California (SOCAL-10)
Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Brandon Southall, President and Senior Scientist for Southall Environmental Associates, Inc. and Research Associate with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: SOCAL-10 was a scientific research project conducted in Aug-Sept 2010 in important biological areas near southern California. It extended previous studies in the Bahamas (2007-08) and Mediterranean Sea (2009) of whether and how marine mammals change their behavior when they hear different sounds. Each of these studies have integrated behavioral response studies to controlled sound exposures with ongoing research on diving, foraging, and social behavior. The overall objective was to provide a better basic understanding of marine mammal behavior, while providing direct scientific information for the Navy and regulatory agencies to estimate risk and minimize the impact of human sounds, particularly military sonar. SOCAL-10 was the first in a five-year dedicated effort to study a variety of marine mammal species in areas around the southern California coast and Channel Islands.
SOCAL-10 involved an interdisciplinary collaboration of experts in marine mammal biology, behavior, and communication, as well as underwater acousticians and specialized field researchers. During a preliminary scouting phase and two research legs on different research vessels, SOCAL-10 observed, photographed, and/or tracked in detail, individuals of 21 different marine mammal species. Sixty-two tags (of six different varieties) were successfully secured on 44 individual animals of nine different marine mammal species, including several which had never been studied using tag technologies previously. Scientists also conducted 28 controlled sound exposure experiments; in these experiments, animals were monitored with suction cup acoustic sensors, remote listening devices and specialized observers with high-powered binoculars. Sounds were then played to the animals under specific protocols and protective measures (to ensure animals were not harmed) and changes in behavior were measured.
Preliminary results based primarily on clearly observable behavior in the field and from initial data assessment indicate variable responses, depending on species, type of sound, and behavioral state during the experiments. Some observations in certain conditions suggest avoidance responses, while in other cases subjects seemed to not respond, at least overtly. Additional analysis and interpretation is underway of the nearly 400 hours of tag data from the project, as well as thousands of marine mammal observations, photographs, tissue samples, and acoustic measurements.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
UNEP, the Arctic, and the Law of the Sea
Date: Monday, January 10, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speakers: Amy Fraenkel, Regional Director and Representative for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Dr. Yannick Beaudoin, Head of the Marine Programme at the Global Resource Information Database Center in Arendal, Norway (UNEP/GRID-Arendal)
Presentation (QuickTime format, 610 MB)
Abstract: Ms. Fraenkel will address UNEP�s work on current and possible future Arctic environmental issues. In 2008, UNEP�s Governing Council encouraged UNEP �to cooperate, as requested, with the Arctic Council, relevant Multilateral Environmental Agreements and other relevant regional and international bodies, as appropriate,� in addressing Arctic environmental issues. In implementing the 2010-11 Programme of Work, UNEP is collaborating with GRID-Arendal, UNEP�s Polar Collaborating Centre, to carry out a number of activities related to polar issues, some of which are conducted in close cooperation with the Arctic Council�s working groups. Pursuant to its existing mandate, UNEP wishes to ascertain where it might best serve governments and other stakeholders to identify and address environmental issues in the Arctic region and the linkages between Arctic and global issues. To this end UNEP plans to consult with Arctic country governments, key multilateral entities such as the Arctic Council and the International Maritime Organization, indigenous peoples and civil society. This discussion presents one such opportunity for providing input to UNEP. A Concept Note is attached as background.
Dr. Beaudoin will discuss UNEP Shelf Programme's work on continental shelf mapping and how UNEP/GRID-Arendal, as implementing institution, advises countries in preparing their submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. His presentation will mainly focus on the recent intensive efforts in West Africa and with 11 Pacific Island Countries. Over the past 5 years, the UNEP Shelf Programme has been mandated with assisting countries in their delineation effort. In addition, as part of a continuing effort to assist developing coastal states in the sustainable use of their marine environment and resources, UNEP/GRID-Arendal is currently in the development phase of new major initiatives, two of which, a Blue Carbon initiative and an ocean management programme, will be briefly presented. UNEP/GRID-Arendal is particularly interested in expertise from and collaboration with NOAA.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the Office of General Counsel for International Law.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Training the next generation of scientists and engineers
Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Sarah Hammond, Marine Educator, MIT Sea Grant
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The Sea Perch program is an innovative underwater robotics initiative that trains teachers�who then train their students�to build a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The program, started by MIT Sea Grant (MITSG) in 2003, is designed to encourage students' enthusiasm for science, technology, and engineering. MITSG educators have been able to train nearly 500 teachers around the world.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowships: Plug the Power of Science into Public Policy
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speakers: Laura Petes, Gabrielle Dreyfus, Erin Seney, Melissa Kenney, Brandon Sitzman, Jen Boehme, and Ariana Sutton-Grier, NOAA AAAS fellows
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellows are competitively-selected, post-doctoral scientists and engineers (PhD, MD, DVM) from a broad range of disciplines. These Fellows are available for placement in federal agencies for a 1-2 year term (renewal year can include details outside of the DC area). The Program, in existence since 1973, has an outstanding national reputation with many former Fellows occupying some of the highest positions in science policy throughout the federal government. AAAS currently partners with over 15 federal agencies, many Congressional offices and committees, and nearly 30 professional scientific societies to operate the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships.
NOAA has hosted 10 AAAS Fellows since it began participating in the Fellowship Program in 2007. The Fellows offer scientific and technical expertise as they assist with projects, program management, or policy analysis. Fellows start work after two weeks of intense training in science policy (including ethics, the legislative process, and the budget process) and are supported throughout their two years with professional development activities. AAAS Fellows also serve as a link to a network of science and science policy professionals across academia and government, including a network of over 2,300 current and former Fellows.
The recruitment process for 2011-2012 AAAS Fellows is already underway, and prospective host offices must act soon to participate. At this Brown Bag information session, current AAAS Fellows and AAAS program staff will share details about the program, insights about their experiences, upcoming deadlines in the recruitment process, and answer your questions. Because the renewal year of the Fellowship can include details outside of the DC area, regional offices and labs are encouraged to participate via webinar.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 from 11:00am to 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Dexter Fredericks, IT Project Manager, Enterprise Projects Division, OCIO
Abstract: NOAALink 101 Training introduces contracting personnel and other interested attendees to the NOAALink PMO, as well as the processes and benefits that NOAALink offers to the Department of Commerce (DOC), and particularly NOAA, in IT contracting. This training is for contracting personnel and others who manage and support IT contracts. The training will provide a detailed walk through of what contracting and IT personnel need to know to engage and work with NOAALink.
NOAALink offers DOC, NOAA and all of the NOAA Line Offices better opportunities for IT products and services, including cost savings, time savings and better, more comprehensive IT products and services, all through a streamlined acquisition process supported by the NOAALink PMO.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Assisting Great Lakes Coastal Communities with Climate Change Adaptation
Date: Friday, February 4, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Shauna Casey, Danielle Forsyth, Rebecca Held, Sara Katich and Cybelle Shattuck, Masters Students at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The Great Lakes region is predicted to experience significant coastal impacts due to global climate change that are different than impacts being predicted for our ocean coasts. Specialized education, training and community planning will need to be developed to assist Great Lakes coastal communities in adapting to changes resulting from climate change. This project resulted in three educational modules that can be delivered individually or as a unit to prepare local officials to develop climate change adaptation plans for their communities. These outreach modules will be delivered by Sea Grant Program Extension Staff, USDA Extension Staff, Coastal Zone Management Programs, and other trained outreach professionals who work with local community decision makers in the Great Lakes region. Modules were designed to allow for maximum flexibility and adaptability and can easily be modified to include future research and tools that increase the body of information useful for local decision makers.
The student team from SNRE completed this project with the help of NOAA Great Lakes Regional Collaboration team members and Sea Grant professionals as part of a mini-grant funded by the National NOAA Sea Grant College Program. The SNRE team will present an overview of the project and the educational tools they developed, including examples of materials from the modules. Please join us for a discussion about educational outreach related to climate change adaptation.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Date:Tuesday, February 8, 2011 from 11:00am to 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Dexter Fredericks, IT Project Manager, Enterprise Projects Division, OCIO
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: NOAALink 101 Training introduces contracting personnel and other interested attendees to the NOAALink PMO, as well as the processes and benefits that NOAALink offers to the Department of Commerce (DOC), and particularly NOAA, in IT contracting. This training is for contracting personnel and others who manage and support IT contracts. The training will provide a detailed walk through of what contracting and IT personnel need to know to engage and work with NOAALink.
NOAALink offers DOC, NOAA and all of the NOAA Line Offices better opportunities for IT products and services, including cost savings, time savings and better, more comprehensive IT products and services, all through a streamlined acquisition process supported by the NOAALink PMO.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Coral Reef Management Fellowship: Conservation Projects in the Caribbean and the Pacific
Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speakers: NOAA Coral Reef Management Fellows
Abstract: The NOAA Coral Reef Management Fellows from the Pacific and the Caribbean regions will present on their various projects projects in a series of short sessions during this one-hour seminar. These projects include: Facilitating community participation in marine reserves (PR); Developing guidelines for marine operators (USVI); Coordination of maritime and construction industry permitting (FL); Large-scale watershed revegetation in coral areas (CNMI); and Climate Change island action strategies (AS).
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Date: Monday, February 28, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Dr. David Freestone, Executive Director, the Sargasso Sea Alliance
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Sylvia Earle has called the Sargasso Sea "the golden rainforest of the ocean." It is a unique pelagic ecosystem based on species of Sargassum that are able to develop without contact with land. It is a crucial habitat for a number of species including fish, turtles and eel on the IUCN red list of endangered species. There is also an emerging recognition of the crucial role it plays in the wider ecosystem ranging from the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The threats to the Sargasso include garbage and plastics cast overboard from boats, oil discharges, overfishing, the extraction of Sargasso for bio fuels, and climate change.
Dr. Freestone will discuss the Alliance and their approach to sectoral organisations with relevant competences to encourage them to adopt new protection measures in accordance with the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. These might include the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), in relation to ship discharges and the designation of a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, as well as fisheries bodies such the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) and the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) (which already has agreed to monitoring and reporting requirements for Sargassum impacts).
Dr. Freestone is a world-renowned legal expert on international environmental law with extensive experience, including as a senior legal adviser at the World Bank and as a professor at the Law School of George Washington University, the University of Hull in the UK and the UN University Institute of Advanced Studies. Dr. Freestone has written widely on international environmental law and Law of the Sea and is the founding editor of the _International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law_. More information about Dr. Freestone and the Sargasso Sea Alliance is available at http://www.greenrock.org/news/bermuda/399-director-appointed-sargasso-sea-alliance.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the Office of General Counsel for International Law.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 from 11:00am to 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Dexter Fredericks, IT Project Manager, Enterprise Projects Division, OCIO
Abstract: NOAALink 101 Training introduces contracting personnel and other interested attendees to the NOAALink PMO, as well as the processes and benefits that NOAALink offers to the Department of Commerce (DOC), and particularly NOAA, in IT contracting. This training is for contracting personnel and others who manage and support IT contracts. The training will provide a detailed walk through of what contracting and IT personnel need to know to engage and work with NOAALink.
NOAALink offers DOC, NOAA and all of the NOAA Line Offices better opportunities for IT products and services, including cost savings, time savings and better, more comprehensive IT products and services, all through a streamlined acquisition process supported by the NOAALink PMO.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
An investigation of the socio-economic aspects associated with the restoration of Muskegon Lake, MI
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Dr Paul Isely, Assistant Professor, Economics, DeVos Center, Grand Valley State University
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Muskegon Lake, located in Muskegon, MI, was designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern by the US EPA in 1987. The Great Lakes Commission through NOAA received a $10 million grant for habitat restoration along the southern shoreline of the lake, which includes the removal of hardened shoreline and contaminated sediments. We compare the estimated benefits of a stimulus funded remediation over time in Muskegon Lake, MI with the direct costs of the remediation. Using travel cost surveys, contingent valuation surveys, and hedonic valuation of residential property, we estimate the economic values of the ecosystem services associated with the restoration of wetland habitat in this Great Lakes Area of Concern. The travel cost survey uses a statistically random sample of over 200 recreational users of Muskegon Lake at multiple recreational access points before and during the remediation. The contingent valuation survey samples a similarly sized random sample of Muskegon County residents via an in person stated preference questionnaire as in Whitehead et al (2009). The hedonic analysis uses proximity to the first and second closest shoreline segments, and their associated lengths, to both natural and hardened shoreline from each house before and after the restoration. The estimates from all three methods are then used to find the economic impact on the Muskegon region. Results find that the return on investment is greater than the cost of remediation.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Restoration Center, Office of Habitat Conservation (NMFS).
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Closing the Gap: How Scientists Can Connect with the Public
Date: Tuesday March 22, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Aaron Huertas, Press Secretary for the Union of Concerned Scientists
Abstract: Americans� appreciation for science is "a mile wide and an inch deep" as one researcher put it. The decline in science journalism and the proliferation of niche media outlets is making it more difficult for scientists to have their voices heard. Meanwhile, the nature of science reporting often conflicts with science education goals. Using best-practices from communications and public relations, scientists and science-based institutions can gain a greater understanding of how the public views their work. When scientists hone their communications skills, they can broaden and deepen public understanding of science. In particular, the concept of "message discipline" can be applied in a scientifically-rigorous way that enhances public understanding of science. Additionally, narrative forms of communication hold great promise for helping people understand why they should care about the work scientists are doing.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Preparing for the Rising Tide: Helping Coastal Communities Cope with the Impacts of Climate Change
Date: Monday, April 4, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Juliette Finzi Hart, Regional Research and Planning Specialist, USC Sea Grant
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant program, located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, tackles issues relating to the "Urban Ocean." Climate change and its impacts on a highly urbanized coast and the surrounding aquatic and marine coastal ecosystems is now one of our major areas of focus. USC Sea Grant has a number of ongoing local, statewide and national research, outreach and education projects. We are coordinating an effort with multiple Sea Grant programs to administer a climate change adaptation barriers and needs assessment survey to all coastal states. We are working with local scientists to develop a clearinghouse of oceanographic data from the Southern California Bight that relates to climate change; and, then working to develop workshops and products to link these data to policy-makers and community members. And, we have partnered with the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary to train sanctuary docents on climate change to continue educating the interested public about the constantly developing science of climate change. These projects will be presented along with a discussion of next steps and opportunities for collaboration within the NOAA family.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Building a data center from scratch - the Integrated Ocean Data and Information Management System (ZSPDO) at the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences (IOPAN) and The state of atmospheric research at IOPAN
Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speakers: Marcin Wichorowski and Tymon Zielinski, Institute of Oceanology, Warsaw, Poland
Abstract: The Institute of Oceanology, PAS (IOPAN) maintains huge archives of information gathered during research activities performed for more than 50 years. To enable cooperation in data exchange on a higher level IOPAN has decided to develop a data center and deploy a system for management of data and information, using well defined and widely used standards of data processing defined within the SeaDataNet project.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Effect of Salinity on Experimental Infections of Hematodinium sp. in Blue Crabs, Callinectes sapidus
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Anna Huntley Coffey, Policy Specialist, Water Power Program, Department of Energy
Abstract: The parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium sp. parasitizes blue crabs along the Atlantic seaboard of the USA. Infections in blue crabs have only been reported from waters >11psu salinity. Blue crabs maintain a hyperosmotic internal concentration at low salinities (0-5psu) and, thus, should be capable of maintaining an infection in low salinity waters, even if Hematodinium cells are intolerant of low salinities. We tested this by observing the effect of low salinity on the progression of disease in crabs experimentally infected with the parasite. Blue crabs were acclimated to 5-psu or 30-psu salinity treatments. They were inoculated with Hematodinium sp. and necropsied 3, 7, 10, and 15 days post-inoculation. The low salinity treatment did not have an effect on the proliferation of Hematodinium infections in blue crabs; moreover, a greater proportion of infections in crabs in the low salinity treatment developed into the dinospore stage than in the high salinity treatment, indicating that salinity may affect the development of the parasite. Dinospores in in vitro cultures rapidly became inactive when held in salinities <15psu. Our experiments indicate that Hematodinium can develop in blue crabs at low salinities, but that the parasite is incapable of transmission in this environment, which may explain the lack of natural infections in crabs at low salinities.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Microbial Response to Potential Soil-Stabilizing Amendments for Coastal Wetland Restoration
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Lauren Land, Focus Team Coordinator, Sustainable Coastal Development and Hazard Resilience in Coastal Communities, National Sea Grant Office, NOAA
Abstract: During metabolism of organic matter, microbes release extracellular polymeric substances, which accumulate to bind particles and increase soil aggregation. A similar concept might be implemented on a larger scale to aid wetland restoration. Hypothetically, amending hydraulically dredged sediment with polymer prior to deposition on subsiding marshes can lead to sediment stabilization until plants become established. However, adding a simple carbon source to the sediment can potentially affect microbial activity. This study determined the effect of addition of two commercially available natural polymers (xanthan gum and guar gum) on microbial biomass and activity in three types of hydraulically dredged sediments (clay, silty clay, sandy loam) saturated under a range of salinity regimes (1 and 5 ppt, 5 and 10 ppt, and 15 and 25 ppt, respectively) for four time periods (1, 8, 16, and 26 weeks). The CO2 evolved in response to added polymer suggests that microbial communities rapidly degraded the polymers. Addition of polymers provided a readily available source of carbon that induced a priming effect on the microbial biomass leading to increased activity. Microbial activity accelerated beyond background (control) respiration leading to a loss of as much as 8.7 times the native soil carbon. Therefore, polymer additions to wetland sediments can lead to a significant increase in native soil carbon loss with a concomitant decrease in soil quality.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Australian Approaches to Coastal Climate Change Adaptation
Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Bruce Thom, Chair of the Australian National Coasts and Climate Change Council
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Australian governments (federal, state and local) are taking very seriously the highly likely threats from global warming on coastal settlements and habitats such as the Great Barrier Reef. Approximately 85% of the Australian population lives in coastal regions, and considerable economic and recreational values are dependent on sustained coastal conditions into the future. A national effort is underway in Australia to assess risks to coastal assets, both built and natural. Cooperation between federal and state governments is a challenge given their respective constitutional powers. Local governments are demanding technical and financial support, as well as greater powers to constrain developments in vulnerable locations. At this stage, the emphasis is on both assessing risks due to slowly rising sea levels and increased storm wave attack, as well as on developing a practical set of adaptation planning options acceptable to communities and property owners.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Comparative Phylogeography of the Coral Triangle and Implications for Marine Management
Date: Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Dr. Kent Carpenter, Professor of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University and the Manager of the IUCN Global Marine Species Assessment (GMSA) project
Abstract: Extreme concentration of marine biodiversity and exploitation of marine resources in the Coral Triangle pose challenges to biogeographers and resource managers. Comparative phylogeography provides a powerful tool to test biogeographic hypotheses evoked to explain species richness in the Coral Triangle. It can also be used to delineate management units for marine resources. After about a decade of phylogeographical studies, patterns for the Coral Triangle are emerging. Broad connectivity in some species support the notion that larvae have maintained gene flow among distant populations for long periods. Other phylogeographic patterns suggest vicariant events resulting from Pleistocene sea level fluctuations, which have, at least occasionally, resulted in speciation. Divergence dates ranging back to the Miocene suggest that changing land configurations may have precipitated an explosion of species diversification. A synthesis of the marine phylogeographic studies reveals repeated patterns that corroborate hypothesized biogeographic processes and suggest improved management schemes for marine resources.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Influence of Surface Atmospheric Stability on Air-Water Interface Modeling over Lake Michigan
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Joe Fillingham, Labs and Cooperative Institutes, NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmostpheric Research
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The Laurentian Great Lakes make up one of the largest areas of surface freshwater in the world. They have a profound influence on the weather of the United States, and as a vital natural resource supporting an intricate ecosystem, present complex and interdisciplinary challenges to both scientists and managers. The surface of the Great Lakes spans 94,000 square miles. As the interface between the overlying atmosphere and the 6 quadrillion gallons of fresh water the lakes contain, this massive area represents its own set of unique questions. The project presented here attempts to illustrate the influence of surface atmospheric stability on the exchange of mass and energy across the air-water interface. Through a wind-wave modeling experiment and a comparison of different CO2 gas flux models over Lake Michigan, it is shown that the stability of the atmosphere near the water surface caused by the difference between the air and water temperatures plays an important role in these physical processes. It is found that if not accounted for in modeling research, the influence of stability may lead to large errors in wave height forecasting and determining net carbon flux between the lakes and the atmosphere. Other unique issues of this physical environment are explored as they apply to this type of modeling such as fetch limitation and feedback on the ecological system.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Habitat Connectivity Controls Species Richness, Similarity and Rates of Community Development: Results from an Experimental Marine Metacommunity
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: James Reinhardt, Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program, NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Connectivity is an important property to understand in the context of our stressed and ever changing marine environment. Experiments and theory elucidating the importance of habitat connectivity can help us make informed decisions in regards to practical applications such as coastal development and MPA creation. Using the shallow hard-substrate benthic community of Southern New England as a model system, I examined species dynamics using the 'metacommunity' framework. A metacommunity is a system of independent local communities that interact (i.e., are connected) through dispersal. Specifically, I sought to increase our understanding of interacting regional (dispersal) and local dynamics (competition) and how processes at these two scales influence species richness. I did this by augmenting the connectivity of interacting experimental local communities via distance between communities. Connectivity between habitats significantly influences the timing of community development, alpha species richness and community similarity. Some of these results have been supported by others findings, while other results are non-intuitive.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Constitution and the Law of the Sea
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Michael P. Socarras, Esq. of the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Mr. Socarras will discuss how confusion about the nature and status of customary international law is affecting U.S. federal courts and their approach to the law of the sea. The Restatement (Third) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States and some recent lower federal court decisions on the law of the sea are materially wrong when measured by the standard of how the Supreme Court applies customary international law. For two centuries the Supreme Court has found customary international law in the practices and not in the promises of States, and has enforced customary international law as the highest form of domestic U.S. law that is neither derived from nor limited by the U.S. Constitution. Among the implications of this are that: 1) the customary international law of the sea in practice today is more clearly binding as U.S. domestic law than a ratified Law of the Sea Convention could ever be as a treaty, and 2) what States do not customarily do in practice is not likely to be enforced by the federal courts even if the U.S. were to become a party to the Law of the Sea Convention.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the Office of General Counsel for International Law.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Projecting the response of an endangered marine vertebrate to climate change: Reconciling terrestrial versus oceanic impacts
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Vincent S. Saba, Ph.D., Associate Research Scholar, Princeton University, and post-doctorate researcher, NOAA GFDL
Abstract: The impacts of anthropogenic induced climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity is one of the key topics for the upcoming fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Critically endangered leatherback turtles in the eastern Pacific Ocean are excellent candidates for this assessment because they have been extensively studied in terms of their sensitivity to present-day climate variability at both their terrestrial and oceanic environment. If incidental fisheries mortality of leatherback turtles is reduced or eliminated, the population still faces the challenge of recovery in a rapidly changing climate. However, the synergistic impacts of climate change at their terrestrial and oceanic habitats have yet to be reconciled. Here I combine the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's Earth System Model (GFDL-ESM 2.1), IPCC climate model projections, and a leatherback population dynamics model to estimate a 7% per decade decline in the population over the next century. Whereas changes in ocean conditions had no effect on the population, the warming of the nesting beach was the primary driver of the decline via decreased neonate recruitment. Therefore, even with the elimination of incidental fisheries mortality, the population still faces extirpation. This study highlights the potential for human intervention at nesting beaches to prevent the population collapse; climate mitigation of leatherback nests may be able to negate the precipitous population decline.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
What�s It All About, OMB? Performance! Discover the NEW Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010
Date: Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speakers: Liz Davenport, NOS Office of Management and Budget and Thanh Vo, NOAA Office of Program Planning and Integration
Abstract: Particularly in lean budget times, it is critical for the Federal government to effectively plan and perform. To that end, strategic planning and performance management must be dynamic and successful. A potential aid is the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act, enacted January 4, 2011. GPRA MA reforms the original 1993 GPRA with 150 changes. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has recently begun the first actions of a 3-year implementation.
How will GPRA MA impact you, your program, your line or staff office, NOAA, DOC, and other Federal agencies? Much of the 1993 GPRA is extended, but with substantial new requirements that will impact how agencies plan, budget, monitor, evaluate, and report performance. This law portends a new partnership between OMB, the Executive Branch, and Congress for results-based budgeting and execution of mandates and authorities to benefit the Nation. Please join us to explore answers to these questions:
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Keeping Working Waterfronts at Work: A National Perspective on Coastal Communities
Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speakers and Abstracts:
Ryck Lydecker, Assistant Vice President for Government Affairs for Boat US
Dave Knight, Transportation Specialist with the Great Lakes Commission
Thomas Hymel, Environmental Specialist with LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant
Heather Mann, Executive Director of Community Seafood Initiative
Hugh Cowperthwaite, Fisheries Project Director at Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: James Delgado, Director, Maritime Heritage, NOS Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Abstract: James Delgado, Director of the Maritime Heritage Program in the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, was the chief scientist for the 2010 scientific mapping and documentation of the Titanic wreck site. That project, in cooperation with RMS Titanic Inc./Premier Exhibitions, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Park Service, and NOAA, mapped 25 square miles of seabed and imaged area of the Titanic site never before mapped. The expedition also conducted a detailed three-dimensional scan and completed 3D imaging of Titanic's bow and stern sections. Delgado will share insights into the ongoing saga of Titanic and the documentation of the wreck site as well as preliminary results of the 2010 expedition.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The AMS DataStreme Education Program: NOAA�s Impact on K-12 Teachers
Date: Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: John D. Moore and the NJ Local Implementation Team
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: See how the work of NOAA and NOAA�s educational resources are making a difference in promoting STEM Education in the classroom! Join a group of leaders and teachers from New Jersey and Pennsylvania who participate in the education programs of the American Meteorological Society. This Local Implementation Team for DataStreme Atmosphere, DataStreme Ocean, and Earth Climate System will discuss how they incorporate content, resources, and pedagogy in their classrooms, as well as other collaborative activities in this unique learning community. These education programs are supported through generous contributions from across the NOAA line and staff offices, as well as by NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Collision at the End of the Line: Shipwrecks and Commercial Bottom Fishing
Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Joyce Steinmetz, doctoral student, East Carolina University
Abstract: Ms. Steinmetz's research examines the site formation processes of commercial fish trawling and dredging impacts on mid-Atlantic outer continental shelf shipwrecks. Exploring this human-related interaction required multi-disciplinary sources, including historical research, maritime archaeologists, fishermen who experience damage and loss of gear, and recreational divers who observe shipwreck damage.
From diver observations 75 to 235 ft. deep, statistical analysis showed 69% of 52 sample shipwrecks had 1 to 5 snagged nets or dredges. The economic loss to the fishing gear owner ranges from $10 to $50K per lost system. Conservatively, $76 million of gear has been lost over 25 years on shipwrecks from Maine to Cape Hatteras. Case studies include the 1847 sidewheel paddle steamer Admiral DuPont, Civil War and early 20th century wrecks, the U.S. Navy tugs Nina and Cherokee, the 1920 submarine USS S-5, and the steam yacht and WWII patrol boat St. Augustine. The last four cases are protected from salvage under the Sunken Military Craft Act of 2005 but commercial fishing is exempt from liability for any damage it causes to such wrecks. Off Delmarva, three rotational scallop gear-restricted areas concentrate gear losses and cultural resource damage.
Interviews with trawl netters, scallop dredgers, and clam dredgers reveal that each gear type has a different cost and probability of loss. Fishermen cited the accuracy of obstruction locations as a risk factor. Despite the increasingly common use of advanced technologies (hang logs, global positioning systems and chart plotters) by the commercial fishing industry, diver observations confirm that fishermen continue to lose gear. Gear impacts accelerate structural wreck deterioration and scramble or extract historic wreck contents. The purpose of Ms. Steinmetz�s research is to bring factual awareness and provide a foundation for solutions. A successful collision prevention solution could provide economic benefits for fishermen, conserve essential fish habitat, preserve recreational tourism, and safeguard non-renewable underwater cultural resources.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Through a Fish's Eye: The Status of Fish Habitats in the United States, 2010. An assessment from the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP)
Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Joe Nohner, NOAA/NMFS Office of Science and Technology
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP) coastal assessment represents an unprecedented nationwide effort to describe the status and threats to estuarine, coastal and marine habitats in the continental United States. The coastal assessment complements a national assessment of inland fish habitat conducted concurrently by scientists at Michigan State University. This study synthesizes existing nation-wide data sets on anthropogenic disturbance and natural drivers affecting estuarine and coastal ecosystems, and includes indicators of land cover, hydrology, eutrophication, and water quality. A quantitative assessment of habitat components was nested into a multiscale spatial framework for the coastal Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico using NOAA�s Coastal Assessment Framework (CAF). A relative disturbance index was developed for each of the four indicators in each estuary spatial unit within the CAF. Composite habitat condition scores were then calculated for each unit by combining the four individual indices to determine the total current risk of habitat degradation. Results of this analysis allow regional and subregional comparisons to be made and identify major sources of habitat degradation in estuarine and coastal habitats. Data limitations prevented some sources of habitat indicator data from being included in the national coastal assessment. Information on sedimentation, shoreline armoring, fish tissue contaminants, and biogenic habitat status will be included in further coastal assessment efforts at the regional level. Next steps for the NFHAP coastal assessment include testing how these scores predict fish species composition and abundance metrics of well-studied stocks. Additional analyses within regions will be completed to further refine habitat conditions and assist in establishing critically degraded areas.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Biology and Conservation of the Diamondback Terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin, in Alabama
Date: Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Andrew T. Coleman, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard (Minority Office)
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin, is the only North American turtle that is an obligate inhabitant of brackish water environments of salt marshes, bays, and estuaries. The terrapin represents a keystone predator in these habitats and can contribute to maintaining salt marsh integrity. This species has experienced a rich cultural history as it once was considered a gourmet delicacy, even being a required course at White House events. However, many populations were over harvested in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and they have not been able to rebound due to a number of current threats including crab pot mortality, habitat loss, nest predation, and road mortality. In 2004, a comprehensive study commenced in Alabama with the purpose of gathering baseline data on the survival status of the state�s diamondback terrapin population and the threats it faces. Through a number of field survey methods, it was concluded that the Alabama population existed in several isolated remnant aggregations. The largest aggregation was found to inhabit Cedar Point Marsh, which was the location of a large terrapin farm in the late 1800�s. Because crab pot mortality and nest predation were determined to be the largest threats in Alabama, a recovery strategy was initiated that attempted to address these threats. By-catch reduction devices (BRDs) were developed by Wood (1997) to prevent terrapin entry into pots without inhibiting crab capture, and their efficacy in Alabama was examined. Although crab capture was higher in non-BRD crab pots, BRDs reduced terrapin catch in crab pots by 90%. Also, a head-start program began in 2008, and, by the end of 2011, over 200 turtles will be returned to Cedar Point Marsh where the aggregation was estimated from mark-recapture data to be approximately 340 individuals.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Loggerhead Sea Turtles: Beyond the Beach
Date: Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 12:30 PM EDT
Speaker: Katrina Phillips, NOAA OAR Office of Communications
Powerpoint slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The beaches of state of Florida host one of just two rookeries in the world that support more than 10,000 loggerhead nests a year and represent over half of all western Atlantic nesting for the species. Loggerhead nest counts on Florida�s vital nesting beaches have shown a marked decline in the past decade � but what does this tell us about the Atlantic population? While coastal development, erosion and recreational use put a strain on nesting habitats, nest counts for other species which share the same nesting beaches with loggerheads have increased over the same period. To help explain the drop in loggerhead nesting we must look at other factors, such as population dynamics and offshore habitat selection. Very few night-time saturation tagging projects exist in the state of Florida; in-depth evaluation of the long-term datasets that are available may shed light on broader population trends.
For this study a twenty year mark-recapture dataset from the loggerhead nesting beach on Keewaydin Island, off the southwest coast of Florida, was analyzed using a two-state open robust design model in Program MARK. Parameters such as survival, encounter probability, population size and residence time for this nesting assemblage were estimated and examined for trends over time. The relatively low survival rate estimated for this assemblage shows population decline is an important factor to consider in explaining declining nest counts and highlights the need for specific management to enhance the survival of Florida nesters. The mark-recapture analysis was supplemented with a satellite tracking component to identify the offshore foraging areas utilized by Keewaydin nesters. Eleven nesting females were outfitted with platform terminal transmitters. The released turtles transmitted for 42 to 300+ days, including interesting intervals and subsequent migration to foraging grounds. Site fidelity tests and density kernel home range analyses were used to identify and describe foraging habitats. Females foraging in the eastern Gulf of Mexico were within the recent 64 m bottom longline fishery restriction. While the loggerhead females from this particular nesting beach do not frequent the same foraging area, the sites they selected are near those used by other loggerheads tracked from the western coast of Florida. Areas identified as important habitats during the remigration interval may be used to create targeted management strategies and aid population recovery without the use of broad fishery closures.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Marching with the Survey: Mapping and Charting the Civil War
Date: Tuesday June 21 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Speaker: Skip Theberge and John Cloud, NOAA Central Library
Abstract: The United States Coast Survey was an intrinsic part of the Union effort to quell the rebellion of the Southern States. Coast Survey hydrographers, topographers, and cartographers served the Union in the field in all theaters of the war and in the national capital producing thousands of maps and other products for the Union forces. The Coast Survey developed tactical maps for battlefield commanders, surveyed hostile harbor entrances, and piloted Union vessels in major naval actions of the war. Strategically, the Coast Survey helped plan the Union blockade through the Blockade Strategy Board and then implement it through its "Notes on the Coast of the United States." Even prior to hostilities, the Coast Survey was planning for the eventual conflict and had produced the best available maps of the coastline and major port cities of the South from Chesapeake Bay to the Texas-Mexico border. As in future wars of the United States, Coast Survey skills helped move men and materiel, helped plan major actions, and provided skilled surveyors, engineers, and scouts on the battlefield. This presentation will be an introduction to the Civil War service of the Coast Survey.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Race Against Time: Greek and U.S. Efforts to Protect the Critically Endangered Mediterranean and Hawaiian Monk Seals
Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Dr. Alexandros Karamanlidis, MOm/ Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal
Abstract: Monk seals are the only completely tropical species of seal in the world and are in trouble. Centuries of human exploitation and habitat destruction have caused the remaining populations of Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) and Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) to drop to perilously low numbers, while the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) has become extinct. Scientists from Greece and the U.S. are in a race against time and are working together from opposite sides of the World to save the remaining monk seals. The MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal is a non-profit, non-governmental organization with over 20 years of experience in the research and conservation of Mediterranean monk seals in Greece and abroad. Researchers at MOm have gained rare insights in the biology and behavior of the Mediterranean monk seal, including recent innovative technology that has enabled the seals to be monitored remotely inside their breeding caves. Current and future collaborations with U.S. scientists who study Hawaiian monk seals will provide important insights into new ways to help the two remaining species of monk seals survive into the future.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Steps towards a Web Data Laboratory: data analysis for the 21st Century
Date: Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Benno Blumenthal, Data Library Manager, Climate Monitoring and Dissemination, International Research Institute for Climate and Society
Abstract: Scientific progress is increasingly predicated on accessing and analyzing increasingly larger datasets with increasingly complicated descriptive-metadata and use-metadata. Jointly-analyzing datasets frequently involves a multitude of transformations, different formats, different time and spatial resolution, different projections, and different systems for expressing that necessary use-metadata.
Our working example is composed of the datasets and some of the metadata in the IRI/LDEO Climate Data Library. These data services enable access and analysis by providing data in a framework which allows format translation, rendering, and application of a variety of analysis functions, including sampling, averaging, regridding, EOFs, and statistical operators. Datasets are both local and remote, allowing a federation of data servers to appear in a uniform space of data access and functionality.
Describing the library's contents requires concepts like datasets, units, dependent variables, and independent variables. These datasets have been provided under diverse frameworks that have varied levels of associated metadata. We have created an RDF expression of a taxonomy that forms the basis of a dynamic earth data search interface. The concepts include location, time, quantity, realm, author, and institution. We have also started cross-walking these metadata into various existing metadata schema, so that our data can be found in the corresponding systems.
Building and expanding upon such systems, one can envision a future where not only are definitive versions of datasets and standard analyses of ever-larger datasets rapidly available on request, but that chains of analysis can be built non-programatically with equally accessible results.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Scientists, Watermen, and Conflict in the Maryland Chesapeake Oyster Fishery, 1880-2011
Date: Friday, June 24, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Christine Keiner, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Science, Technology, and Society/Public Policy Department, Rochester Institute of Technology
Abstract: Dr. Keiner will discuss her book The Oyster Question, for which she relied upon the valuable resources of the NOAA Central Library. Using insights from the history of biology, environmental history, agricultural history, and other fields, the book challenges standard interpretations of the oyster fishery as the epitome of the "tragedy of the commons," and addresses the role of historical knowledge in influencing contemporary estuarine resource-use policymaking. The Oyster Question: Scientists, Watermen, and the Maryland Chesapeake Bay since 1880 (published by the University of Georgia Press) won the 2010 Forum for the History of Science in America Prize and co-won the Maryland Historical Trust's Heritage Book Award, as well as Honorable Mention for the Frederick Jackson Turner Award from the Organization of American Historians.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
An assessment of radionuclide activity and associated human health risks in the United States Arctic
Date: Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Jawed Hameedi, Ph.D., National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
Abstract: Different sources of artificial radionuclides have contaminated the United States Arctic coastal and marine environments during the past several decades, including nuclear weapon tests fallout, discharges from nuclear reprocessing plants, leakage from underground nuclear tests, and dumped research materials. Ecological and human health concerns about radionuclide contamination in the region were heightened by the April 1993 disclosure of widespread dumping of nuclear reactors and wastes in the Arctic and northern Pacific Oceans by the former Soviet Union. Responding to those concerns, NOAA participated in a study to characterize the marine environment and biota of the US Arctic in terms of artificial radionuclides. Surficial sediment and biological samples, both vertebrate and invertebrate, from the Beaufort Sea, Norton Sound and Bristol Bay were analyzed for the anthropogenic radionuclides 137Cs, 90Sr, 238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu and 241Am; a few naturally occurring radionuclides (40K, 212Pb, and 214Pb) were also measured. Tissue samples from animals of subsistence value were analyzed to determine the radiation exposures and health risks to coastal inhabitants of the North Slope Borough. The activity of anthropogenic radionuclides in biological samples was very low; for example 137Cs activity levels, measured by both high resolution gamma spectroscopy and on chemically isolated Cs, in animals of the marine food chain were predominantly less than 1 Bq/kg. In contrast, 137Cs activity levels in caribou tissues (muscle, liver, kidney and rumen) were between 24 and 36 Bq/kg. Radioactivity data, combined with per capita consumption of subsistence-harvested foods in three villages (Barrow, Kaktovik and Nuiqsut) were used to derive age-dependent committed effective dose from 137Cs and 90Sr exposure through ingestion. The calculated dose levels for 137Cs were: 2.2 �Sv (Barrow), 5.91 �Sv (Kaktovik) and 9.06 �Sv (Nuiqsut) for adults; levels for 90Sr were much lower. Caribou meat consumption contributed more than 95% of the dose in the case of 137Cs, and fish consumption contributed more than 60% of the 90Sr dose. In all cases, the estimated dose was very small; 0.01 mSv dose is considered negligible in terms of human health risks. The results also indicate that the internal radiation doses from subsistence foods are due to natural background and fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. In terms of source attribution of the radionuclides, the measured 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in sediment from the Beaufort, Norton Sound and Bristol Bay samples were very close to the generally accepted ratio from global fallout (0.180 � 0.014): 0.19 � 0.02 in Beaufort Sea (n=14), 0.20 � 0.01 in Norton Sound (n=15), 0.19 � 0.01 off Yukon River Delta (n=6), and 0.20 � 0.01 in Bristol Bay (n=12). 241Am activity was low and when detected at significant levels, its ratio with 239+240Pu alpha activity was indicative of global fallout. There was no detectable 238Pu activity. These data, as originally intended, serve as a baseline about radionuclide activity in the region against which future changes may be assessed.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Among Giants, a Life with Whales
Date: Friday, July 8, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Flip Nicklin, Whale Trust
Abstract: In the early days of live cetacean research, scientists were trying to learn more, to take whales from fantasy to reality, but they only got glimpses when the animals surfaced to breathe. Only a diver could see these enormous animals in their own world, and a diver who could, like the whales, take a great gulp of air and move into the depths without scuba gear, because the bubbles might disturb the animals. There was a young diver who did that well - and one day in 1979 he dove down to a humpback "singing" in the waters off Maui and took a picture of it. The whale was Frank. The young diver was Flip Nicklin. And that day with Frank led to a career that opened new ground not just in under-water photography but in the whole field of marine mammalogy.
Widely regarded as the world�s leading cetacean photographer, Flip Nicklin grew up around his father�s small dive shop on the California coast. He went on to become National Geographic�s premiere whale photographer and marine mammal specialist. In the past 30 years Flip has photographed more than thirty species of whales and dolphins, some so endangered their survival is in question. In 2001 he co-founded Whale Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to research and public education. He has most recently been named North American Nature Photography Association�s (NANPA) Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year, 2012. For three decades, Flip has photographed sperm whales in the Indian Ocean; minke whales off the Great Barrier Reef; belugas, bowheads, and narwhals in the High Arctic; right whales off Patagonia; blue whales in the Pacific�not to mention many, many humpbacks off Maui. Flip will show some of these images and discuss his recently published book "Among Giants, a Life with Whales".
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
An Ecosystem Perspective for Fisheries Management
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Jason Link, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: In a recent study, Dr. Jason Link and colleagues reviewed options for incorporating realistic estimates of predation mortality into stock assessments. They concluded that traditional, single-species population models generally underestimate the effects of predation on target species when predation is assumed to be low and constant rather than variable as predator and other prey populations change. The researchers found that including predation leads to more accurate estimates of total population size and more conservative biological reference points, or stock-specific benchmarks. The authors recommend adopting some of the existing methods they reviewed in order to incorporate ecological interactions into stock assessments.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership: Strategic Conservation on a Regional Scale
Date: Friday, July 29, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Emily Greene, Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership Coordinator, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Arlington, VAPowerpoint Slides
Abstract: The Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP) is a coast-wide partnership of fish habitat resource managers, scientists, and communications professionals from 30 different state, federal, tribal, and non-governmental entities. Working from the headwaters of coastal draining rivers to the edge of the continental shelf, and from Maine to the Florida Keys, ACFHP seeks to accelerate the protection, restoration, and enhancement of habitat for native Atlantic coastal, estuarine dependent and diadromous fishes. ACFHP is developing goals, objectives, action strategies and priorities to guide conservation efforts along the Atlantic coast. Its draft goals include protecting and maintaining healthy aquatic systems, preventing further degradation of aquatic habitats, and restoring degraded aquatic habitats. Towards this end, the Partnership seeks to secure, leverage, and distribute resources for on-the-ground fish habitat conservation projects. This presentation will summarize its strategic planning efforts, to date and highlight progress on the Partnership�s initial restoration work.
Remote access via webinar will NOT be available.
An Introduction and Update of the Urban Water Federal Partnership
Date: Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Simeon Hahn, Regional Resource Coordinator, National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration
Abstract: The Urban Water Federal Partnership (UWFP) is 11 Federal Agencies, jointly signing a statement of Vision, Mission and Principles on June 24, 2011 to help urban and metropolitan areas, particularly those that are under-served or economically distressed, as they restore and protect urban water quality, revitalize adjacent neighborhoods, and reconnect to their urban waterways. With the application of federal, state and local tools, the partnership will leverage existing assets to promote short-term and long-term actions towards local urban water revitalization goals. The Guiding Principles of the Partnership are to:
The Partnership chose seven locations in which to start work:
The presentation will present more background on the initiative, including information on the pilots, and discuss NOAA participation to date as well as future considerations.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Life history pattern diversity, movements, and habitat use of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Grays River Estuary, WA
Date: Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Bethany E. Craig, Fisheries Scientific Advisory Coordinator, Office of Science and Technology, NOAA Fisheries
Abstract: Recent studies suggest that juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) exhibit a variety of life history patterns in addition to the "stream-type" freshwater rearing life history traditionally thought to dominate coho salmon populations. Sub-yearling downstream migrants or "nomads" represent one of these alternative life history patterns. Recent work suggests that nomads may contribute substantially to adult coho salmon populations. Over the duration of two cohorts (2008-2009), we used catch data, diet and growth, and scale analyses to document the composition, outmigration chronology and habitat use of juvenile coho salmon among their freshwater spawning habitats and tidal freshwater estuary rearing habitats. Catch data shows bimodal migrations of subyearling nomad coho salmon into the estuary and suggests that spring migrating nomads rear in the estuary for an extended period of time. Nomads used a variety of estuarine habitats, but were most frequently caught within off-channel habitats including tidal freshwater forested wetlands and emergent wetlands. Scale pattern analysis showed that nomads have significantly higher growth rates than their subyearling counterparts who remain and rear in freshwater upriver habitat. We observed similar life history patterns among years, suggesting that these patterns are relatively stable, even if the benefits of any particular pattern may vary. Scale pattern analysis of adult scales verified evidence of a variety of juvenile life history patterns. The presence of available and productive wetland habitat in the lower reaches of the river may allow for expression of these nomad life history patterns. These results point to the importance of the preservation, conservation, and restoration of a diverse network of interconnected habitat throughout a watershed.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Coastal CHARM and the We-Table: New Technology for Participatory Democracy on the Coast
Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: John Jacob, Texas Sea Grant and Texas A&M University
Abstract: Powerful tools such as geographic information systems (GIS) enable the analysis of ever more complex layers of data, making it possible to facilitate much more rational, science-based decisions about coastal planning than previously possible. But this complexity makes it ever more difficult for coastal citizens to meaningfully engage in the community planning process. Without the full engagement of coastal citizens, even what appears to be the best choice based on unbiased science may turn out to be completely un-implementable. What is urgently needed are what the philosopher Ivan Illich referred to as �tools for conviviality.� These are tools that facilitate participatory democracy, tools that enable non-expert citizens to engage complex data sets in meaningful ways.
The Texas Coastal Watershed Program, part of Texas Sea Grant and Texas AgriLife Extension, has been working with two new tools that show considerable promise as tools of conviviality. The first is the We-Table, which transforms an ordinary tabletop into an interactive computer interface. This very affordable participation tool allows teams to collaboratively explore and use computer-based data and programs in a workshop setting. The We-Table enhances what people use daily--tables and pens-- while the supporting technology works quietly in the background. This means that participants can easily use the interface with very little instruction, and it allows them to work with what matters most in a meeting: data, maps, and their fellow participants.
The second tool is the Coastal CHARM (Community Health and Resource Management) model. Coastal CHARM is built with CommunityViz software, a plugin to the well-known ARC GIS software. CommunityViz is itself a �convivial� adaptation of ARCGIS that facilitates development of scenarios. CHARM uses the CommunityViz platform to array a wide spectrum of coastal natural resource and demographic data in a user-friendly framework. CHARM incorporates many different impact coefficients for different kinds of development patterns, including, for example, impervious surfaces, water usage, polluted runoff loadings, flood proofing costs, hurricane surge impacts, etc. Participants use the CHARM interface to �paint� different future development patterns on the landscape, and then evaluate the overall impact of each development scenario.
I review here the initial piloting of the We-Table/CHARM tools at a workshop enabled by the recent Sea Grant Coastal Community Climate Adaptation Initiative. In this exercise, participants were instructed to place the projected 410,000 people expected within 30 years on the western shores of Galveston Bay. Five We-Tables enabled over 40 participants to paint the target area with various gradations of diffuse auto-oriented development and more compact, walkable patterns onto a landscape they knew well. Participants compared their scenarios immediately after the exercise in terms of impacts to the placed population (e.g., flooding and storm surge) as well as impacts to the environment (e.g., wetland loss, nitrogen loadings). A sea-level-rise slider allowed the participants to see how much more area would be flooded under real (e.g., Carla, Ike) or hypothetical storms (e.g. Carly) and various SLR scenarios.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Coastal and Island Watershed Management Tools and Initiatives - an Update from the Center for Watershed Protection
Date: Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speakers: Karen Cappiella (Director of Research) and Dave Hirschman (Program Director), Center for Watershed Protection
Abstract: The Center for Watershed Protection will provide an update on the results and progress of several coastal and island watershed management initiatives over the past few years. With funding from the Cooperate Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET), we developed tools to manage the impacts of land use and stormwater runoff on water resources of the Atlantic coastal plain. The resulting Coastal Plain Watershed Information Center contains products such as an article series on adapting watershed protection tools for the coastal plain, a coastal community watershed management self-assessment checklist, case studies of successful low impact development (LID) application in the coastal plain, and a photo library and slideshow for use in educating decision makers about the importance and applicability of LID in the coastal plain. Other coastal watershed work has included refinement of techniques for detecting illicit discharges in coastal waters, and, working with Maryland Sea Grant, efforts to assist coastal communities with adapting to climate change.
Our island watershed work includes efforts to improve watershed and stormwater management on Pacific Islands working with the Horsley Witten Group and NOAA's Coral Reef program. The work has involved developing a watershed plan framework for the Piti-Asan watershed in Guam, revising (soon to be adopted, we hope!) Guam's erosion control and stormwater regulations, adapting stormwater BMP designs to island applications, conducting pollution prevention training in Saipan, CNMI, and providing watershed training for various audiences. Most recently, the Center, Horsley Witten, and NOAA hosted the Pacific Island Watershed Institute in Hawaii. In the Caribbean, we have been working with NOAA Restoration Partners and NFWF to coordinate implementation of the watershed management plan for Guanica Bay in Puerto Rico- including studies to evaluate the potential effects of restoring the Guanica lagoon, a feasibility study for constructing a treatment wetland to enhance pollutant removal at the Guanica wastewater treatment plant and startup of a roundtable to discuss how to improve the market for shade grown coffee in Puerto Rico- as well as implementation of stormwater retrofits in La Parguerra, PR.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Pedaling Climate: A bike trip across the country, talking about climate
Date: Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: David Goodrich, NOAA Climate Program Office (retired)
Abstract: After retiring from the NOAA Climate Program Office in January, the author left on a coast-to-coast bicycle ride in May. The trip ran 4205 miles, with quite a few adventures, including holding Lincoln's axe in Illinois, having a tornado party in Missouri, climbing a 10,200' pass in Colorado and camping at a uranium ghost town in Wyoming. In the process there were presentations to 17 groups at 11 different venues about climate change. Some of the impacts of climate change along the way were hard to avoid: sea level rise in Delaware; drought in Kansas; and forest loss in the Rockies. Some ideas and strategies for communicating the issues of climate will be proposed.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Okinawa Dugong: Application of Section 402 of the National Historic Preservation Act
Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Mark Spalding, President of the Ocean Foundation
Abstract: Please join us on Tuesday, September 13th, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the NOAA Central Library (SSMC3, 2nd Floor) for a brown bag presentation by Mark Spalding, President of the Ocean Foundation, on Okinawa Dugong v. Gates. The case involves the application of Section 402 of the National Historic Preservation Act to a federal project outside of the United States likely to affect the Okinawa Dugong, a marine mammal classified as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
In Dugong, plaintiffs challenged the U.S. Defense Department�s plan to build an airbase off the coast of the Japanese island, Okinawa, and DOD�s failure to consider � as required by section 402 of the National Historic Preservation Act - the impacts of its plans on the Okinawa Dugong, a marine mammal species listed as a protected "natural monument" on the Japanese Register of Cultural Properties. The case presents an unusual example of the use of U.S. historic preservation law to protect natural heritage outside of the United States. Mr. Spalding will discuss the case, and more broadly the relationship between domestic and international law.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the Office of General Counsel for International Law.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Blue Carbon � Another Reason to Love Coastal Habitats
Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Linwood Pendleton, Acting Chief Economist, NOAA PPI; and Emily Pidgeon, Conservation International
Linwood Pendleton's Powerpoint Slides
Emily Pidgeon's Powerpoint Slides
Abstract: Did you know that coastal habitats such as mangroves, salt marshes, and sea grasses store significant amounts of carbon and have great potential for greenhouse gas mitigation? Dazzle your colleagues and friends with your newfound knowledge of international and U.S. efforts to better understand and protect the use of these coastal habitats for carbon storage and sequestration. You�ll learn the answers to questions including:
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Foraging behavior and habitat associations of newly independent northern fur seal pups (Callorhinus ursinus)
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Olivia Lee, Integrative Programs Section in the Division of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation
Abstract: Northern fur seal pups and juveniles experience the highest mortality rates at sea compared to other age groups, but our knowledge of this life stage remains limited because individuals may not return to shore for 2 years after leaving their rookeries. The foraging behavior and habitat associations of 35 newly independent pups from Bering Island, Russia were investigated using Mk-10AL satellite tags to track pup locations and diving behavior between November 2007 and March 2008. Stomach temperature telemetry was used to identify the duration and timing of ingestion events for the first time in wide-ranging pups. Pup locations were compared to the distribution of several oceanographic features using remotely sensed data including: chlorophyll a concentrations, bathymetry, sea surface temperature, and eddies. Monte Carlo logistic modeling was used to identify the habitat associations of pups, and we compared pup behavior to the known habitat associations of adult females. Pups showed a strong association with regions with high chlorophyll a concentrations, high sea surface temperatures, and greater distances from shore. There was a negative correlation between pup locations and water depth, and pups had no association with eddies. However, pups that encountered eddies during their migration had the longest ingestion events near eddy peripheries. The results indicate that although pups are attracted to certain oceanographic features that may indicate higher prey abundance, they may have not yet learned to take advantage of prey-rich regions associated with eddies.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Halophyte Hydroponics: Exploring the Feasibility of Extracting Excess Nitrogen from Shrimp Aquaculture with Atriplex hortensis, an Edible Crop
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 12:30 PM EDT
Speaker: Hui Rodomsky, Coastal Conservation Policy Specialist, NOAA NOS Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
Abstract: The vast majority of the world�s shrimp supply comes from industrial shrimp farms in the coastal areas of tropical developing countries. Shrimp farming practices degrade tropical coastal ecosystems in many ways, including conversion of mangrove forests, soil salinization, and eutrophication of coastal waters. Shrimp pond water quality is maintained by constant water exchange with the surrounding environment. This constant water exchange stresses freshwater resources in the area, and the discharged effluent alters the water chemistry of coastal ecosystems. This research addresses the eutrophication of coastal waters and explores the feasibility of growing halophytes hydroponically to extract excess nitrogen from the pond water before it is discharged into the surrounding environment.
This study was conducted in Hilo, Hawai�i, situated within the tropics. Five plant coverage levels of the halophyte Atriplex hortensis were tested to examine the effect of relative plant biomass on nitrogen levels in shrimp aquaculture water. Complete block design was implemented with each treatment represented once per block. There were six blocks total, and each block consisted of five 20-gallon glass aquaria nested in a 300-gallon plastic tank filled with freshwater for temperature control. Each glass aquarium was stocked with Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, at 100 animals per m2, the stocking density of intensive shrimp farming. The water in the glass aquaria was a mixture of seawater and Hawai�i county water to achieve 20ppt salinity. The only nutrient input to the system was the daily feeding of L. vannamei. A. hortensis was grown hydroponically in floating platforms resting on top of the water. Three forms of nitrogen � nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia � were measured via spectrophotometer weekly over seven weeks.
The observed rates of decrease for nitrate levels were 1.7 to 2.2 times greater in treatments with plants than in the control treatment. This suggests that incorporating A. hortensis into the shrimp aquaculture system can lower the concentration of nitrate in the water. As A. hortensis is edible, a second crop could be produced from this nitrate mitigation method with no additional nitrogen input. There is potential for halophyte hydroponics to be developed as a way to remove excess nitrate from shrimp farm effluent.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Modeling Ecosystem Service Values of Wetlands in Delaware: an Application of the InVEST Model
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speakers: Maura Flight, Senior Associate at IEc and Chip Paterson, Principal at IEc
Abstract: Wetlands cover over 30 percent of the State of Delaware. These ecosystems are being threatened, in particular, by development associated with the growing state population. Wetlands serve a variety of ecosystem functions, including surface water retention, nutrient transformation, coastal storm surge detention, species habitat, and carbon sequestration. Our analysis links wetland functions in Delaware to ecosystem services - the contributions that these functions make to the well-being of human populations - for purposes of economic valuation.
There is little disagreement that wetland ecosystem functions provide valuable services. The relationship of some services, such as recreation, to wetlands is more apparent than others, for example, flood protection. From a social welfare perspective, failure to incorporate the values of as full a suite of ecosystem services as possible may result in inefficient resource management (i.e., the total value of goods and services provided by the landscape is not maximized). Our analysis demonstrates a framework designed to evaluate tradeoffs in multiple ecosystem services of land and resource management scenarios. Specifically, we apply the Natural Capital Project�s Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) tool to quantify changes in carbon storage and sequestration, water purification, flood protection, and biodiversity associated with projected wetland losses in Delaware. The InVEST approach advances the science of ecosystem services assessment and valuation by employing spatially-explicit ecological production functions to quantify net changes in the delivery of ecosystem services resulting from specified land use or management changes. Quantifying the net change as opposed to the absolute value of services allows decision-makers to consider tradeoffs associated with marginal changes in ecosystem functions, and provides more meaningful estimates to inform policy. The results of our analysis, both biophysical and economic endpoints, provide additional information regarding less transparent ecosystem services of wetlands to support efficient landscape-level land use planning.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The ecology of narwhals in Baffin Bay and the impacts of a warming climate
Date: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Kristin Laidre, arctic ecologist at the Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington
Abstract: The offshore pack ice is one of the most important habitats for narwhals (Monodon monoceros), yet few data are available to quantify ecological relationships. Winter movements of narwhals (n=34) satellite-tagged between 2003 and 2005 on Baffin Island were combined with data on distribution and abundance collected from a visual aerial survey on the wintering grounds conducted in April 2008 to examine habitat use in the pack ice. Continuous high-resolution digital photographic sea ice images (n= 2,685) and downward-looking video were also collected on the survey tracklines facilitating a detailed description of the habitat. A fully corrected abundance estimate of 17,239 narwhals (cv=0.58) was calculated for the 9,500 sq. km area, which had only 2% open water. Narwhals ranged most widely and had the highest velocities in years with the most dense sea ice cover, but remained stationary over their preferred foraging grounds in years with low sea ice cover. This may suggest heavy sea ice requires whales to conduct compensatory movements to keep up with leads and cracks that move up to 25 km/day. Some whales were tagged with transmitters which collected and transmitted water column temperature profiles from dives >1,000 m between December and April 2005-2007, a project funded by the NOAA Ocean Exploration program. Data from these tags suggest the previously documented warming in Baffin Bay continued through 2007 and is associated with a warmer West Greenland Current in both of its constituent water masses. Understanding narwhal habitat use in the pack ice is critical to this species given climate change induced sea ice loss rates of 9% decade in Baffin Bay.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The XML Hydrographic Metadata System and the Hydrographic Survey Metadata Data Base (HSMDB)
Date: Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Daniel Neumann, IT Specialist, Hydrographic Surveys Division, NOAA Office of Coast Survey
Abstract: Metadata is crucial for the efficient archiving and retrieval of hydrographic survey data. Currently, hydrographic metadata is created in multiple formats and housed in manually populated databases. NOAA�s Office of Cost Survey (OCS) is developing tools, using eXtensible Markup Language (XML), to enable NOAA to provide structured XML packaging of information that will allow metadata to be constrained and parsed more efficiently for multiple outputs. When completed, this will support a more efficient, semi-automated workflow for capturing metadata throughout the hydrographic survey lifecycle. This lifecycle is from initial project instructions to final descriptive reports and other supporting documents. Part of the improved workflow is eliminating the manual input of metadata to the authoritative HSMDB at the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). Timely automated update will free Hydrographic survey Division (HSD) data control resources to focus on HSMDB population of archived hydrographic surveys. This will in turn enable different user communities to easily query and harvest more historic hydrographic survey information. This presentation will first offer an overview of the current status and proposed end product of the XML system. Secondly, the interaction of this XML as an extract and insert tool for the HSMDB will be explored stressing the notion that "enter once, use multiple times" approach greatly reduces errors, while also increasing efficiency and usability.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Tales and Tails - 41 Sea Years of Texas Sea Grant
Date: Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Gary Graham, Texas Sea Grant extension agent
Abstract: Gary Graham, longtime fisheries specialist with the Texas Sea Grant Program will present his experiences with the early years of interaction with marine resource users. An overview of cooperative work with the fishing industry to identify and plot trawl obstructions, development of more environmentally acceptable fishing gear and the emotional times which ultimately yielded successes with turtles and TEDs will be discussed. Graham will describe adaptations in working with different minority groups within the fisheries as well as challenges in engaging industry to solve their own problem.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Law and Policies that Apply to NOAA International Agreements
Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Hugh Schratwieser, NOAA�s Office of General Counsel for Weather
Abstract: Please join us on Wednesday, October 19th, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the NOAA Central Library (SSMC3, 2nd Floor) for a brown bag presentation on the law and policies regarding international agreements and memoranda of understanding between NOAA and counterpart agencies in foreign countries. Hugh Schratwieser of NOAA�s Office of General Counsel for Weather (GCW) will provide an overview of the Case- Zablocki Act and its implementation by NOAA GC. Authority for making determinations under the Case-Zablocki Act for NOAA international agreements was recently delegated to the NOAA General Counsel by the Department of Commerce General Counsel. Angelia Talbert-Duarte of the General Law Division of the Department of Commerce Office of General Counsel will explain the role played by her office in reviewing NOAA�s international agreements as well as an provide an overview of the law and policies that apply when such agreements involve the transfer of funds. There will be ample time for questions from the audience.
Additional background information is available at http://www.gc.noaa.gov/gc_case_zablocki.html and http://www.commerce.gov/os/ogc/model-agreements.
Note: This seminar is intended for NOAA employees only. Sponsored by the Office of General Counsel for International Law.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Impacts of El Niño Conditions on California Sea Lion Health and Fisheries Interactions: Stranding Hotspots and Management Implications
Date: Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Amanda Keledjian, Office of Protected Resources in NOAA Fisheries Service
Abstract: California sea lions, Zalophus californianus, are often viewed as a sentinel species whose health can be affected by prevailing oceanographic conditions and environmental quality. For this reason, it has become increasingly important to study the natural stressors and anthropogenic impacts that can lead to diminished health and survival among individuals of this coastal species. In this study, just over 36,000 sea lion stranding records spanning 1983-2010 were used to first identify regional and seasonal fishing interaction "hotspots" in California, and second, to examine how these hotspots might change under additional environmental stress induced by El Niño oceanographic conditions that can affect prey availability. Analyzing mean monthly fisheries interactions cases (n=2,380) revealed that (1) the number of fisheries interactions has risen over time (as much as 20% in some areas) but the frequency of these strandings relative to abundance estimates has not changed significantly throughout the study period; (2) regional hotspots were identified in Monterey, Los Angeles, and Orange counties; (3) seasonal peaks in fisheries interactions occur May-August along the coast; and (4) fisheries interactions are significantly greater during El Niño periods in all regions studied. These results indicate that over a twenty-seven year period, sea lion health is impacted by oceanographic conditions and anthropogenic stressors that may be heightened in early summer following the weaning period. Spatially- and temporally-explicit data such as these can be useful in dynamically mapping marine mammal health within spatial planning tools. This study could inform adaptive management measures designed to minimize incidental take for this and other pinniped species where they overlap with fisheries on the U.S. West coast.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Melting Glaciers: A Probable Source of DDT to the Antarctic Marine Ecosystem
Date: Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Heidi Geisz, Legislative Fellow with the House Natural Resources Committee subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs
Abstract: Persistent organic pollutants reach polar regions by long-range atmospheric transport and biomagnify through the food web accumulating in higher trophic level predators. We analyzed Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) samples collected from 2004-2006 to evaluate current levels of ∑DDT (p,p�-DDT + p,p�-DDE) in these birds, which are confined to Antarctica. Ratios of p,p�-DDT to p,p�-DDE in Adélie penguins have declined significantly since 1964 indicating current exposure to old rather than new sources of ∑DDT. However, ∑DDT has not declined in Adélie penguins from the Western Antarctic Peninsula for more than 30 years and the presence of p,p�-DDT in these birds indicates that there is a current source of DDT to the Antarctic marine food web. DDT has been banned or severely restricted since peak use in the 1970s, implicating glacier melt-water as a likely source for DDT contamination in coastal Antarctic seas. Our estimates indicate that 1-4 kg*y-1 ∑DDT are currently being released into coastal waters along the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet due to glacier ablation.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Effects of temperature and latitude on the reproduction of an invasive crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, in northern and southern New England
Date: Friday, November 4, 2011 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Emily Gamelin, Congressional Analysis and Relations Division in NOAA�s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Abstract: The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus is native to the western Pacific and was first found in the U.S. in 1988. The species is currently distributed from North Carolina to mid-coast Maine, and has become the dominant intertidal crab in areas south of Boston Harbor, pushing out the previous dominant, the European Green crab (Carcinus maenas). H. sanguineus populations were studied in northern and southern New England to determine if crabs differ in reproductive behavior or characteristics between these regions. Additionally, effects of temperature on reproductive activity were quantified through laboratory experiments.
Number of broods per season increased with temperature, but the seasonal total was limited to three broods per female crab in laboratory experiments. Broods experienced limited success at the lowest temperature tested, 10°C. The reproductive season was longer at lower latitudes, and females at this site had smaller average ovigerous size. Patterns of ovigery varied between the regions, suggesting the production of one brood per season for most female crabs in New Hampshire, compared to two to three broods per season per female in Rhode Island. Overall, temperature may limit the possibility and degree of reproductive output by females, which may slow the spread or limit establishment of this species in northern latitudes.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Below the surface of the salt marsh: How water and nutrients move through estuary wetlands
Date: Friday, November 4, 2011 at 12:30 PM EDT
Speaker: Matthew Lettrich, Estuarine Reserves Division (NOAA/NOS/OCRM)
Abstract: Coastal wetlands serve as sources and sinks of nitrogen to surrounding estuarine waters through advective drainage and denitrification. The advective nitrogen flux of three intertidal estuary wetlands in the New River Estuary in North Carolina was determined using two approaches; 1) Darcy-derived drainage measurements; and 2) Calculating the difference between tidal ebb and tidal flood flux. The magnitude of drainage was greatest and most closely linked to tidal elevation in the most down-estuary site and was least in the up-estuary site ranging from a daily mean drainage of 0.34 L m shoreline-1 day-1 in the up-estuary site to 87 L m shoreline-1 day-1 in the down-estuary site. Nitrogen concentrations in the marsh porewaters peaked in late 2009. N flux was determined as a function of drainage (water flux) and porewater N concentration. Advective N flux showed a seasonal pattern that increased in the summer and the winter. Drainage was found to be correlated to tidal elevation within each site and trended with tidal amplitude within the estuary, providing proxies for estimating advective N flux at other sites when given those easily measured parameters combined with porewater N concentration.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
New Business Models for Small-Scale Fishermen and Processors
Date: Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speakers: Barry Nash, Seafood Technology and Marketing Specialist, NC Sea Grant; and Susan Andreatta, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina Greensboro Department of Anthropology
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Historically, small-scale fishermen and processors along the southeastern United States have been an invisible industry. They earned a steady living supplying local residents and metropolitan areas of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States with quality, seasonal seafood without a well-recognized commercial image to identify their commodities or trade. As globalization began opening domestic markets to less expensive products, price became a deciding sales factor in consumer choices. Facing significant declines in market share and income, fishermen began abandoning their industry. Over the last decade, the demand for local seafood has grown stronger as consumers become more conscious of the origins of their food. The growing public demand for local seafood offers opportunities for producers to tap niche markets to stabilize and increase their incomes. This presentation will discuss how the Sea Grant network can offer practical guidance to help fishermen and processors build market-focused enterprises that create competitive advantages over foreign producers.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The future of NOAA�s Technology Transfer: Meeting the President's challenge
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speakers: Henry Wixon and Mark Madsen, DOC Legal Counsel for NIST
Abstract: The goal of Federal technology transfer is to promote public/private sector partnerships that enhance U.S. competitiveness and leverage the Nation�s investment in Federal Research and Development. The Presidential Memorandum, Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses, issued October 28, 2011, directs that each agency with Federal laboratories develop plans that establish performance goals to increase the number and pace of effective technology transfer and commercialization activities in partnership with non federal entities, including private firms, research organizations, and non-profit entities.
This seminar will cover the impact of President Obama�s directive on NOAA Managers and Scientists. Questions and answers are expected to address exactly what technology transfer is, why the President has addressed its importance and what mechanisms are available within NOAA.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Does Tidal Management Affect Sub-adult Fish Assemblages in South Carolina�s Historic Impounded Marshes?
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Ben L. Carswell, East Coast Regional Coordinator, NOAA Marine Debris Program, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: As much as 14% (28,593 ha) of South Carolina�s coastal marshes are restricted by impoundments. Most impounded marshes in South Carolina are relics of rice agriculture that flourished in many areas of the coastal Southeast circa 1760 � 1860. Near Beaufort, SC, the Nemours Wildlife Foundation (NWF) manages 809 hectares of impounded marshes and wetlands with the primary goal of maximizing waterfowl habitat. A minority of the Nemours impoundments are managed to maximize recreational fisheries. Water-level in the impoundments is central to each strategy and is controlled with a system of tide gates. "Waterfowl" management promotes production of habitat for migratory birds, a goal that demands prolonged restriction of tidal connectivity. "Fish" management aims to promote an abundance of sport fish and allows daily tidal exchange. Tidal restriction raises concerns about how fragmentation and habitat change may affect nursery function for fishes. Our research examined assemblage composition, diversity, and abundance of fishes during early life stages, a phase that has received little attention in studies of coastal impoundments. We used light traps and a push net to sample two impoundments of each management type monthly for 10 months. We collected 61,527 sub-adult fishes, representing 21 species and 16 families, in light traps and 12,670 sub-adult fishes, representing 13 species and 11 families, in push net samples. The effective number of species detected at larval stages in "fish" impoundments (summer mean=2.52±0.20, winter mean=2.02±0.66) was greater than in "waterfowl" impoundments (summer mean=1.27±0.14, winter mean=1.06±0.09); confidence intervals are 90%. Species richness did not differ between management types, but hierarchical linear modeling predicts differences in assemblage composition. Our findings underscore the importance of daily water exchange in promoting nursery function for transient fishes in managed coastal impoundments.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Waterscape genetics of the yellow perch (Perca flavescens): Patterns across large connected ecosystems and isolated relict populations
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Jhonatan Sepulveda Villet, NOAA Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Comparisons of a species� genetic diversity and divergence patterns across large connected populations versus isolated relict areas, provide important data for understanding potential response to global warming and other perturbations. Aquatic taxa offer ideal case studies for interpreting these patterns, because their dispersal and gene flow often are constrained through narrow connectivity channels that have changed over geological time and from contemporary anthropogenic alterations. Our research objective is to understand the interplay between historic (climate change, lake basin formation, and channel connectivity shifts during and after the Pleistocene glaciations) and modern-day factors (fishery exploitation, stocking supplementation, and habitat loss) in shaping population genetic patterns of the yellow perch Perca flavescens (Percidae: Teleostei) across its native North American range. We employ a dual genome and modified landscape genetic approach, analyzing complete sequences from the mitochondrial DNA control region (912 base pairs) and 15 nuclear DNA microsatellite loci of 664 spawning adults from 24 locations. Results support contribution from three primary glacial refugia to contemporary northern populations; the Missourian refugium founded the Northwest Lake Plains and western Lake Superior, the Mississippian refugium colonized most of the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic refugium contributed to the lower Great Lakes and founded the northern Atlantic seaboard. Genetic diversity is highest in southern unglaciated populations, and is appreciable in northern areas that were founded from multiple refugia. Divergence is greater in isolated population sites, both north and south; the southern Gulf coast relict populations are the most divergent, reflecting their long history. Understanding the influence of past and current waterway connections on the genetic structure of yellow perch populations may help us to assess the role of ongoing climate change towards conserving aquatic biodiversity.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Annual Holiday Brown Bag Seminar
A NOAA Top Ten List from Mary Glackin�s Perspective
Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Mary M. Glackin, Deputy Under Secretary for Operations, NOAA
Powerpoint Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Deputy Under Secretary for Operations Mary Glackin will share ten stories from her tenure that demonstrate different aspects of "NOAA pride."
Note: This seminar is the library's annual Holiday Brown Bag Seminar, also featuring music from the NOAA Holiday Band and Chorus at 11:30 and, of course, refreshments.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
A Sustainable Idea: Virginia Sea Grant's Seafood Education for the Culinary Community
Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Vicki Clark, Marine and Seafood Education Specialist, Virginia Sea Grant
Abstract: One of Sea Grant�s National Focus Areas is a "safe sustainable seafood supply." Seafood is central to the culture and economy of our coastal regions, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Virginia. Virginia Sea Grant has become well-known for its research, advisory work and education activities focusing on seafood resources. VASG educators began providing science-based seafood information to consumers and culinary professionals over 20 years ago, and the opportunities and needs in this area have never been greater. Currently there is an unprecedented interest in culinary careers, and chefs as well as consumers are looking for information on sustainable, locally sourced seafood. Ms. Clark will present an overview of VASG�s seafood education program, describing its evolution from an event-based design to its current integrated approach involving numerous industry, agency, and educational partners and target audiences. There will be recipes and fish stories too!
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Life Line for the Dead Zone: Nutrient Retention in the Atchafalaya Basin, LA
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Amy Scaroni, National Sea Grant Office, Coordinator for Safe and Sustainable Seafood Supply and Healthy Coastal Ecosystems focus areas
Abstract: The Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers are the major sources of freshwater and nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico. Increased nutrient loads from these rivers exacerbate eutrophication in coastal receiving waters and contribute to the large area of hypoxia that develops seasonally in the Gulf. Levees along the Mississippi River have reduced contact between the river and the historic floodplain; this limits the ability of floodplain wetlands to naturally mitigate excess nutrients. However, the Atchafalaya River diverges from the Mississippi 217 km from the Gulf and enters a large river floodplain with a widely spaced levee system. This enhances the ability of the Atchafalaya River Basin to remove and sequester nutrients, potentially reducing downstream eutrophication. Overbank flow spreads river-water and sediment across the floodplain. Over time, sedimentation has filled in many of the open water areas on the floodplain, such that lakes are transitioning to baldcypress swamps and bottomland hardwood forests. These habitats differ in their available nutrient reservoirs and the rates at which they transform and store nutrients.
We investigated the major retention and removal mechanisms for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the three major habitat types of the Atchafalaya River Basin. These reservoirs include denitrification, sedimentation, and assimilation by aboveground biomass. Total retention and removal for the entire basin is on the order of 1,177,605 - 1,561,805 t C yr-1, 46,049 - 47,603 t N yr-1, and 20,040 - 20,175 t P yr-1. Rates varied by habitat, highlighting the need to consider habitat change when developing management strategies to improve water quality. Data from this study can be used to parameterize nutrient models for the Atchafalaya River Basin, as well as for river diversions and floodplains with similar habitat types.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
2012 Brown Bags
Inspiring Innovation by Capitalizing Creativity
Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Michael Osmond, Senior Program Officer, World Wildlife Fund
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Bycatch is among the most problematic aspects of modern fishing from a conservation perspective. In addition to the sheer volume of bycatch globally, unselective fishing poses an extinction threat to numerous species of ocean wildlife and threatens the commercial viability of a number of mainstream fisheries. In recent years, improvements to fishing gear and practices have played an important role in reducing bycatch, as modifications have increased the chances for non-target species to escape or avoid capture altogether. In response to the bycatch concern, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiated the first International Smart Gear Competition in 2004-2005, with the goal of identifying innovative and practical modifications, to currently used gear with potential for significantly reducing bycatch. The competition, which now offers cash prizes totaling $57,500, has been held five times and attracted more than 330 entries from 50 countries worldwide. It has also served as a positive way for conservation interests to cooperate with industry and a cornerstone for cross-sector collaboration between NGOs, industry and government.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
How do catch shares affect marine resources? Insights from a global comparative analysis
Date: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Dr. Tim Essington, Associate Professor, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of Washington
Research Papers:
Abstract: NOAA issued its Catch Share Policy in November 2010 to provide guidance and direction on these programs as fishery management tools to build and maintain sustainable and prosperous U.S. fisheries and healthy ocean ecosystems. Yet, we still don�t know the types of ecological benefits they provide to fisheries, and the types of fisheries where these benefits are most likely. Dr. Timothy Essington, Dr. Mike Melnychuk and their colleagues, supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program, conducted the most comprehensive study to date on the effectiveness of catch share programs in achieving fisheries management objectives, comparing the impacts of catch shares for 345 stocks around the world, including many U.S. stocks. The team was the first to discover that the most prominent effect of catch shares was more predictability and less variability in ecological metrics.
Using statistical approaches to tease out the impacts of catch shares from other factors influencing fisheries health, the researchers found no evidence that catch share programs significantly improved the population size of the fish. They did find, however, that catch share programs often increased the predictability of hitting quota targets and can reduce the frequency of overfishing, making catch shares useful tools for better managing fisheries.
The results of this body of research may help guide NOAA and the regional fishery management councils in decisions about new policies or management options for implementing catch share programs.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Do You Have a Flag? Arctic Governance and the perceived "race" for resources
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Christina Hoefsmit, U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Transportation System Directorate
Abstract: The Arctic�s extremes, both in climate and geography, have shielded it from many of the modern advances that have influenced much of the world. However, time is quickly catching up with the Arctic. Promising prospects and the decreasing extent of summer sea ice have heightened interest in Arctic offshore oil and gas resources, commercial shipping, tourism and other activities, providing new opportunities and a longer seasonal window. Increasing access and a changing geopolitical status has prompted some commentators to suggest a global "race" for Arctic resources and the need for a comprehensive Arctic treaty analogous to the Antarctic Treaty System that governs Antarctica. Despite the similarities that exist between Antarctica and the Arctic they are fundamentally distinct such that the application of governance mechanisms similar to Antarctica�s would be inappropriate. Rather than a global "race," current governance mechanisms, chiefly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), provides for the orderly resolution of most Arctic issues. In addition, several other international agreements and organizations exist to resolve issues not covered under UNCLOS. Consequently, a new comprehensive governance mechanism akin to the Antarctic Treaty System is unnecessary.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Danger, desire, and governance: a political ecology of Vibrio vulnificus
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Becky Blanchard, Office of Marine Conservation, Department of State
Abstract: Oysters are often imbued with qualities of danger and desire. Yet these affective and sensory elements are increasingly imbricated with the technical and mundane: interstate commerce rules, laboratory testing, and food processing technologies. In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on the sale of raw oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico from spring through fall. The proposal, which has led to dramatic changes in shellfish management and processing, was spurred by public health concerns related to Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterial pathogen that causes the deaths of approximately 15 U.S. consumers each year. This presentation is based on 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Apalachicola Bay, Florida, a community that produces 10% of the nation�s oysters. The proposed ban, and the measures that have been taken to prevent it, may have a particularly significant impact on oyster harvesters in Apalachicola Bay due to the historical effects of resource tenure regimes on local industry structure. Debates about food safety are also debates about society and governance. This presentation examines the discourses of risk and freedom underlying the controversy over V. vulnificus and its control, as well as implications for particular actors, livelihoods, identities, and ecologies.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2011 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Information management: the value of embedded librarians in NOAA programs
Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speakers: Trevor Riley, NOAA PPI; Joan Moumbleaux, NMFS Habitat Restoration Division; and Chris Belter, NOAA Central Library
Abstract: In today's information-rich environment, effectively managing information is critical to success. Embedded librarians and information professionals can assist in this process by creating information management solutions tailored to unique organizational needs. This seminar will present three case studies of how embedded librarians are already assisting NOAA program offices. Trevor Riley will discuss his work within the office of Program Planning and Integration, including the management of shared electronic workspaces, research, and development of new information architecture public websites. Joan Moumbleaux will discuss her information management work on the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill; specifically how she identified the Restoration Center�s business needs, determined information governance and management, and insures security in a litigation hold environment. Finally, Chris Belter will discuss his role in tracking, publicizing, and performing bibliometric analyses on publications supported by NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research in order to help demonstrate the Office's value to NOAA.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Regulating Carbon Emissions from Ships
Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Bryan Wood-Thomas, Vice-President, World Shipping Council
Abstract: Please join us on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the NOAA Central Library (SSMC3, 2nd Floor) for a brown bag presentation on regulating carbon emissions from ships. Bryan Wood-Thomas, Vice-President of the World Shipping Council and former Associate Director of EPA�s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, will address the current global debate on how to regulate carbon emissions from shipping with a focus on the primary options under debate, the economic motivation of the parties, and the political and legal questions that arise in certain scenarios. Bryan will also discuss the anticipated impacts of the North American Emission Control Area, an area designated by the International Maritime Organization in 2010 that encompasses coastal and ocean waters around North America out to 200 nautical miles. Beginning in August 2012, ships in this area must comply with more stringent air pollution limits for NOx, SO2 and particulate matter
More information about the North American Emission Control Area can be found at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/nonroad/marine/ci/420f10015.htm.
Bryan Wood-Thomas� bio can be found at http://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-council/council-management/bryan-wood-thomas.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
A Dialogue with the NOAA Administrator on Future NOAA Science
Date: Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator
Presentation Slides (in pdf format)
Abstract: Dr. Lubchenco invites all NOAA employees to participate in an open dialogue on future NOAA science. What should our research priorities be given ongoing fiscal challenges? How can we improve the climate for NOAA science? As we face increasingly challenging economic and social times, we must be selective and strategic in delivering the greatest value to the Nation. We also must communicate the merit of NOAA science effectively to decision makers and the public. Dr. Lubchenco will offer some thoughts on future NOAA science, including how we might better frame it for the public and decision makers. Please bring your ideas for future NOAA research priorities and ways we can strengthen the way we talk about and share our science with the world.
Note: This seminar will take place in SSMC3, room 4527. This seminar celebrates the 500th Brown Bag Seminar given at the NOAA Central Library since the seminar series' inception in 1994.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
AAAS Fellowship Program and NOAA: Opportunities to Host a Fellow
Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speakers: Current NOAA AAAS S&T Fellows and their mentors; AAAS staff
Presentation Slides (in .pptx format)
Abstract: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellows are competitively-selected, Ph.D. level scientists, social scientists, and engineers from a broad range of disciplines. These Fellows are available for placement in federal agencies for a 1-2 year term (renewal year can include details outside of the DC area). The Program, in existence since 1973, has an outstanding national reputation with many former Fellows occupying some of the highest positions in science policy throughout the federal government. AAAS currently partners with over 15 federal agencies, many Congressional offices and committees, and nearly 30 professional scientific societies to operate the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships.
NOAA has hosted 12 AAAS Fellows since it began participating in the Fellowship Program in 2007. The Fellows offer scientific and technical expertise as they assist with projects, program management, or policy analysis. Fellows start work after two weeks of intense training in science policy (including ethics, the legislative process, and the budget process) and are supported throughout their two years with professional development activities. AAAS Fellows also serve as a link to a network of science and science policy professionals across academia and government, including a network of over 2,500 current and former Fellows.
The recruitment process for 2012-2013 AAAS Fellows is already underway, and prospective host offices must act soon to participate. At this information session, current AAAS Fellows and AAAS program staff will share details about the program, insights about their experiences, upcoming deadlines in the recruitment process, and answer your questions. Because the renewal year of the Fellowship can include details outside of the DC area, regional offices and labs are encouraged to participate via webinar.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
How to Give a Truly Terrible Talk, Briefing, or Workshop: An Homage and Update
Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Dwayne Meadows, Species of Concern National Program Coordinator, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Do you want to learn how to give better talks and presentations? Impress leadership with your thoughts and ideas? But you find yourself bored by typical self-help manuals and presentations by droll experts? Do you forget all that sage advice when crunch time on your next presentation arrives? Then come hear Dwayne Meadows update of a classic tongue-in-cheek guide for giving better presentations and learn from the (mostly real) mistakes of others.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
International Programs and Legal Authorities of the Department of the Interior
Date: Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speakers: David Downes, Assistant Director for Policy in DOI's Office of International Affairs; and a panel from DOI's Office of the Solicitor
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: We will begin with an brief overview of DOI international programs ranging from migratory bird conservation to Earth observation, presented by David Downes, Assistant Director for Policy in DOI's Office of International Affairs. A panel from DOI's Office of the Solicitor will discuss legal issues relating to DOI international programs, with particular reference to marine issues and law of the sea. Speakers will include Michael Young, Assistant Solicitor for Fish and Wildlife; Maria Lurie from the Parks Branch; and Milo Mason from the Division of Mineral Resources.Additional information about DOI's Office of International Affairs is available at http://www.doi.gov/intl/index.cfm. Additional information about DOI's Office of the Solicitor is available at http://www.doi.gov/solicitor/index.html.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
State Agency Engagement with Habitat Conservation
Date: Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Ron Regan, Executive Director, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: This seminar will focus on the work of state fish and wildlife agencies in habitat conservation through the lenses of the North American Model of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, the National Fish Habitat Partnership, and the work of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Policy and state-federal partnership opportunities will be explored.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Exploring Social Media Tools: A Case Study of One Office's Journey to Implement a Blog
Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Sara Eckert and Becky Wynne, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, NCCOS
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
How to Write a Blog (pdf format)
Creating a Blog with Wordpress (pdf format)
Abstract: NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)/Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA) is launching the NOAA Coastal Ocean Science (COS) Blog. The goal of this seminar is the talk about the process NCCOS underwent to review, select and execute a new social media tool to promote their active, ongoing research. This overview is intended to be a case study of one office's approach to the social media planning and implementation. This presentation will outline the process of developing a blog for your organization, including how NCCOS was able to work within the guidelines of social media activities within the context of a federal agency. Additionally, we hope to provide insights on using social media for the promotion of science, and some key questions each office should consider before embarking on this process.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
When Adults Read with Children, Everybody Wins!
Date: Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 12 noon EST
Speaker: Lyn McGann, Program Manager - Power Lunch
Abstract: Everybody Wins! DC Power Lunch Program at Highland View Elementary School brings adults together with elementary school students, one to one, to read for pleasure and to share conversation. The program is not a tutoring model; adult Reading Mentors are trained to act as role models, using literature as a means of sharing thoughts, feelings and aspirations. Highland View has a small but fully engaged program that meets two days per week; more sessions will open as a greater number of Reading Mentors are brought on board.
While there is no formalized tutoring, students strengthen their reading-related skills through practice in an environment of encouragement and enjoyment. While reading themselves or being read to by their adult partners, students are supported fully in their efforts to open a dialogue about the greater world glimpsed in the pages of shared literature. They learn to appreciate their abilities for what they are; they interact with a caring adult for an hour a week. Thus, trust and self-esteem are also bolstered by the program.
The Power Lunch Program occurs during the student�s lunch and recess hour. It is a turnkey program, supremely simple for busy professionals to access. At program time, students are waiting in the reading space for the Reading Mentors to arrive; the program is staffed by a School Coordinator who is an employee of Everybody Wins! DC. The School Coordinator is charged with seamless operation of the program at the school site, and is supported by the Program Manager, who supervises the program, as well as by the administrative team in the Organization Office in D.C. The School Coordinator will communicate directly with Reading Mentors, and can help them with cancellations, reschedules, or program questions and issues.
A broad array of books at all reading levels is available in the program, and reading pairs are encouraged to explore all kinds of subjects. Activities and events punctuate regular reading sessions, but the focus is the written word. Mentors can read solo with a child, or can decide to alternate reading responsibility with another mentor, reducing their obligation to once every other week.
Prospective Reading Mentors can apply to the program via the organization�s website, http://www.everybodywinsdc.org, and will receive an email detailing student information, session day and time, and contact information for the program at the school site.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Regulating Ocean Acidification through International Law
Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 12 noon EDT
Speaker: Mark Spalding, President, Ocean Foundation
Abstract: Fundamental changes in sea water chemistry are occurring throughout our oceans. Serving as the world�s largest natural carbon sink, the ocean absorbs about a quarter of the CO2 released into the atmosphere each year. As carbon emissions increase, a greater amount of carbon dissolves in the ocean, altering the pH level and causing the ocean to be more acidic. This relatively sharp increase in acidity has significant implications for marine ecosystems and the human activities dependent upon such resources. Unfortunately, no specific international law targeting the regulation of ocean acidification exists today. This seminar will discuss the regulatory gaps and the possible application of extant legal tools to regulate the carbon emission behavior of key nations to address ocean acidification.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Little Fish, Big Impact: Managing a Crucial Link in Ocean Ecosystems
Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Ellen Pikitch, Executive Director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science and Professor at the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Forage fish, or small schooling fish such as anchovies and sardines, play a critical role in the marine food web as prey for larger fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Markets for fish meal and fish oil to support the growing aquaculture and farm animal industries have placed these species under increasing commercial pressure. The Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force was established to develop and recommend ecosystem-based standards for the sustainable management of forage fisheries.
Thirteen preeminent scientists with expertise in a wide range of disciplines conducted a comprehensive examination of the science and management of forage fish populations. Their research explored whether conventional management of these species poses substantial risks of population crashes and contributes to declines of their predators. Ellen Pikitch, the Task Force Chairperson, will share key results from the report, which include specific management recommendations for forage fish species.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Date: Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Stephanie Shipman and Valerie Caracelli, Applied Research Methods Team, Government Accountability Office
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Dr. Stephanie Shipman and Dr. Valerie Caracelli of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will discuss the recently released report, Designing Evaluations: 2012 Revision, (GAO-12-208G) (pdf) which will serve as a reference in GAO and federal agency evaluation offices. This revision reflects performance measurement and evaluation thinking and practice post-GPRA, and the expansion of program evaluation to the full range of federal programs and policies. The guide introduces key issues in planning evaluation studies of federal programs and describes a variety of evaluation designs for answering different types of questions about program performance - from examining the implementation of national programs to assessing the effectiveness of specific practices and interventions. The guide is a tool for planning useful evaluations and developing educated consumers of evaluation.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Current Legal and Policy Issues Related to Antarctic Diplomacy
Date: Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Evan Bloom, US Department of State
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Mr. Bloom will speak on "Current Legal and Policy Issues Related to Antarctic Diplomacy" and provide an overview of the Antarctic Treaty system with a focus on topics such as establishment of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean, regulation of tourism, and enforcement of environmental regulations, including liability rules.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Flounder Stock Enhancement: Post-Release Performance and Assessment of Cage Conditioned Japanese Flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, in Wakasa Bay, Japan
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Michelle Walsh, NOAA NMFS Office of Sustainable Fisheries - Domestic Fisheries Division
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Conditioning is the process of providing individuals reared for stock enhancement with some degree of "natural" experience prior to release. Conditioning flatfish in predator-free cages may help adjustment to the wild. From 2008-2010, Obama Laboratory conducted pre-release, experimental cage conditioning for Japanese flounder in both the Takahama and Obama portions of Wakasa Bay, Japan. Recaptured fish were acquired through a cooperative effort between researchers and local fishermen. The objectives were to describe how characteristics of released flounder changed with cage exposure and to determine how recapture rates compared between conditioned and non-conditioned fish. Significantly more conditioned fish were recaptured than non-conditioned fish in Obama Bay in 2010 (p < 0.05). In 2008 and 2009, recapture rates of conditioned and non-conditioned flounder followed the same trend, although these were not significantly different. Laboratory experiments revealed that conditioned fish had significantly better burying abilities (p < 0.001) and enhanced feeding abilities compared to non-conditioned fish. This study is the first to examine flatfish conditioning strategies using market data and shows that cage conditioning can favorably alter the attributes and recapture rates of released fish.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
By-catch in the Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron commercial trap net fishery
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Eric MacMillan, NOAA NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: This study provides species-specific catch and baseline mortality estimates of non-target species (by-catch) for the Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron commercial trap net fishery. By-catch can represent a significant mortality source that is often unknown. By-catch and by-catch mortality rates in the Saginaw Bay commercial trap net fishery, which primarily targets lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), are currently unknown. From May through August 2010, we observed onboard commercial trap net vessels and took species-specific counts of by-catch and estimated initial bycatch mortality (i.e., morbid or floating fish). The high levels of walleye (Sander vitreus) catch and mortality observed within inner Saginaw Bay have not been previously documented in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Walleye by-catch averaged 127.3 individuals per trap net lift and 42% of those caught were morbid. The levels of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) catch observed were within the range observed in previous studies, but mortality (percent) was higher than has been previously observed. Lake trout by-catch averaged 39.4 individuals per lift and 39.2% of those were morbid. Through the use of generalized linear models, this analysis also indicated factors that most influenced catch of non-target species including time of year and soak time (i.e., time interval between trap net lifts). Surface water temperature and trap net depth most influenced mortality. These results may inform fishers and fisheries managers and highlight the need for comprehensive by-catch monitoring throughout the Great Lakes.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Taking the Pulse: A proposed framework for Assessing and Reporting on the Status and Trends in Ocean and Coastal Health in Canada
Date: Friday, April 20, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dr. Colleen Mercer Clarke, coastal ecologist and landscape architect, University of Ottawa
Abstract: For over 100 years governments, academia, industry and community-based organizations throughout the world have monitored oceanic and coastal environments by collecting and recording data on multiple biological, chemical and physical parameters. Yet despite advances in fisheries management, pollution abatement technologies, and the creation of marine protected areas, conditions in most of the world's oceans continue to decline, sometimes dramatically. In 2010, to tackle these complexities, and disparities, and to ensure that the knowledge gained from CHONe research was effectively applied to policy and decision-making, CHONe embarked on an initiative to develop a framework for oceans and coastal health for Canada. Efforts concentrated on the standardization of widely used, but too often ambiguous terminology, and on the identification and incorporation of useful approaches and tools derived from the efforts and experience of Canadian as well as international initiatives. The proposed Framework is a science-based approach to defining, monitoring, assessing, rating and reporting on the status and trends in ocean and coastal health in Canada.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Endangered Elkhorn Coral Population Dynamics and Predictions for Recovery
Date: Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Tali Vardi, NOAA NMFS Office of Science and Technology
Abstract: Fossil data from multiple locations indicates that Atlantic elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, formed shallow reefs throughout the Caribbean Sea since the Pleistocene. Beginning in the 1980s A. palmata has declined to a small fraction of its formerly vast extent throughout the region. In 2006, elkhorn coral was the first coral, along with its sister species, staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), to be included on the U.S. Endangered Species List. We used size-based matrix modeling to parameterize annual A. palmata population dynamics in Florida, over the course of one severe hurricane year (2005) and six calm years (2004, and 2006-2010), incorporating environmental stochasticity as inter-annual variability. We predicted that benthic cover would remain at current levels (4%) for the foreseeable future (until 2030) and beyond (until 2100), suggesting a lack of resilience following the 2005 hurricanes. Standard metrics for the quantification of number and size of individuals are essential to endangered species management. These usually straightforward tasks can be challenging for clonal, colonial organisms. Acropora palmata presents a particular challenge due to its plastic morphology and frequent fission. We quantified three-dimensional colony surface area (CSA), the most ecologically relevant measure of size, for 14 prototypically arborescent A. palmata colonies using three-dimensional digital imaging software. To relate CSA to simple field metrics, we compared log-likelihood values and determined that planar projection was the best predictor. The, tight, linear relationship between planar projection and CSA enables ecological rates, such as reef accretion and gamete production, to be calculated from field data. Finally, we expanded the matrix population model to compare population dynamics in several locations across the Caribbean. The general trend for Acropora palmata is further reductions in population size by 2030. The most striking difference we quantified was between Jamaica, where population size is projected to increase, and all other locations, where population size is projected to remain stable or decline. Density of a key herbivore, the sea urchin Diadema antillarum, was an order of magnitude greater in Jamaica than in any other location. These increases are occurring 30 years after a devastating die-off suggesting that herbivory by urchins may facilitate A. palmata recovery.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Impacts of Karenia brevis Harmful Algal Blooms on Piscivorous Birds in Sarasota Bay, Florida
Date: Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Deborah Fauquier, NOAA NMFS Office of Protected Resources, Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Program,
Abstract: Harmful algal blooms (HABs), especially those caused by the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, a dinoflagellate that produces brevetoxins, occur frequently along Florida�s west coast, causing episodes of high mortality in fish, sea turtles, birds, bottlenose dolphins and manatees. Although K. brevis blooms are known to cause episodes of mass mortality among marine vertebrates, it is not known whether this disturbance results in significant declines in bird populations or changes in community structure. This study investigated the extent that brevetoxicosis contributed to morbidity and mortality in stranded sea birds and we investigated the impact K. brevis blooms had on the local abundance and habitat use of piscivorous birds in the Sarasota Bay estuary. Blood or fecal samples were collected from debilitated birds on admission to a rehabilitation hospital from 4 February 2005 through 28 November 2006. Dead birds were necropsied and tissues collected for histopathology. A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect brevetoxins was performed on all collected samples. For the field study, data were obtained by conducting boat-based seasonal surveys of birds, K. brevis cell counts, and water quality during red tide and non-red tide conditions. Summer and winter surveys were conducted in four habitats between 20 June 2006 and 2 September 2009. Periods of high K. brevis concentrations (>105 cell l-1) occurred during February to December 2005, summer 2006, and winter 2007. Testing of blood, biological fluids, and tissues for brevetoxin by ELISA found toxin present in 69% (n=95) of rehabilitating sea birds with the highest values reported in double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus). Among sea birds that died or were euthanized the highest brevetoxin concentrations were found in bile, stomach contents, and liver. Most dead birds had no significant pathologic findings at necropsy, thereby supporting brevetoxin-related mortality. In the field over 34,000 bird observations were obtained involving over 20 different species. The most abundant bird species were double-crested cormorants, laughing gulls (Larus atricilla), and brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis). Overall bird densities were lower during red tide conditions than they were during non-red tide conditions. In particular, the abundance of double-crested cormorants decreased in all habitats during red tide conditions. In contrast, brown pelicans and laughing gulls increased in abundance in certain habitats during red tide conditions and rebounded to lower abundances by 2008. It is probable that cormorants are consuming different prey than pelicans and gulls and may be exposed to a higher dose of toxin leading to increased morbidity and mortality and lower abundances during red tide events.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Sea Grant�s Army of Volunteers: Taking on Turtles and Other Hurdles
Date: Friday, May 4, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Logan Respess, Associate Director of the Texas Sea Grant College Program
Abstract: Hurricane recovery, endangered species, harmful algal blooms, invasive species, habitat degradation - there is no shortage of critical issues facing our nation�s coasts. The sheer scope of these issues far surpasses NOAA Sea Grant�s capacity to respond to them with its human capital alone, so we developed and trained a corps of master volunteers to help. Individually, these dedicated people could achieve small successes, but as a group they have provided far-reaching education, outreach and service projects. Join us in learning about the extraordinary impacts these master volunteers provide and how NOAA Sea Grant "raises me to the power of we!"
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Physiological and Growth Response of a Polar Diatom to Shifts in Iron and Irradiance: Implications for biogeochemical cycles
Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Jennifer Bennet, NOAA OAR Ocean Acidification Program Office
Abstract: The Ross Sea, one of the most productive Southern Ocean regions, accounts for a substantial proportion of global primary production and is responsible for up to one fourth of the C02 export in this ocean. Both primary and export production in this region are thought to be mediated by the interaction of light and iron (Fe) bio-availability. Future climate change may produce significant changes in the mixing-irradiance regime, and in the supply of macro- and micro-nutrients, in the highly productive waters of the Antarctic continental shelf. In this context, there is a pressing need to understand the responses of the major groups of Antarctic phytoplankton to such environmental changes. The diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus is a prolific species on the Antarctic shelf, inhabiting both sea-ice (low irradiance) and open-water (high irradiance) regimes. Laboratory culture experiments were performed to examine the growth and physiology of this diatom under nutrient-replete conditions at irradiances of 5-500 µE m-2 s-1, on both acute and long term timescales. These allowed the sub-optimal, optimal, and supra-optimal irradiance for growth (5, 100, and 500 µE m-2 s-1, respectively) to be assessed for this species, under which growth at varying Fe concentrations (0 - 1000nM Fe-EDTA) could then be examined. Cell number, biovolume, photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) and effective absorption cross section of PSII (SPSII), photosynthetic and photoprotective pigments, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and intracellular particulate dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPP) were measured in these experiments. The results indicated that F. cylindrus maintained relatively high growth rates (µ= 0.1-0.4) over a wide range of irradiance levels under nutrient replete conditions, probably using various physiological mechanisms including xanthophyll cycling and decreasing effective absorption cross section at higher irradiance. These mechanisms were also employed during iron manipulation experiments at the various irradiances, accompanied by an approximate 25% decrease in growth rate (µ) values. DMSPP levels (up to 60 mM) may also be serving as an antioxidant free-radical scavenging pool under both iron and light stress, thereby preventing oxidative damage, within the photosynthetic apparatus. DMSP is readily converted to dimethyl sulfide (DMS) which serves as cloud condensation nuclei, contributing to the climate feedback loop. These higher than previously recorded intracellular DMSPP concentrations, in addition to the ability of F. cylindrus to grow at higher irradiances could have implications for regional carbon and sulfur cycles.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Managing and Modeling Fisheries at Small Spatial Scales: A Case Study Using Giant Clams
Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Annie Yau, NOAA OAR Office of the Assistant Administrator
Abstract: Many marine populations are managed at small spatial scales (tens to hundreds of kms), as in the example of small-scale fisheries. A major difficulty in managing and modeling marine populations at small spatial scales is the unknown amount of self-recruitment occurring: larvae that settle within a small spatial area may have come from local adults (self-recruitment), or may be offspring of adults outside of the small spatial area (external recruitment). Without knowing where larvae are coming from, it is difficult to model patterns in population abundance. I modified an ecological population model (Integral Projection Model, IPM) to account for uncertainty in self-recruitment at small spatial scales, and used that model to determine that a small-scale fishery for giant clams in French Polynesia is sustainable at the present rate of fishing. I also determined a method for setting a minimum size limit that maximizes harvest while sustaining population abundance, despite uncertainty in self-recruitment. I generalized this method beyond giant clams to organisms with a variety of different life history characteristics. Overall, size limits can optimize (or nearly optimize) harvest in small-scale fisheries, and populations can be modeled and managed at small spatial scales in the face of uncertainty regarding the amount of self-recruitment.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Ocean-related commitments at the Rio+20 Conference
Date: Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Susan Lieberman, Deputy Director of International Policy, Pew Trusts
Abstract: In June 2012, governments will meet in Rio de Janeiro to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Conference (Rio+20). For this historic meeting, States have committed to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assessing progress to date and remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of major summits on sustainable development and addressing new and emerging challenges. As a result of advocacy by non-governmental organizations and some governments, the ocean is now one of the top Rio+20 priorities, and there are intense negotiations underway. Ms. Lieberman's talk will explore ocean-related commitments at previous global summits (Rio in 1992, Johannesburg in 2002), the gaps in implementation, and the potential for meaningful outcomes in Rio. The talk will also discuss efforts underway to address the conservation of high seas biodiversity and sustainable fisheries.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Office of General Counsel- International Section
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Processing Large Data Streams Using Massive Online Collaboration
Date: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Benjamin L. Richards, NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Abstract: NOAA's use of advanced sampling technologies has been increasing. While these advanced technologies promise to greatly enhance our ability to collect data, they present a variety of challenges given the shear volume of data they produce. On a recent two week survey mission by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center to American Samoa, an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle produced 52,000 benthic images and 42 and half hours of video footage. On the same mission, stationary remote camera stations recorded over 90 hours of video footage. Towed-Diver surveys routinely produce close 100,000 benthic images per year. How do we handle these data streams? Currently we make do by processing only a small subset of the available data or by allowing for long lag times between data collection and data processing. Work on computer algorithms that can automate certain portions of data processing is ongoing, but the human brain is still far superior for pattern recognition and processing visual data. Massive Online Collaboration, where image data is served to many independent volunteer human analysts through the internet, may be an answer. Massive online collaboration has already been used to digitize books, process Hubble deep field imagery as well as images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, to transcribe weather logs from WW1 Royal Navy ships, as well as to process video data to understand the distribution of marine species and to increase our understanding of deep-sea ecosystems and how they change in response to human disturbance. If properly implemented, this tool can fulfill two key NOAA objectives: processing increasingly large optical data streams in a rapid and cost effective manner and education and outreach by involving the public in the processing of scientific information.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Spatial analysis of anthropogenic competition and overlap between critical sperm whale habitat in the Gulf of Mexico
Date: Thursday, June 07, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Alyson Azzara, Committee on the Marine Transportation System
Abstract: The Gulf of Mexico is home to two of the world�s ten busiest ports by cargo volume, the Port of New Orleans and the Port of Houston; in 2008, these ports hosted a combined 14,000 ships. Past research shows that this increase in shipping worldwide has historically lead to an increase in ambient noise level of 3-5dB per decade. Sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico are considered a genetically distinct, resident population. They have a preference for the Louisiana-Mississippi Shelf region which directly overlaps with the entrance to the Mississippi River and the Port of New Orleans. Disruptions from vessel noise could influence feeding and breeding patterns essential to the health of the stock. Historic sperm whale distribution data are combined with current distribution data to show continued habitat use on the scale of centuries. Automatic identification system (AIS) data overlain with this distribution data documents the bifurcation of key habitat for sperm whales along the Mississippi � Louisiana shelf by shipping lanes apparent through AIS ship track positions. Options for addressing this conflict are discussed.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Evaluating Statistical Methods for Maximizing Classification: An Application using Otolith Tracers from Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus)
Date: Thursday, June 07, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Stacy Beharry, National Science Foundation - Division Ocean Sciences
Abstract: Developing a classification model that accurately identifies the provenance of individuals is central in understanding the dynamics of any population. Otolith-derived tracers, such as trace element chemistry, stable isotope composition, and otolith microstructure have been widely used to determine origin, as each offer a unique habitat description. Despite widespread use, the statistical approaches to handle these data have been slow to develop, and limited guidelines are offered in choosing the most useful discriminatory variables collected from the otolith. Variables are frequently selected because they are easily obtained, widely used by other investigators, or because their mean concentrations differ among areas. These selection methods do not address the information conveyed by each variable, nor the overlap in information that may occur in variable combinations. In this study, Rao�s test for additional information was used to identify the most useful discriminatory variables for identifying the nursery seagrass habitats for spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) in Chesapeake Bay. We found that all variables did not convey useful information and classification accuracy was heavily dependent on the type and number of variables used. Two variables from a suite of 12, barium and δ13C, conveyed sufficient information to classify fish with over 80% accuracy. By employing the correct statistical approaches, we show that classification success can be maximized, and natal origin of juvenile fish can be identified with greater accuracy.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Development of an Integrated Benthic Ecosystem Survey
Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dvora Hart, NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Abstract: The NEFSC is transitioning its traditional dredge-based sea scallop survey into an integrated benthic ecosystem survey. Central to this transition is deployment of a towed camera system known as HabCam. The HabCam vehicle houses stereo digital still cameras with synchronized strobes, a synthetic aperture side-scan sonar, and an array of oceanographic instruments, including sensors for chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen, water color (spectra) and a CTD. Some dredge tows will continue to be performed, in order to ensure continuity of the time series and to obtain physical samples. A prototype HabCam survey of Georges Bank was conducted in 2011 that collected over 2.5 million images of the sea floor. HabCam will be deployed in both the Mid-Atlantic and Georges Bank starting in 2012. I will discuss results from the traditional dredge survey, the prototype 2011 HabCam survey and preliminary results from the 2012 surveys, and the insights they provide on sea scallop and benthic community dynamics.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
South-South Exchanges, Fishing Cooperatives, and Managing Fishery Resources for Multiple Industries: The Banco Chinchorro Perspective
Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Liam Carr, NOAA Office of Communications and External Affairs
Abstract: The Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve is a 25-mile long coral atoll off the Yucatan Peninsula near the Belize border. Famed for its shipwrecks and scuba diving opportunities, the reserve also supports three Mexican fishing cooperatives, who are granted access in an agreement with local management authorities. Despite fishing and tourism interests, the nearshore ecosystem is under-studied and little knowledge exists on how local physical and geographic characteristics of the atoll system support reef life. In May 2012, researchers from Texas A&M; University and COBI (Conservidad y Biodiversidad) trained local partners in low-cost reef and fish community assessment methods. This training and focused data collection increased the knowledge base of the Banco Chinchorro system while simultaneously strengthening collaborative partnerships between scientists and non-scientists.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
When good intentions are not enough � marine protected areas in the Gulf of California
Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Alexis Rife, NOAA NMFS Office of International Affairs
Abstract: Marine protected areas (MPAs) hold great potential to provide biological and socioeconomic benefits, but many have failed to fulfill these objectives. The rush to establish MPAs without proper resources does not resolve conservation problems, but creates a false sense of protection that may worsen the degradation of marine ecosystems at a regional scale. We reviewed MPA efficacy in the Gulf of California, Mexico in order to exemplify this phenomenon. We found that despite sufficient budgets, MPAs (with one exception) have not met conservation or sustainability goals. Here, I will examine two of these MPAs closely: Loreto Bay National Park (LBNP), a large, multi-use MPA where several types of small-scale commercial and recreational fishing are allowed, but where less than 1% of the park is totally protected from fishing and Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP), where the entire park has been closed to fishing by the local community. These examples allow us to conclude that MPAs have been unsuccessful due to insufficient no-take zones, little enforcement, and lack of good governance and community involvement. In order to fill these gaps and prevent continued degradation, we recommend a new philosophy for MPAs: no-take MPAs managed under co-management schemes with better intra-government cooperation, enhanced socioeconomic incentives, and improved enforcement.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Japanese tsunami debris and invasive species - lessons learned in Oregon
Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dr. Samuel Chan, Oregon Sea Grant, Oregon State University
Abstract: The devastating 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011 claimed nearly 16,000 lives, injured 6,000, destroyed or damaged infrastructure and caused between $195-$310 billion in damages. It also released a pulse of debris estimated to be over 5 million tons, of which approximately 30% (~1.5million tons) is likely to still be afloat. As of June 2012, the floating debris, predicted to begin arriving with the Fall 2012 storms, has begun to come ashore on the west coast of North America, with a large ~165 ton floating dock appearing on Agate beach in Newport on June 5. The dock and its fouling community garnered extensive media coverage, and turned international attention to Oregon as a site of tsunami debris research and management. The threat of invasive species attached to tsunami marine debris is a critical and unforeseen risk that emerged with the beaching of the 66� long dock that drifted from Japan. Dr. Chan will discuss the response and management of the risk of invasive species introduction in Oregon, and lessons learned from the beaching of the dock on Agate Beach.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Governance in West African Fisheries
Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: John Virdin, Senior Natural Resource Management Specialist, World Bank
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: The West Africa Regional Fisheries Program is a regional program of nine coastal countries from Mauritania to Ghana, financed by the World Bank and Global Environment Facility, aiming to sustainably increase the economic benefits generated by the marine fisheries for the region. The program includes three main components: (i) strengthening governance of the fisheries, (ii) reducing illegal fishing and (iii) increasing local value added from the fisheries. To date, 6 countries have joined the program, for a total investment of some $125 million over 5 years (Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Sierra Leone). Mr. Virdin�s talk will focus on results and lessons learned to date in Liberia and Sierra Leone, two of the first countries to join the program. The talk will, in particular, highlight some of the key policy, institutional and legal challenges in reforming governance and fisheries management of these fisheries.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Office of General Counsel- International Section
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Flying with Albatross: What Black-footed Albatross are teaching us about the ocean
Date: Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Speaker: Pam Michael, NOAA NESDIS National Oceanographic Data Center
Abstract: The advent of satellite tagging in the late 1990s has provided novel insights into the movements and habitat use patterns of North Pacific Albatrosses, which has greatly informed resource managers and stimulated ocean stewardship. This research has revealed that these far-ranging seabirds range across the entire North Pacific Ocean, crossing international boundaries and venturing into marine protected areas in U.S. territorial waters. In particular, investigating albatross movements at sea has advanced our understanding of 'hotspots' within NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments. Studying their diets has raised the alarm about the pervasive occurrence of plastics in the marine food web. NOAA and Oikonos are incorporating these research findings into outreach and educational products through the eyes of albatross. New classroom lessons will provide a rich resource for educators to teach STEM topics, promote ocean stewardship, and inspire tomorrow's scientists, artists, engineers, and resource managers.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Evolution of a latitudinal body size pattern in a marine isopod
Date: Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Anna Manyak, NOAA NOS Marine Debris Program
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Organismal body size strongly affects individual fitness, with larger body sizes generally being positively correlated to mating success and fecundity. It has been widely observed that organisms from higher latitudes tend to be larger than their lower latitude counterparts (termed Bergmann�s Rule). For most body size patterns, however, it remains unclear whether this reflects a genetic or phenotypically-plastic response, and what co-grading environmental variable(s) maintain the pattern. In order to answer some of these questions, I examined the marine isopod Idotea balthica, whose populations along the East Coast of the United States conform to Bergmann's rule. Using lab- and field-based experiments, I explored the evolutionary mechanism for the pattern, as well as co-grading environmental variables, namely temperature and predation, that may have led to the observed pattern. In this presentation, I outline the results of these experiments, showing that the body size pattern is adaptive and both predation risk and temperature may be important evolutionary forces in its development.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
RipCur: Smartphone App for Rip Current Reporting
Date: Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dr. Jon Miller, Coastal Processes Specialist at New Jersey Sea Grant and Research Assistant Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: The RipCur smartphone app was developed by a group of computer science senior design students at Stevens Institute of Technology. The project was guided by researchers at Stevens, the NJ Sea Grant coastal processes specialist, National Weather Service personnel, and former lifeguards enrolled at Stevens. The app provides a way for lifeguards to communicate with one another in real-time and to relay that information to interested parties including the NWS, and the US Coast Guard. Access to the app is restricted via a username and password and is not intended for distribution to the public. Authorized lifeguards simply identify a rip and input a few details and the app does the rest. The cell phone�s GPS is used to locate the rip, and the app automatically queries nearby buoys and tide gauges to obtain auxiliary information. Once input, the rip becomes a part of the active dataset and is viewable either in a list format or on a map by other lifeguards and researchers. The data also populates a database which is fully searchable. This allows lifeguard administrators and researchers the ability to identify the rips occurring at specific times or during specific conditions. The pilot version is currently being used by about a dozen beach patrols in New Jersey; however interest in the app has come from as far away as Israel and Australia.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
How NESDIS Contributes to NOAA's Strategic Goals
Date: Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Mary Kicza, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: NESDIS satellite observations and data center products and services are the foundation of a large number of NOAA's key mission offerings. NESDIS Assistant Administrator Mary Kicza will outline how NESDIS supports the activities of each NOAA line office, and supports the goals of NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The use of autonomous underwater vehicles in studies of mesophotic and deep water corals
Date: Thursday, August 9, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Roy A. Armstrong, NCAS, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Recent studies on mesophotic coral ecosystems (30-150 m) throughout the US Caribbean describe, for the first time, abundant and structurally complex coral reefs on low-gradient platforms. Information on deep coral ecosystems (>150 m depth) in this region is even more scarce and largely limited to taxonomic listings from incidental collections by coral entanglement devices. The Seabed autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), which was designed for high-resolution underwater optical and acoustic imaging, has provided unprecedented information on the distribution, community structure, and status of mesophotic reefs throughout the U.S. Caribbean. Preliminary surveys of deep coral ecosystems off western Puerto Rico show diverse azooxanthellate coral and invertebrate fauna at depths of over 200 m. For both mesophotic and deep coral ecosystems, the AUV benthic assessments can provide the required qualitative and quantitative data for selecting unique areas of high biodiversity and structural complexity for habitat protection and ecosystem based management.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Heat Transport and Dynamics of Past Climates
Date: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Fern Gibbons, US Senate Commerce Committee
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Studying past oceanic conditions can give us insight into global climate dynamics. Records of direct temperature measurement often only span the last 150 years; in many cases they are much shorter. Proxies are measurements that allow us to infer climatic conditions, and thus can be used to supplement and extend climate records. 20,000 years ago massive ice sheets covered large portions of North America and Western Europe. The transition from that glacial climate to our modern conditions was not a continuous warming. There were several abrupt coolings that interrupted the warming trend. Our proxy reconstructions suggest that oceanic and atmospheric circulations were different during abrupt coolings than they were during either glacial conditions or during the modern. During the abrupt coolings the oceans likely transferred less heat to the northern latitudes, while the atmosphere transferred more. This switch displaced the major tropical rain belts and caused widespread drought along the equator, demonstrating that tropical rainfall amount and patterns can be extremely sensitive to temperature changes.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Effects of Life History Strategy and Uncertainty on a Probability-Based Approach to Managing the Risk of Overfishing
Date: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Emily Susko, National Sea Grant Office
Abstract: Recent U.S. legislation applies a precautionary approach to setting catch regulations in federal fisheries management. A transparent approach to compliance proposes that managers choose an allowable risk of overfishing, P*, which specifies the probability that scientists� catch recommendation exceeds the true value of the overfishing limit (OFL). This approach aims to manage the risk of overfishing explicitly, but a chosen "allowable risk" does not alone provide sufficient information on the real risks associated with the resulting control rule. Rather, the ramifications of selected allowable risk levels depend on the amount of uncertainty in the stock assessment and on the life history of the species in question. To evaluate the risks associated with P*-based rules, my study simulated fishing three example species under three levels of uncertainty.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Impacts of student research: What I gained from my work at NOAA
Date: Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Heather Eberhart, 2010 Recipient of the NOAA Award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Research is often touted as a quintessential part of the college experience. My research began well before college, culminating in the Design and Development of a Portable Light Trap for Sampling Brachyuran Crab Larvae, which I entered in the 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Selected as the winner of "The Pulse of the Planet" award given by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), I earned a fully-paid internship at one of NOAA�s facilities during the summer of 2012. Based on my career and professional goals, I elected to take an assignment with the Center for Oceanographic Products and Services� Ocean System Test and Evaluation Program (OSTEP), which is comprised of a small group of physical scientists and marine technicians focused on research, development, and testing of new and improved oceanographic and meteorological measurement systems. While in OSTEP, my research was extremely varied. Time was spent testing and evaluating ultrasonic wind sensors, plotting and analyzing current data to assist with field test planning for a new Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), assisting with preparation for lab testing with new microwave radar water level sensors, and processing environmental data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility at Duck, NC to assist with field test planning for visibility and microwave radar level sensors. During this seminar, my various research projects will be discussed in further detail and ultimately I will consider how each impacted my career plans and interests.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
E-reader Access: Making NOAA Technical Memoranda Available on Mobile Devices
Date: Friday, August 17, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Rachelle Jacobson and Rebecca Wynne, NOAA Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA)
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Currently, CCMA technical memoranda are usually available as PDFs through a few NCCOS Center webpages, including project pages. In this technology age, more and more people are relying on E-readers to view publications of all types. This presentation will provide an overview of the process NCCOS used to provide the Public access to its science and research technical memoranda through some E-reader platforms on the market.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Performance Measurement and Program Evaluation: What�s the Difference?
Date: Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: John Bortniak (NMFS OMB), John Baek (NOAA Office of Education), and Laurie Eckstrand (NOAA PPI)
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Download Audio (mp3 format)
Download Audio (WMA format). Download free Windows Media Player
Abstract: Performance measurement and program evaluation are related but distinct aspects of performance management. This Brown Bag discussion will define them, and focus on similarities, differences, and how they relate to each other. Although the presenters will use a brief power point presentation to focus the discussion, the emphasis will be on an interactive session to address questions and comments from the audience.
Note:This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Climate and Earth System Science: Use-inspired Research and Advancing the Frontiers
Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Venkatachala "Ram" Ramaswamy, Director, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Abstract: Major advances have occurred in recent times in the global modeling of the Earth system, arising due to improved understanding of the fundamental governing processes and increased availability of high-performance supercomputing. These have enabled models to be developed with (a) more realism yielding, in turn, significant progress in climate and Earth system science, and (b) enhanced spatial resolution for deriving regional-scale climate information. Examples of this will be presented using the NOAA/ GFDL global model simulation results submitted to the World Climate Research Program�s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and the IPCC Fifth Assessment (AR5), with emphasis on atmospheric chemistry-climate interactions, biogeochemistry-climate interactions, and study of extremes and decadal predictability. NOAA/ GFDL�s future plans are focused on advancing the state-of-the-art modeling of the climate and Earth system with greater spatial resolution and accuracy, underpinned by the increased scientific understanding of the controlling mechanisms, better characterization of uncertainties, and a balanced assessment of the strengths/ limitations in projections and predictions.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Options
Date: Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Brian Sigwart, ChFEBC, Financial Advisor Representative, Metlife
Abstract: The Federal Government Life Insurance Seminar explains the different Life Insurance options for Employees of the Federal Government. It explores how it works, what the benefits are, how it compares to private insurance, and what happens when an employee retires or gains other employment. It breaks down FEGLI�s different options as a current employee and the conversion options available. As a Chartered Federal Employee benefits Consultant (ChFEBCSM) Designee, Brian Sigwart has the skills needed to adequately address the unique financial needs of Federal Government Employees. He will describe the interworkings of the Life Insurance provided through the Federal Government and answer any questions attendees have specific to their individual policies.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Department of Energy Water Power Program Resource Assessments and Wave and Tidal Technologies
Date: Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Brooke White, Wind and Water Power Program, US Department of Energy
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The Wind and Water Power Program is invested in comprehensive analysis of wind and water energy potential for future electricity production. In early 2012, the Water Power Program released reports that assess the total technically recoverable energy available in the nation's waves, tidal streams, and non-powered dams. The program plans to release additional program-funded assessments of ocean current and ocean thermal resources in addition to conventional and hydrokinetic terrestrial hydropower resources in 2012 and 2013. A variety of technologies are being developed to harness these ocean energy resources. Unlike wind power, where technology has largely settled on a single basic design, there are a variety of wave and tidal energy converter designs. For wave energy this includes attenuators, overtopping, oscillating water column, oscillating wave surge converter, and point absorbers. Tidal technologies include horizontal axis turbines, vertical axis turbines and oscillating hydrofoils.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Removing Market Barriers for Marine Renewable Energy
Date: Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Meghan Massaua, Wind and Water Power Program, US Department of Energy
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Marine renewable energy holds great potential in both the U.S. and abroad as a source of non-carbon emitting renewable energy located near areas of high population load. Within the United States, a variety of marine renewable energy resources can be harnessed, and energy potential is great. However, to date, no offshore wind farms have been constructed in the U.S. and marine and hydrokinetic deployments have largely been at the pilot or demonstration scale. The Wind and Water Power Program�s market acceleration and deployment programs focus on removing barriers to the advancement of marine renewable energy. One such barrier is the complex regulatory pathways involving multiple jurisdictions and statutory and regulatory authorities. For instance, deployment within a single leasing block may trigger numerous Federal statutes, State statutes, consideration of Tribal Usual and Accustomed Areas and rights, and a multitude of regulatory processes. Another barrier includes the uncertainty surrounding environmental impacts associated with marine renewables in the U.S. Finally, planning for multiple uses in our oceans and Great Lakes presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the marine renewable industry to site projects in a complex seascape. I will present some of DOE�s recent work addressing these issues.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Coastal Blue Carbon briefing by Restore America�s Estuaries
Date: Monday, September 17, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Steve Emmett-Mattox, Restore America's Estuaries
Abstract: Coastal Blue Carbon refers to the concept that coastal marine ecosystems such as sea grass, salt marsh, and mangroves are significant carbon stores and contribute to ongoing reductions of atmospheric carbon through sequestration. There are opportunities through market and policy mechanisms to utilize coastal blue carbon as a tool for simultaneously achieving estuary restoration/protection goals and climate mitigation/adaptation goals. Restore America�s Estuaries has been at the forefront of advancing coastal blue carbon policies and tools in the U.S. and will provide information about the potential carbon values of these coastal wetland systems and progress toward linking wetlands carbon with restoration and protection.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Building Capacity to Measure, Analyze, and Evaluate Government Performance
Date: Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Kathy Newcomer, George Washington University
Abstract: Dr. Newcomer will discuss the need to view program evaluation and performance measurement not as separate functions but as a synergistic whole. This holistic view of performance management can increase the benefits from application of professional evaluation skills and standards to performance measurement practice, and can increase the capacity for evaluation that leads to organizational learning. She will discuss a number of steps that organizations can take to both enhance learning and improve performance through evaluation.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Diversity of the Microbes Associated with Lophelia pertusa, a Cold-Water Coral
Date: Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Julie Galkiewicz, NOAA OAR Communications Office
Abstract: Cold-water corals such as Lophelia pertusa are centers of biodiversity in the deep sea, providing habitat for hundreds of marine species and acting as nurseries for commercially important fish. Because these corals lack the symbiotic algae typical of many shallow-water corals, it is hypothesized that the microbial community associated with the coral may play an important role in nutrient cycling. A combination of culture work and molecular methods were used to examine these microbes, which include bacteria, archaea, fungi and other microeukaryotes. Samples of the coral were collected throughout the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic at depth via submersible and remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs). The diversity of microbes was investigated with a variety of methods, including culturing, 16S PCR, and metagenomics. The combination of abroad suite of methods ensured a more comprehensive view of the total diversity of the coral-associated microbes, which were found to include fungi, viral-like sequences, and dominated by the bacterial phyla Firmicutes, Alphaproteobacteria,and Gammaproteobacteria.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Evaluating vessel traffic in the US high Arctic: Patterns from current and historic vessel position data
Date: Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Alyson Azzara, NOAA Committee on Marine Transportation Systems
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Video Barrow Ice Coverage (avi format)
Abstract: Although the U.S. is an Arctic nation, there is little historic data on the number of vessels transiting the North Slope. Thus, it is very difficult to determine where infrastructure development and support is most needed in order to prioritize projects. Additionally, there is little data available on the diversity of vessels in the high Arctic. In order to better understand what infrastructure is needed to best support ongoing activities in the Arctic it is necessary to determine what types of vessels are using the Arctic. Current and established uses of the North Slope include seismic exploration, commercial vessels for supply delivery, Coast Guard vessels and ice breakers for support of transiting vessels. The data presented provide a snapshot into vessel presence in the Arctic and indications of traffic patterns. By combining historic vessel sighting data from NOAA�s National Marine Mammal Lab aerial surveys, recent AIS ship position data, and Satellite ice coverage data, it is possible to resolve emerging vessel use patterns in the Arctic based on ice retreat cycles and start to plan for a future where the complexity of activities occurring in such harsh conditions requires a new type of physical and informational infrastructure.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: Kenli Schaaf, Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs, US Department of State; and Allison Reed, NOAA Office of International Affairs
Abstract: Please join us for a brown bag presentation on the ocean outcomes of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Kenli Schaaf of the Department of State�s Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs and Allison Reed of NOAA's Office of International Affairs, who both attended the Rio+20 meeting as members of the U.S. delegation, will discuss the negotiating process, the oceans text in the outcome document (The Future We Want), how the oceans outcomes relate to U.S. priorities, and what�s next.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Using underwater video for assessing abundance and behavior of black sea bass and seafloor habitats
Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Bradley G. Stevens, NOAA EPP Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Trawl surveys have been used to assess marine resources for many years, but they cannot be used in areas of heterogeneous habitats such as reefs and rock outcrops. Black sea bass (BSB) are common inhabitants of such areas on the continental shelf, and for this reason NOAA trawl surveys cannot adequately assess their abundance. We are developing new methods for in-situ assessment of BSB, their behavior, and habitats using video. In 2011, video surveys were conducted using modified commercial traps with multiple video cameras attached. Sampling consisted of two one-hour sets with bait (squid) and two without bait on 11 days at six sites off coast of Ocean City, MD. Fish were counted in video frames sampled at 30 sec intervals and the mean number per frame was calculated and compared between sets. Fish were more abundant at sites with heterogeneous habitats, and more fish were seen at baited than at unbaited traps. Proportions of approaching fish that were caught in traps were similar in the ocean (1.4%) and in the large mesocosm tank (3.1%) at the NMFS Sandy Hook Lab. In 2012 we used a stand-alone video camera platform at two sites, and sampled fish simultaneously with timed rod-and-reel fishing. Preliminary data indicates that R&R; surveys can detect significant differences in abundance even with only 60% of the data analyzed. Future studies will compare video counts of fish to commercial trap catches. Surveys of seafloor habitats using a towed video camera sled are being conducted preliminary to leasing of offshore sites for windpower generation; these show that heterogeneous habitat is a small portion of overall seafloor which mostly consists of sand and sand-shell regions.
Work supported by NOAA Office of Education, Educational partnership Program Awards # NA06OAR4810163; NA11SEC4810002; and camera sled studies were supported with funding from MD-DNR with BOEM.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 NOAA EPP Cooperative Science Center Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Oysters� Contribution to Water Column Filtration
Date: Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Kristen Jabanoski, NOAA OAR Congressional Analysis and Relations Division
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Benthic suspension feeders such as oysters can have a significant impact on marine ecosystems through removal of particulate matter from the water column. Oysters are considered an important control on phytoplankton growth in estuaries because they feed primarily on phytoplankton and tend to form dense reefs. The substantial decline in the Chesapeake Bay�s oyster populations during the past century has been implicated in the eutrophication and overgrowth of phytoplankton in that ecosystem. Ostrea equestris (Say 1834), known commonly as the crested oyster, is a non-reef building and noncommercial species which co-occurs in the Carolinas with the commercially-harvested and well-studied Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Once considered rare and cryptic, recent surveys have indicated that the crested oyster is much more common than previously known. To better understand the role of O. equestris in its ecosystem and its potential interactions with C. virginica, I completed a novel investigation on the scaling relationship between biomass and filtration rates for O. equestris, as well as how environmental factors such as flow speed and concentration of phytoplankton affect filtration. I found that O. equestris� filtration rates per unit biomass were about thirty times lower than C. virginica, and that they filter most efficiently at moderate flow speeds (10 cm/s). The results indicate that O. equestris does not have nearly the same filtering capacity as C. virginica, but responds similarly to environmental factors.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane in Freshwater Wetland Ecosystems
Date: Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Kate Segarra, Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy
Abstract: Freshwater wetlands are characterized by high rates of methanogenesis and are the single largest source of atmospheric methane. Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), a previously underappreciated process in these systems, may be an important component in freshwater methane budgets. Here we report some of the first direct measurements of AOM in wetland sediments. We examined seasonal methane cycling within three freshwater wetlands (two peat wetlands and one tidal, freshwater creekbank) along the eastern coast of the US. Rates of AOM were high (up to 286 nmol cm-3d-1) and varied on a seasonal basis. Despite low sulfate concentrations, rates of sulfate reduction were sufficient to support all the observed AOM activity, though rates of these two processes were not correlated. The zone of AOM activity was marked by enriched stable carbon isotopic signatures (δ13C) of methane and depleted signatures of DIC. However, the δ13C of archaeal and bacterial lipids were not indicative of methanotrophy. Studies that evaluate the role of AOM in wetlands using lipid and isotope-based approaches may therefore underestimate its importance. This study highlights the importance of AOM in freshwater sediments, where this process may control emissions of methane to the atmosphere. Both SR and AOM may effectively limit the methane emissions from these wetlands through competitive interactions with methanogens and the consumption of large fractions of the methane produced from acetate and hydrogen.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
What pirates can teach us about integrated decision support
Date: Friday, October 5, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dr. David Titley, Deputy Under Secretary for Operations, NOAA
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Please join us for a brown bag presentation by our Deputy Under Secretary for Operations, Dr. David W. Titley. Dr. Titley recently joined NOAA from the US Navy, where he served as a naval officer for 32 years and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. Dr. Titley�s career included duties as Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy; director, Task Force Climate Change; and Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance. Dr. Titley will describe an application for forecasting encounters with modern day pirates off the coast of Somalia, and how we can make use of our environmental data to support operational decisions.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The role of bibliometrics in evaluating scientific research
Date: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Chris Belter, NOAA Central Library
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Bibliometric analysis is increasingly being used to evaluate the scientific research of authors, institutions, and countries. This increased use has unfortunately led to the misapplication of bibliometric indicators such as the Impact Factor and the H-Index, due primarily to a lack of understanding as to what these metrics actually measure. This session will provide a high-level overview of the types of questions that bibliometrics can and cannot answer, show how bibliometrics provides answers to these questions, and provide a recommendation of how bibliometric analysis can be combined with informed peer review to provide a more holistic evaluation of scientific research.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Spatial Planning and Bio-Economic Analysis for Offshore Shrimp Aquaculture in Mexico
Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Michaela Clemence, NOAA Office of the Under Secretary
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Global demand for shrimp is currently met with wild caught and farmed species, both of which are frequently environmentally and economically unsustainable. Offshore aquaculture is an emerging alternative that shows promise for reducing or eliminating many concerns embedded in existing capture fishery and land-based aquaculture practices. Aquapods are a new offshore aquaculture cage system that could provide a path to sustainable shrimp production, but little is known regarding optimal placement or economic viability of this new technology. This project uses an innovative spatial bio-economic analysis to provide a strategic framework for implementing offshore shrimp aquaculture with greater certainty of success. To better inform the planning, management and research priorities of Aquapod operations in Mexico, this project couples marine spatial planning with bio-economic modeling and sensitivity analyses to identify suitable sites for Aquapod implementation and evaluate the economic viability of Aquapod operations. Our model indicates that only a small proportion of our study areas are suitable for Aquapod implementation and that none of the potential locations are expected to be profitable. We found that profitability is driven by both spatial variability and operational decisions, and by locating Aquapods close to shore and reducing feed and labor costs, managers can help ensure the economic viability of Aquapod operations.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Emerging Infectious Disease in Marine Mammals: Sentinels of Environmental Change
Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Deborah Fauquier, Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Program, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: In 1992, Title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act was amended to establish the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) which directs NOAA in consultation with the Department of the Interior, the Marine Mammal Commission and other experts to facilitate the collection and dissemination of reference data on the health of marine mammals and health trends of marine mammal populations in the wild; correlate the health of marine mammals and marine mammal populations, in the wild, with available data on physical, chemical, and biological environmental parameters; and coordinate effective responses to unusual mortality events. The MMHSRP has been operational for 20 years evaluating infectious disease, harmful algal bloom biotoxins, and chemical contaminants in marine mammals.
Although multiple infectious diseases have been discovered in marine mammals since 1992, recent emerging marine mammal infectious diseases have been found along our coast including some with potential implications for human and marine mammal population health. In the late 2000s Cryptococcus gatti was isolated from stranded cetaceans along the Pacific Northwest. This increase in cases in porpoises coincided with increased disease in the human population, domestic animals and terrestrial wildlife. Current environmental conditions appear to support this pathogen becoming endemic along the Pacific Northwest coast. In early 2010 Coxiella burnetti was discovered at a high prevalence in northern fur seals in the Pribilof Islands and subsequent follow-up testing found increased levels of contamination at rookery sites. Recently in 2011, an outbreak of avian influenza (H3N8) was found to have caused mortality in stranded harbor seals along the Northeast coast. The seal virus contained mutations that have been shown to enable other flu viruses to more easily infect mammals and has raised concern over the threat posed by this virus to both animals and people. Additionally, over the last two years increased detection of marine brucellosis cases in stranded cetaceans across the United States has led to an increased effort to understand the potential impacts of this disease on animal and human health. Lastly, a recent unusual mortality event in Alaska involving ice seals and walrus has increased the need for collaborative research across countries, research disciplines, and the public health sector to address subsistence harvest issues related to emerging disease conditions in marine mammals.
In addition to concerns about the health of marine mammal populations and the health of the ocean environment, public health issues over the risk of disease exposure to marine mammal workers or through food safety and security concerns have been raised in all of the above mentioned disease events. NOAA is working in collaboration with various branches of CDC, state public health, wildlife biologists and veterinarians, and other federal partners to increase our understanding of emerging diseases in marine mammals and the potential role of environmental change. Studies are underway to determine if the pathogens are changing, shifting geographic ranges, and/or hosts, or if the distribution or susceptibility of the animals has altered. However in ocean ecosystems which may be significantly impacted by environmental change and anthropogenic activities, it is essential that integrated wildlife disease surveillance and investigations continue with increased cooperation with the public health sector. Given the biology of marine mammals, their use as subsistence food, the land-sea connection, and the occurrence of shared pathogens, marine mammals may serve as excellent sentinels for early health warning systems on the impacts of climate change.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
On the Verge: International Development of Deep Seabed Hard Minerals
Date: Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Caitlyn Antrim, Executive Director, Rule of Law Committee for the Ocean
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The International Seabed Authority has approved 17 contracts for exploration of mineral deposits on the seabed beyond national jurisdiction, including with commercial firms from the United Kingdom and Belgium and organizations from Russia, China, India, South Korea and Japan. In spite of the interruption in the rising growth of demand for nickel, copper and other seabed metals during the "great recession," prospects are looking up for the deep seabed mining industry - at least for nationals of states parties to the Law of the Sea Convention.
Caitlyn Antrim will give an overview of the technical, economic, market, legal and political factors that have led to the doubling of International Seabed Authority contracts in the past two years and the constraints on the sole remaining U.S. holder of NOAA licenses for commercial exploration of sites in the Pacific Ocean. Her presentation will include a status report on the International Seabed Authority as it begins to prepare rules and regulations for exploitation of seabed nodules, and the prospects for commercial development of deep seabed minerals inside and outside of the Law of the Sea Convention.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
How to Write Great Performance Measures
Date: Monday, November 5, 2012 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: John Bortniak, NMFS Office of Management and Budget
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Presentation Slides with speaker's comments (pdf)
Abstract: As part of the continuing series presented by the NOAA SEE Evaluation Committee, John Bortniak will present this tutorial on writing performance measures. Topics to be addressed include the difference between milestones and measures, the components of a proper measure, types of measures, balancing the tradeoffs of using outputs and outcomes in your performance portfolio, introduction to the use of logic model to frame measures, trigger question to help develop measures, pitfalls to be avoided, the use of business rules for performance measures, and a quality checklist.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Two Geodesic Missions to the Equator: 18th and 20th Centuries
Date: Friday, November 9, 2012 at 12:00pm EST
Speakers: Larrie D. Ferreiro, Director of Research, DAU Center for Defense Acquisition Research and Ernesto Capello, Associate Professor of History and Latin American Studies, Macalester College
Part 1 abstract: In the early eighteenth century, at the peak of the Enlightenment, an unlikely team of European scientists and naval officers set out to the equator on the world's first international, cooperative scientific expedition, intent on resolving one of mankind's oldest mysteries: the true shape of the Earth. A nation that could accurately determine the planet's shape could securely navigate its oceans, giving it great military and imperial advantages. What seemed to be a straightforward scientific exercise was almost immediately marred by a series of unforeseen catastrophes, as the voyagers found their mission threatened by treacherous terrain, a deeply suspicious populace, and their own hubris.
Part 2 abstract: In the midst of the acceleration of an international thrust toward ever more precise measurements of the shape of the Earth at the tail end of the nineteenth century, a call to resurvey the arc of the equatorial meridian emerged in geodesic circles. In 1898, the French Bureau des Longitudes, still smarting from the defeat of Paris as the global Prime Meridian the previous decade, offered to conduct the necessary surveys in commemoration of the Gallic role in the first great equatorial survey of the eighteenth century. A military mission subsequently returned to Ecuador between 1899 and 1906 and conducted geodesic, astronomical, meteorological, archaeological and anthropological studies of the Andean corridor previously explored by Enlightenment savants. Besides presenting an overview of these surveys, this presentation considers this expedition as a moment of scientific commemoration in which the politics of memory proved as integral as the measurements themselves. It explores just why the French returned to Ecuador instead of their colonial territory in Congo, why they took pains to build pyramidal monuments to celebrate their progress, why these continued following their departure from South America, and the means whereby the Ecuadorian intelligentsia and indigenous communities impacted these efforts as contributors, detractors, and challengers of the impartiality of science.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Overview of the Department of Commerce Performance Excellence Program
Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Speaker: Christine Heflin, Department of Commerce
Abstract: The presentation will describe this Department of Commerce (DOC) program and how it fits into government-wide efforts to improve operations. There will also be material on the basics of Balanced Scorecard systems and process improvement methods. Balanced Scorecards and process improvement are core elements of performance management at DOC.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Global Surveillance for Pathogen Emergence in Marine and Terrestrial Wildlife
Date: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 1:00pm EST
Speakers: Jonna Mazet and Tracey Goldstein, One Health Institute and Wildlife Health Center, University of California, Davis
Abstract: In order to predict, detect, respond to, and prevent the emergence of infectious diseases, we must identify them at their source. Rapid human population growth and environmental changes have resulted in increased numbers of people living in close contact with animals in altered habitats, disrupting the ecological balance between pathogens and their hosts. Our One Health approach targets important sentinel species at active wildlife-human interfaces in hotspot regions and integrates risk modeling, molecular diagnostics, and intensive field studies to detect novel diseases with pandemic potential early, giving wildlife and human health professionals and resource managers the best opportunity to prevent emergence or control epidemics early. We will discuss current evidence of shifting wildlife and human pathogen dynamics in conjunction with land use change and climate variability in marine and terrestrial systems and illustrate the emergence of a potentially devastating pathogen in the Northeast Pacific, an unforeseen effect of global warming on marine mammal biodiversity.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Offshore Oil and Gas Development in the Arctic
Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Betsy Baker, Vermont Law School, and visiting scholar with the Extended Continental Shelf Task Force chaired by the State Department and co-chaired by NOAA and the Department of the Interior
Abstract: In her presentation, Prof. Baker will address increased interest in offshore oil and gas development in the Arctic that has led to greater scrutiny of applicable domestic and international standards. The Law of the Sea Convention provides a basis for States to harmonize their respective domestic policies with regard to preventing, reducing and controlling pollution of the marine environment arising from or in connection with seabed activities subject to their jurisdiction. She will also discuss harmonization initiatives, post-Deepwater, that aim not for identical regulations but for sharing of information and best practices among regulators. At the international level, she will discuss the Arctic Ocean Review (AOR) of the PAME Working Group of the Arctic Council, which will be presented at the 2013 Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting. The AOR is a comprehensive survey of international instruments relevant to the marine Arctic. She will focus on its discussion of offshore resource development but touch on other sections of the AOR as well (fishing, shipping, ecosystem based management).
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
New Perspectives on an Ancient Species: studying the feeding ecology of the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab from the air and land.
Date: Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Wan-Jean Lee, National Sea Grant Office
Abstract: The Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, Limulus polyphemus are well known for their spawning behavior, where large numbers aggregate along the high water mark. Concerns over sustainability of current levels of harvest of Limulus by the eel and whelk fisheries for bait and biomedical industries have resulted in increased efforts to understand the ecology of the species. The majority of on-going monitoring and management strategies focus on Limulus reproductive ecology and health of spawning habitat. There remains a lack of understanding of Limulus foraging ecology and habitats needed to support the trophic requirements of a population. I will discuss innovative aerial survey methods developed to examine the feeding ecology of Limulus in the Great Bay Estuary of New Hampshire, and new insights into Limulus ecology.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Changing Bio-economic Conditions, Vessel Responses, and Financial Outcomes in the Federal Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery; a 2006 through 2009 Comparison of Annual Vessel-Level Data
Date: Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Robert Jones, Office of Marine Conservation, US Department of State
Abstract: An understanding of how federally-permitted Gulf shrimp vessels have responded to changes in three major bio-economic conditions�shrimp prices, fuel prices, and shrimp abundance�is poorly understood. This research uses three National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) self-reported datasets in order to develop an economic profile of a sample of active vessels in the federal fishery from 2006 to 2009. A financial accounting framework is used to generate vessel-level averages for these vessels. An index of bio-economic conditions (BECI) is developed to summarize and quantify the major exogenous impacts on the fishery. New results on fishing effort, labor and efficiency are generated, and changes in these results are explained in reference to the BECI. Results indicate that the BECI fluctuated substantially from 2006 to 2009, decreasing in 2007 and 2008 before rebounding in 2009. Changes in fishing effort, fuel, labor and fixed costs, show a recognizable relationship to changes in the BECI. The consistent reporting of net losses from operations by the average vessel suggests that unless bio-economic conditions in the fishery dramatically improve or management action that restricts capacity is undertaken, federally-permitted Gulf of Mexico shrimp vessels will continue to struggle economically.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2012 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
2013 Brown Bags
Deep Sea Corals in the World's Largest Underwater Canyons: Will new data lead to new conservation measures in the Bering Sea?
Date: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Director, Greenpeace
Presentation slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Two of the largest underwater canyons in the world, Zhemchug and Pribilof, cut into the edge of the continental shelf in the southeastern Bering Sea. Data are presented showing the distribution of corals and sponges in these spectacular canyons, from submarine research undertaken in 2007 and 2012. High densities of corals were documented, and associations with rockfish demonstrated the corals' importance as fish habitat. Evidence of damage from fishing activities was observed in these remote canyons. Bottom trawling and other benthic fishing gear has been shown to damage corals and sponges that may be very slow to recover from such disturbance. Establishment of conservation zones is a cost effective means to protect benthic habitats in these canyons and the ecosystem services they provide.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Enhancing Program Performance Through Logic Modelling
Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speakers: Laurie Ekstrand, Evaluation Consultant, NOAA PPI; and John Baek, NOAA Office of Education
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: In this brown bag, Laurie Ekstrand and John Baek describe how program staff can use logic modelling (graphically illustrating the relationship between a programs� resources, activities, outputs and outcomes) to support program planning, design and continuous improvement. They will provide examples to illustrate key concepts, common barriers, and misconceptions.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The NOAA Sentinel Site Program
Date: Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Jim Sullivan, NOAA Office of Marine Sanctuaries
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The NOAA Sentinel Site Program is a place-based, issue driven approach to management. Sentinel Sites bring to bear the full force of NOAA monitoring, modeling and management to help solve concrete problems that people are facing in local communities. This will be a general overview of the program, the Cooperatives, the accomplishments, and next steps.
NOAA's Sentinel Site Program is an innovative effort built around our National Marine Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves. NOAA and our partners are joining forces to tackle specific coastal problems using existing resources, tools, and services to ensure that coastal communities are better prepared for the future.
It's all about synergy. We have many coastal regions around the nation with a lot of NOAA activity in terms of coastal and ecosystem monitoring, measurements, and tools. These regions also host a wealth of complementary federal, state, and local efforts. While all of these tools, resources, and programs are valuable in their own right, tying them together sets the stage to address specific, broader problems faced by coastal communities in each region.
The strength of the program is that it brings together a network of people, expertise, and resources that are tied to a single place with a common need. To date, five regions, called "Sentinel Site Cooperatives," are participating in the program.
The first order of business for NOAA's Sentinel Site Program is to shed light on impacts of climate change, specifically sea level change and coastal inundation. This effort gathers people from many backgrounds and disciplines to develop novel solutions to address real-world local problems, such as how to secure a housing development from rising sea levels or how to best protect a sensitive shoreline habitat.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Evaluation Planning, Logic Models and Program Design
Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Transcript of audio (rtf format)
Speakers: Sacheen Tavares-Leighton, Evaluation and Training Specialist, Coastal Services Center; and John Baek, Education Evaluator, Office of Education
Abstract: In this brown bag, Sacheen Tavares-Leighton and John Baek describe how evaluation planning processes connect to logic models and help inform program design. They will provide an example to illustrate the different uses of logic models during different phases of the evaluation planning processes and how that can inform program design.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
NOAA's 5 Year Research and Development Plan: Providing input and a path forward
Date: Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speakers: Bob Detrick, Assistant Administrator of OAR, and Shelby Walker, OAR Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: NOAA is America�s oldest science agency and our reach extends from the surface of the sun to the bottom of the sea. The NOAA Research and Development (R&D) enterprise provides the foundation to provide the public the valuable information and products NOAA creates.
The NOAA 5-Year R&D Plan will publicly present NOAA�s R&D priorities for 2013 � 2017 and help articulate and guide future R&D at NOAA. The current draft of the Plan has been developed as a cross Line Office initiative led by the NOAA Research Council. The foundation of the current plan is NOAA�s internal planning efforts under the Next Generation Strategic Plan and Strategy Execution and Evaluation Process. Other strategic documents, including NOAA�s Science Challenge Workshops, have enhanced the current draft.
To help create a useful and forward thinking plan, NOAA employees and affiliates are encouraged to provide input. Primary audiences for this plan include NOAA leadership and employees, NOAA stakeholders and partners, and Congress. The plan will be revised based on comments received from internal NOAA review and will be released for public comment in Spring 2013 � which is another opportunity to provide input into the plan.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Factors affecting the preservation or alteration of human remains, clothing or metals on the RMS Titanic and H.L Hunley
Date: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Paul Mardikian, Senior Conservator H.L. Hunley Project and Radiation Safety Officer, Clemson University
Abstract: This presentation will discuss how the macro and micro burial environments of a shipwreck can drastically affect the preservation or alteration of organic and inorganic materials. The impact of depth, salinity, temperature, oxygen, as well as other biological factors on these materials will be reviewed and their interaction with site formation processes identified. In this presentation, conservator Paul Mardikian will examine two shipwrecks, that of the RMS Titanic and the H.L Hunley, the latter a Civil War proto-submarine that sank off the coast of Charleston in 1864 with 8 crewmembers on board, and consider what we can learn from these two case studies.
Please note: Due to the senstive nature of the material being shown, remote access to this seminar will be restricted to NOAA staff only. Visual materials will not be transmitted via webinar; remote access for NOAA staff will be restricted to the audio portion.
Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus: How a South African Scallywag Became "The Flywheel of American Science"
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Sharon Moen, University of Minnesota Sea Grant
Abstract: To Walter Cronkite he was "the most interesting person I�ve ever interviewed." President Kennedy joked that the only science he knew was because of him. Colorful, sharp thinking, and intensely productive, Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus (1911-1998) was, among other things, the "Father of Sea Grant." Appointed by presidents and advisor to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, his breathtakingly diverse accomplishments include a sculpture that stands in downtown New York, an oceanographic tool that helped win WWII, and a mishap that fueled the Roswell Incident. As Dr. Spilhaus�s unconventional personality and notable contributions to science and the United States prove, you can do anything if you have the gall!
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Snowfall Shuffle: Changes in Global Distributions of Snow in Response to Climate Change
Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Sarah Kapnick, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Abstract: Understanding snowfall variability is key to understanding water supply in snowmelt-dominated regions. A new high-resolution global climate model CM2.5, developed at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, is used to explore snow variability in the present climate and as a result of doubling atmospheric CO2. Globally in CM2.5 and coarser models, snowfall increases in the high-to-mid latitudes and decreases in the mid-to-low latitudes. However, in mid-to-low latitudes, CM2.5 is unique in that its high resolution allows it to resolve complex mountain systems, leading to a change in sign in snowfall projections over high mountains in comparison to older models. Over the U.S., the future climate experiment exhibits significant reductions in average annual snowfall with the greatest percentages occurring in the south, along the eastern coast, and the Pacific Northwest.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Shannon Dionne, NOAA Office of International Affairs; Cheri McCarty, and Nina Young, NMFS Office of International Affairs
Abstract: The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (also known as CMS or the Bonn Convention) aims to conserve terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale. This presentation will focus on CMS as a whole as well as the three species-specific CMS MOUs to which the United States is signatory: the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (Sharks MOU); the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Cetaceans and their Habitats in the Pacific Island Region (Pacific Cetaceans MOU); and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia (IOSEA).
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Achieving Program Performance Excellence: What Using the Baldrige Criteria Can Do for Your Organization
Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dr. Sandra Byrne, Social Scientist, Baldrige National Quality Program, NIST
Abstract: What you will discover are the questions about seven critical aspects of managing and performing as an organization:
You can self assess your program by answering questions in these 7 focus areas that work together as a unique, integrated, systems-focused performance management framework. Answering the questions helps you:
As a result,
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Ocean Project: Updates and Major Findings
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: William Mott, Executive Director, The Ocean Project; and Douglas Meyer, Bernuth and Williamson
Abstract: An update on the major findings from The Ocean Project's ongoing public opinion and strategic communications research initiative, America and the Ocean, including how those findings have been distributed and are now being applied, especially by zoos, aquariums and museums in experimental efforts aimed at inspiring visitors to do more to help conserve the ocean.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Heat stress reduces labor capacity under climate warming
Date: Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: John Dunne, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: A fundamental aspect of greenhouse-gas-induced warming is a global-scale increase in absolute humidity. Under continued warming, this response has been shown to pose increasingly severe limitations on human activity in tropical and midlatitudes during peak months of heat stress. One heat-stress metric with broad occupational health applications is wetbulb globe temperature. We combine wet-bulb globe temperatures from global climate historical reanalysis and Earth System Model (ESM2M) projections with industrial and military guidelines for an acclimated individual�s occupational capacity to safely perform sustained labour under environmental heat stress (labor capacity) - here defined as a global population-weighted metric temporally fixed at the 2010 distribution. We estimate that environmental heat stress has reduced labor capacity to 90% in peak months over the past few decades. ESM2M projects labor capacity reduction to 80% in peak months by 2050. Under the highest scenario considered (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5), ESM2M projects labor capacity reduction to less than 40% by 2200 in peak months, with most tropical and mid-latitudes experiencing extreme climatological heat stress. Uncertainties and caveats associated with these projections include climate sensitivity, climate warming patterns, CO2 emissions, future population distributions, and technological and societal change.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Potable-Water Production and Shore Protection Using a Wave-Energy Conversion Technique
Date: Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: Michael E. McCormick and Robert C. Murtha, Murtech, Inc
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Two floating systems have been created for the diverse goals of the production of potable-water and the protection of shorelines. The basic ideas of leading to these systems is that products or services other than the production of electricity can effectively be supplied by exploiting the energy of ocean waves. The two systems discussed are designed to take advantage of the phenomenon of wave diffraction focusing. That is, by designing the floating systems to radiate waves that destructively interfere with the incident waves, wave energy is re-supplied to the zone of interference. As a result, the systems in question receive more wave energy than is in an incident wave crest having a width equal to the breadth of the body.
The system designed for potable-water production is an articulated hinged-barge system, called the Articulated Wave Energy Conversion System, or AWECS. The relative motions of the three barges comprising the system energize high-pressure water pumps positioned over the connecting hinges. These pumps supply the pressurized water to a reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination system. Research efforts leading to a prototype to be deployed this year include smallscale wave tank test and a nine year full-scale study of the articulated barge system. The 40-meter long prototype is designed to supply approximately 100,000 gallons-per-day in a near-shore wave climate having an average wave height of 1m and an average wave period of 6.5s. The deployment site is off the Delaware coast, north of the Indian River Inlet.
The shore protection system is called the Antenna Buoy (AB). The design is to take advantage of the diffraction focusing to attract wave energy. The wave energy incident upon the AB causes both axial and angular motions of the body. Because of the geometry, a significant portion of the captured energy is dissipated by viscous-pressure losses in the alternating wakes of the body. The primary geometric features causing the dissipation are vertical fins (radiating out from a vertical circular-cylindrical float) and a horizontal circular bottom plate. In full-scale tank tests, the body was found to reduce the transmission coefficient by up to 40%. Arrays of the AB will have three 2013 deployments in the Chesapeake Bay.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Extinction Risk in the Marine Realm: The Global Marine Species Assessment and the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: Roger McManus, IUCN SSC Senior Counsel; and Kent Carpenter, Old Dominion University
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Dr. Kent Carpenter and Roger McManus will review the IUCN Global Marine Species Assessment progress in conducting a review of 20,000 marine species under the standards of the IUCN Red List, with particular focus on the assessments conducted and planned for the Gulf of Mexico in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. They will summarize current efforts to provide tools for examining extinction risk and conservation status of marine species based on existing and potential threats. This project is a partnership with the Harte Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M; University -Corpus Christi. These tools are based on species data accumulated for the Red List assessments, including distributional data and spatial planning capacity, data on experts in Gulf species, and information on past and current recovery and conservation plans.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
"Beach Lovers" and "Greens":A Worldwide Empirical Analysis of Coastal Tourism
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Laura Onofri
Abstract: In this presentation, Dr. Laura Onofri will begin by discussing how markets work, and how environmental economists analyze non-market issues. Then, Dr. Onofri will present the results of her work on coastal tourism, published recently with Dr. Paulo Nunes in Ecological Economics. In this study, the authors examine issues of coastal tourism, and describe their worldwide analysis of domestic and international coastal tourism flows. After building a worldwide dataset including natural and economic coastal environments, the authors design an integrated-model that estimates the demand for coastal destinations. Dr. Onofri will share with us the results of this analysis, which show that there are two differentiated touristic demand segments, denoting different preferences for coastal tourism. She will then discuss these results from a tourism and conservation policy perspective.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Communities-Based Fisheries Management in Liberia
Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Patrick Sayon, World Bank West Africa Regional Fisheries Program, Coordinator for the Community Sciences Program in Liberia
Abstract: Liberia Community Sciences Program was designed and launched in 2009 with support from the World Bank. The Community Sciences program is designed to build capacity of Liberian artisanal fisher communities to monitor and better manage their local coastal and inshore marine resources. As both a resources management and an environment conservation tool, Community Sciences directly supports an ongoing policy shift in fisheries management in West Africa to a "rights based" approach. This policy shift assigns rights over exploitation of inshore marine resources to fisher communities, and largely devolves responsibility for the health and sustainability of those resources to those communities.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Fish Sex! How, Where, and When They Do It (and When They Don't Have To)
Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Grantly Galland, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, NOAA Office of International Affairs
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: There are well over 30 thousand species of fishes, living in water (most of the time) from desert springs and alpine lakes to deep ocean trenches, and while they all share that fundamental drive to reproduce, their methods are as varied as the habitats in which they live. With so many species to study, it's no wonder that we have learned that fishes have tried it all. If you can think of a way to reproduce, a fish has probably tried it. In fact, after a review of fish sex, I'm sure you'll agree that mammals (including humans) are downright un-creative! Sex change, hermaphroditism, multiple paternity, group spawning, sneak spawning, parthenogenesis, automictic parthenogenesis, gynogenesis, and hybridogenesis are just some of the amazing sexual "ideas" that other vertebrates (and some pop culture or science fiction writers) got from fishes.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Optimal Size of a Marine Protected Area (MPA): A BIOECONOMIC MODEL Integrated with "SASI" SYSTEM, Case of Eastern Indonesia
Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Umi Muawanah, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: MPA is a promising tool for fisheries management and conservation goal. At the same time, traditional marine tenures have existed centuries around the globe. This paper tries to take a closer look on the integration of modern fisheries management measures such as MPA and traditional system such as "Sasi" found in Eastern part of Indonesia. The bio-economic model determines the optimal size of an MPA incorporating both its economic and ecological benefits. We apply the framework to the sea cucumber fishery. The optimal MPA size to be 37.77 % of the total area and the combination of "Sasi" and MPA results in the highest economic returns compared to "Sasi (old traditional marine tenure in Molucca)" only and open access management systems. An important policy implication is that fishery management should consider a combination tool such as "Sasi" and MPA. Since the "Sasi" tradition is fading away in Indonesia, our finding could be important in supporting its revitalization.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Great Lakes Economies and Ecosystems: Will Extreme Low Water Levels Leave Them High and Dry?
Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: Steve Gill, NOAA COOPs; and Drew Gronewold, NOAA GLERL
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Record low water levels were at NOAA�s National Ocean Service (NOS) Center for Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) monitoring stations throughout the upper Great Lakes starting in December of 2012. Given the range of Great Lakes water level measurements, the fact that Lake Michigan-Huron reached "all-time" lows has significant implications for the region. Impacts include excessive receding of coastlines, reduced navigability of shipping channels, and diminished hydroelectric power capacity. NOAA CO-OPS, in partnership with NOAA�s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), are part of a regional collaboration of federal agencies focusing on understanding Great Lakes water level dynamics. NOAA�s monitoring infrastructure, including the CO-OPS monitoring stations, and modeling capabilities provide critical support of that collaboration.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Improve Program Results by Linking Planning and Performance: Part 1 � Primer
Date: Monday, April 29, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Liz Davenport, Senior Program Analyst, National Ocean Service, Management and Budget
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Have you been asked recently how your program achieved evidence of progress related to NOAA�s Next Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP) for FY 2011 and FY 2012? Did you identify noteworthy achievements and remaining challenges? Have you examined performance measures and milestones and other performance data and assessed their effectiveness in validating the evidence of progress?
Between now and February 2014, NOAA will amend the NGSP as required by GPRA MA for all Federal agencies. Knowing what you, your program, office, and leadership envision as �success� and how that advances priorities for NGSP Goal and Enterprise Objectives is critically important, particularly right now. This training (Part 1 and Part 2) can help you focus limited program and administrative resources for more meaningful results. Where are changes needed to improve strategy, budget, and/or performance? Are there ways to better focus limited program and performance management resources for more meaningful results? Part 1 is the foundation for Part 2, a primer followed by a toolkit, that together give you key principles and tools aligned with DOC/NOAA and OMB/Congressional requirements but adaptable to changing circumstances, the new norm. Between the summary slides and detailed appendices, these tools will stimulate thinking and may help detect what can be improved.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Ocean Fertilization, Marine Geoengineering and the London Convention/London Protocol
Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: Richard Mannix, International Section of NOAA's Office of General Counsel and Allison Reed, International Affairs Specialist, NOAA Office of International Affairs
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Richard Mannix from the International Section of NOAA's Office of General Counsel and Allison Reed from NOAA�s Office of International Affairs will provide an update on efforts within the international community to authorize and regulate legitimate scientific research into the use of ocean fertilization techniques as a climate mitigation measure. Their focus will be on recent developments at the London Convention and London Protocol and the movement there toward creation of mechanisms for the assessment and regulation of specific proposals to undertake, at a minimum, more advanced research in these techniques. Ms. Reed and Mr. Mannix will also discuss a growing interest among some of the Parties to the London Convention and Protocol to go a step further and to develop a broader regime to regulate other "marine geoengineering" activities as well. In addition, they will touch upon the recent unauthorized attempt to fertilize the ocean off the coast of British Columbia and the reaction of the international community to that effort. Ms. Reed will provide an overview of the process, discuss the position the U.S. has taken, and describe the progress which has been made by the Contracting Parties. Mr. Mannix will set the subject within the context of international law and discuss the relationship between the London Convention/Protocol and customary international law, as chiefly codified in the Law of the Sea Convention, and he will highlight some ethical and governance concerns.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
NOAA�s Habitat Blueprint - A new approach to Improving fisheries, marine life, and coastal community resiliency through habitat conservation
Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 2:00pm EDT
Speakers: Helen McMillan, NOAA Habitat Blueprint National Coordinator (Office of Habitat Conservation, NMFS)
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: NOAA�s Habitat Blueprint was created in 2011 to promote a more collaborative and integrated cross-NOAA approach to addressing NOAA�s habitat conversation mandates and to demonstrate the many positive impacts and benefits that NOAA�s habitat protection and restoration activities provide. This presentation will provide an overview of the three major components of the Blueprint - establishing Habitat Focus Areas, enhancing Habitat Science, and strengthening Habitat Policy and Legislation - and report on progress that has been made over the last two years. You will learn what a FAST is, how taking a place-based approach to addressing habitat conservation issues is creating new and exciting collaboration opportunities among NOAA Line Offices, how the Blueprint is connected to other related efforts such as the new NOAA Habitat Conservation Team and NOAA�s Sentinel Site Program, and who to talk to if you want to learn more about getting involved in this growing NOAA initiative.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
A US marine mammal conservation initiative through the IWC: Mitigating whale entanglement
Date: Friday, May 3, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: David Mattila, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Abstract: The IWC is the only global, intergovernmental organization dealing with all conservation and management issues related to large whales. With a membership of 88 countries the IWC provides a forum for governments from many different regions of the world to discuss issues relating to the conservation and management of whales. Through its scientific and management expertise, the US has made significant contributions to these efforts, including the understanding and mitigation of ship strikes, acoustic and other harassment, pollutants and disease, and entanglement (bycatch).
This presentation will focus in particular on significant progress in the understanding and mitigation of large whale entanglement made by a US initiative through the IWC. David Mattila, an expert on large whale entanglement response from NOAA-HIHWNMS, will present the projects and initiatives he has forwarded while on detail to the IWC.
Approximately 308,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die from entanglement in manmade materials every year. Based on a series of workshops hosted by the US (2010 & 2011), the member countries of the IWC agreed that:
The two highest, consensus recommendations made by the workshops, and subsequently endorsed by the member nations were:
To carry out these recommendations, the US detailed David Mattila to the IWC. The first objective of Mr. Mattila�s work at the IWC was to gather the directors of all of the world�s entanglement response programs in order to reach a consensus on disentanglement �best practices�, and a strategy and curriculum for capacity building. This is now the only marine animal rescue effort which has reached such international consensus on standards and protocols. Arising from that success, seminars, trainings and apprenticeships have been conducted for over 20 countries and more than 500 trainees from around the world, teaching all aspects of the science and management of the entanglement issue.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Improve Program Results by Linking Planning and Performance: Part 2 - Toolkit
Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Liz Davenport, Senior Program Analyst, National Ocean Service, Management and Budget
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Have you been asked recently how your program achieved evidence of progress related to NOAA�s Next Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP) for FY 2011 and FY 2012? Did you identify noteworthy achievements and remaining challenges? Have you examined performance measures and milestones and other performance data and assessed their effectiveness in validating the evidence of progress?
Between now and February 2014, NOAA will amend the NGSP as required by GPRA MA for all Federal agencies. Knowing what you, your program, office, and leadership envision as �success� and how that advances priorities for NGSP Goal and Enterprise Objectives is critically important, particularly right now. This training (Part 1 and Part 2) can help you focus limited program and administrative resources for more meaningful results. Where are changes needed to improve strategy, budget, and/or performance? Are there ways to better focus limited program and performance management resources for more meaningful results? Part 1 is the foundation for Part 2, a primer followed by a toolkit, that together give you key principles and tools aligned with DOC/NOAA and OMB/Congressional requirements but adaptable to changing circumstances, the new norm. Between the summary slides and detailed appendices, these tools will stimulate thinking and may help detect what can be improved.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Impact and Value of Establishing Hispanic Affinity Groups
Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Rosanna Torres, President, Census Latino Employee Organization (CLEO)
Abstract: Ms Torres will discuss how CLEO as an affinity group:
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Some like it hot: Physiology, biogeography, and the impacts of climate change on three marine mussel species
Date: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Elizabeth Fly, NOAA Climate Program Office; U.S. Global Change Research Program
Abstract: Understanding what factors affect the distribution of a species helps us better understand its life history and potential impacts from external forces such as climate change, habitat destruction, and the introduction of invasive species. The closely-related marine mussels Mytilus edulis, M. trossulus, and M. galloprovincialis provide an ideal study system for the effects of a changing environment on the biogeography of a species. These three species form a biogeographic replacement series with respect to temperature, as one species replaces another as climate varies with latitude. We examined several of the mechanisms potentially constraining the distribution of these species and developed mechanistic species distribution models to predict their biogeographic ranges.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Agricultural wetland restorations achieve diverse native wetland plant communities but differ from undisturbed wetlands
Date: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Metthea Yepsen, NOAA Restoration Center, NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation
Abstract: Ideally, restoration is the process of returning an ecosystem to a pre-disturbance state. In practice, specific functions and services are targeted in a restoration because it is too complex to attempt a complete ecosystem restoration. As part of a multi-investigator project to assess the effectiveness of USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service wetland restoration measures, we compared plant community composition in 47 sites in the USA Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina. Fifteen sites represented natural, unmanaged, wetlands from two hydrogeomorphic classes (depressions and flats; hereafter "natural" sites), 16 were farmed ditched and drained former wetlands ("prior-converted" sites), and 17 were restored depressional wetlands ("restored" sites). Findings indicated that restored wetlands had developed diverse native wetland plant communities but thus far differ from that of natural wetlands, raising questions about both the goals of ecosystem restoration and our ability to restore ecosystems back to pre-disturbance conditions.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit: Connecting Decision-makers, Landowners, and Users with Information and Tools for Preserving and Enhancing our Nation's Working Waterfronts
Date: Friday, May 17, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Stephanie Showalter Otts, J.D., Director, National Sea Grant Law Center
Abstract: This presentation will provide an overview of the newly launched Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit - a web-based information portal that contains a wealth of information about the historical and current use of waterfront space, the economic value of working waterfronts, and legal, policy, and financing tools that can be used to preserve, enhance, and protect these valuable areas. The Toolkit was developed by a subcommittee of the National Working Waterfront Network (NWWN) with the generous financial support of the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Please join us to learn more about the Toolkit, the NWWN, and working waterfront initiatives around the country.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Restoration of the Gulf of Mexico: The Need for a Collaborative Approach
Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: Eric Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, performing the functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Management, NOAA; and Lois Schiffer, General Counsel, NOAA
Abstract: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive damage to the Gulf Coast's natural resources and devastating local economies and communities that rely on a healthy Gulf ecosystem. This major oil spill occurred in an area already impaired by years of adverse environmental and economic impacts. After the immediate response to the spill, federal agencies and states began a series of steps to restore the ecosystem and the economies that depend on them. Three significant sources of funding will eventually be available to address these concerns. First, under the Oil Pollution Act, federal and state agencies with trust responsibility for the natural resources in the area have formed a Trustee Council to assess the damage and develop a restoration plan to restore the resources to their pre-spill status and compensate for lost use. They are also working to use the $1 billion early restoration money that BP has provided. Second, Congress passed the RESTORE Act in June, 2012; that law provides that 80% of any civil penalty funds paid under the Clean Water Act go to the Gulf and are to be spent under five different approaches including a science program. Finally, under criminal plea agreements with BP and Transocean, the Department of Justice recommended, and the Court adopted, payments of $2.8 billion to be made to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) for spending among the Gulf States for restoration and related purposes. The total amount of funds available through these processes remains uncertain.
Today we will focus on the work of science and restoration. State, federal and local agencies, academic institutions, environmental groups, and many other partners are actively working to plan and execute significant science and restoration efforts pursuant to the specific authorities that guide each process. Further all these efforts and the entire Gulf region will benefit from collaborative work toward a science-based approach to regional ecosystem restoration that focuses on the overall long-term health, prosperity and resilience of the Gulf region. This session will highlight the individual science and restoration efforts underway and identify potential approaches for enhanced coordination.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring, and Technology Program (aka NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program)
Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Russ Beard, Director, National Coastal Data Development Center, NODC, NESDIS; NOAA Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaboration Team Lead; Acting Director, NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: In July 2012, the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States (RESTORE) Act was signed into law. The RESTORE Act directs that the Clean Water Act penalties paid by the parties responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill be deposited into a trust fund and authorizes the trust fund to be used to support ecosystem and economic restoration along the Gulf coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. Included within the RESTORE Act is authorization for NOAA, in consultation with others, to administer a "Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring, and Technology Program" (aka NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program). Russ Beard (Acting Program Director) will provide an overview of the program - its mission, framework, organizational structure, focus areas, expected duration, and types of activities eligible to be funded. The importance of leveraging and building partnerships and the relationship of the Science Program to the other science and restoration activities in the Gulf of Mexico will also be discussed.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Invisible Lines in the Ocean: An Introduction to the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf and Maritime Boundaries
Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Brian Van Pay, US Department of State
Abstract: The United States has one of the most complex set of invisible lines in the world that compose our maritime zones and maritime boundaries. These invisible lines determine the extent of our sovereign rights and the resources we can protect, manage, and use. The United States has the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world (more than 11 million square kilometers) and one of the largest Extended Continental Shelves (ECS) in the world (more than 1 million square kilometers). Complicating this picture is the fact that our maritime zones overlap with the maritime zones of 16 different countries across the globe. While the United States only has three land boundaries, it may need as many as 29 maritime boundaries with these 16 countries, and slightly more than half of those maritime boundaries have yet to be resolved. But how are all these invisible lines in the ocean determined? Join us for a presentation from Brian Van Pay from the Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs at the Department of State, where he serves as Executive Director of the Extended Continental Shelf Project and member of the maritime boundary negotiating team.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Marine reserves, an economic approach: using data on behavior to recommend a fine
Date: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Marie L. Fujitani, Knauss Fellow, NMFS Office of Aquaculture
Abstract: Marine reserves can protect resources while sustaining economies dependent on the sea. For reserves to "succeed" they must alter the behavior of human users, and often a fine is employed. Fine amounts can be arbitrary, and may be too low to be effective or too high to be socially or politically palatable. I use recreational angling trip data from a region in Mexico to model how anglers altered travel choices in response to a marine reserve, and evaluated the "fine" anglers perceived and responded to. The value (and behavioral change) is small. I then project fines that would reduce trips to the reserve, showing a non-linear increase in fine to discourage an additional unit of travel. These results suggest for this system a process to find a data-driven level of fine that can be both effective and not undesirably high. My talk touches upon work by Nobel Laureate in economics Gary Becker on rational law-breaking.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
A Critical Discussion of Critical Habitat Designations: Is Compliance With the National Environmental Policy Act Required?
Date: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Mele N. Coleman, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Specialist, Office of Program Planning & Integration (PPI)
Abstract: If you are interested in NOAA's efforts to protect species that are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), you will most likely be interested in learning about Mele's legal research on whether critical habitat designations under the ESA require NEPA compliance. During this brown bag, Mele will discuss her article on the issue, entitled: A Critical Discussion of Critical Habitat Designations: Is Compliance With the National Environmental Policy Act Required? This article was published in Environmental Law (Lewis & Clark Law School) in Fall 2012, and is available online (pdf). In essence, the article tells the stories behind a 27 year-old split between the Ninth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals, argues that critical habitat designations should not require NEPA compliance, and encourages NOAA and FWS to maximize their conservation of endangered and threatened species by jointly developing a consistent national policy on NEPA compliance.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Protective Action and Evacuation Responses During Hurricane Katrina: A Gendered Analysis
Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Michelle Dovil, student at the Howard University/NOAA Center of Atmospheric Science (NCAS)
Presentation slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The impending threats of natural hazards have become a major part of our daily lives. Every year, thousands of weather forecasts are disseminated to inform, warn, and prepare citizens regarding the forthcoming activity of weather hazards. The United States alone is susceptible to over eight different types of natural hazards throughout each of its geological regions. Hazards such as floods, earthquakes, snowstorms, and hurricanes in recent years have caused billions of dollars in damage and thousands of deaths. In order to reduce the impact of these hazards, effective risk communication is imperative. A risk population's ability to receive and perceive warning messages has a direct influence on the protective action behavior they choose to engage in during times of disaster. The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which the Protective Action Decision Model could be utilized to explain risk communication and protective action behaviors as it relates to gender. In so doing, this study assessed the impact of informational warnings, protective action recommendations, and receiver characteristics on the protective actions by men and women during Hurricane Katrina. Gender was especially examined to see if it would have any significant impact on whether or not an individual chose to evacuate prior to Katrina making landfall.
Furthermore, it is important to note that an individual can take protective actions and not evacuate. This is not to suggest that protective actions take precedence over evacuating, especially in such extreme cases like Katrina, but this study does seek to shed light on how at risk populations prepare when evacuating is not an option. Results from this study revealed that gender did not have a significant impact on taking protective actions. Although women were more likely to take protective actions than men, in some cases the differences were not that significant. However, results from this study were consistent with the PADM in assessing protective actions based on informational warnings, protective action recommendations, and some receiver characteristics as all three components were found to be significant in relation to at least half of the protective actions recommended.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Satellite Oceanography of Fronts
Date: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Igor Belkin, University of Rhode Island
Abstract: The last decade saw proliferation of observational studies of ocean fronts from in situ and remote sensing data. This presentation is focused on recent progress in this field, particularly on satellite observations. Several satellite missions presented great potential for frontal studies. This potential has been largely realized with regard to SST fronts, but not CHL fronts. Among such missions, the NOAA Pathfinder Project and MODIS-Aqua/Terra stand out. The ultimate success of frontal studies from satellite data hinges on state-of-the-art computer algorithms for front detection. The Cayula-Cornillon histogram algorithm (CCA) remains the top-notch front detector. I will present examples of frontal products derived from frontal maps generated by CCA during the on-going global survey of SST fronts initiated and funded by NASA. Alternative algorithms have been suggested, implemented and validated, particularly the Belkin-O'Reilly gradient algorithm (BOA) adopted by NOAA. Frontal maps generated by BOA from CHL imagery supplied by MODIS Aqua are now freely and publicly available from NOAA.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
GPRA Modernization a New Framework for Strategic Planning and the DOC Balanced Scorecard
Date: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Chris Heflin, DOC Director of Performance Excellence
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: GPRA Modernization is designed to create focused and actionable Federal agency strategic plans. The law and OMBs revisions to A-11 establish a new schedule and a new format for strategic planning. All the change work well with the DOC system of balanced scorecards and emphasis on becoming a "learning organization." The presentation will cover how DOC's performance management system dovetails with Federal Direction.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Zooplankton Composition in a Strong, Persistent Upwelling Region - What can it tell us?
Date: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Rachel E. Fontana, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Abstract: Understanding variability in zooplankton abundance and composition are important aspects to elucidating changes in ocean conditions. Time series of zooplankton data span the west coast of North America; however, large regional gaps in data collection exist for the strong, persistent upwelling area located from southern Oregon to north-central California. We investigated a zooplankton time series collected within the Gulf of the Farallones-Cordell Bank region from 2004 to 2009, which is located within this persistent upwelling zone. Zooplankton abundance and species composition differed significantly throughout this time series. We found a close linkage between this zooplankton time series and changes in basin-wide, regional, and in situ environmental variables. Understanding zooplankton abundance and composition in the Gulf of the Farallones-Cordell Bank region will assist with elucidating changes in seabird populations and may assist with future year-to-year predictions of general ecosystem health.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Underwater Underworlds: What stories do underwater caves hold?
Date: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Sepp Haukebo, Sea Grant Kanuss Fellow, NOAA Office of Education
Abstract: Anchialine caves (meaning near the sea) persist throughout coastlines around the world and provide cave diving scientists a unique opportunity to investigate the ecological and biogeochemical secrets of the underworld. Previously believed to be devoid of life, these lightless ecosystems have been found to harbor a range of organisms from cave fish to living fossils like remipedes. Because species are often endemic to a single cave system the exploration of new anchialine caves has led to the discovery of novel species, orders, and even a new class of cave-adapted critters. Recently anchialine cave research has been used to constrain historic climate records, elucidate the role of chemoautotrophic bacteria in coastal aquifers, and characterize the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs. Throughout this presentation we will discuss the past, present, and future directions of anchialine cave research around the world.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Social media use by minority populations in weather-related crisis situations
Date: Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Crystal M. Adkisson, Ph.D., Fellow - NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences/Howard University
Abstract: During weather-related crisis situations, social media such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter, can assist in the process of disseminating information to gratify needs of the audience. Appropriate use of social media in weather-related crisis situations can assist in information dissemination and comprehension by recipients. Social media are immediate, unfiltered, and can be accurate and perceived credible if planned appropriately.
This research sought to understand gratifications sought by African Americans through use of social media in weather-related crisis situations and, more specifically, if frequency of use of social media correlated to their use of social media to gratify those needs. Recognizing that the communication patterns of African Americans are unique should be considered when preparing for and responding to weather-related crisis situations. Understanding why African Americans use specific media will allow more targeted messaging.
The importance of the present research is that it incorporates emerging technologies into crisis communication planning and execution that is beneficial to governmental, humanitarian, and aid producing organizations. This research sought to identify the most effective media that the African American community utilize to seek information in a weather-related crisis situation. With this information, crisis communicators will be able to effectively plan their strategies before a crisis and have procedures established to respond in a timely manner once a crisis occurs, through channels that empirical research has shown to be effective.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
From Shoreline Seining to Student Training: Shoreline development effects on near-shore communities in Chesapeake Bay
Date: Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Theresa M. Davenport, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, NOAA / OAR / PPE
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: Hardened shorelines and their construction introduce stressors by altering near-shore habitats. I investigated the impacts of shoreline development on near-shore communities at four sub-estuaries within Chesapeake Bay, subjected to different types of shoreline change. I used a before-after control-impact (BACI) study design to examine benthic infaunal communities (density, biomass, and diversity), blue crab abundance, and near-shore fishes (abundance and diversity) before and after shoreline modification.
The benthic community responded to shoreline modification in complex ways often driven by opportunistic species. At all sites, habitat changes resulting from shoreline development, such as shoreline complexity and sediment grain size, explain changes in the benthic community.
A concurrent classroom teaching experience allowed me to share this work with local high school students, introduce them to coastal ecology, and collect data on their perception of science, before and after our interactions, using a BACI design.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Shifting environmental baselines among small-scale fishers in the Galera-San Francisco Marine Reserve, Ecuador
Date: Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 12:30pm EDT
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Speaker: Carrie Soltanoff, Knauss Fellow, NOAA Fisheries Office of International Affairs
Abstract: Shifting environmental baselines refers to the concept that each generation of fishers, and fishery managers, see the current state of the fishery as the natural, or baseline, abundance. To investigate this phenomenon adjacent to a recently established marine reserve, 92 fishers from three generations were interviewed. Differences in fishing practices and perceptions of the fishery among generations were revealed, including that older fishers stayed closer to shore and found the fishery to be depleted. Shifting baselines can impede reserve success because younger fishers may believe that an area remains underfished and therefore not see value in restrictive conservation measures. Given data-poor fisheries, baselines and targets set from present-day numbers may be too low to realize conservation goals, particularly if ecological knowledge from older generations reveals that fisheries are depleted. The presence of shifting baselines underscores the importance of incorporating local knowledge into management and education measures for a marine reserve.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
NOAA Central Library Mix and Mingle
Date: Thursday, August 29, 2013 at 1:00pm EDT
Abstract: Join the NOAA Central Library for coffee and light refreshments, meet other NOAA employees, and learn about NOAA Central Library services!
NEPA and NHPA: A Handbook for Integrating NEPA and Section 106
Date: Thursday, September 5, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Kelly Fanizzo, program analyst and attorney advisor with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)
Abstract: This presentation will focus on NEPA and NHPA: A Handbook for Integrating NEPA and Section 106 (pdf), published jointly by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the White House Council on Environmental Quality in March 2013. The new handbook provides advice to Federal agencies, applicants, project sponsors, and consultants on how to take advantage of existing regulatory provisions to align the NEPA process and the NHPA Section 106 review process. Federal agencies have independent statutory obligations under NEPA and NHPA. For many projects, agencies can use the procedures and documentation required by NEPA to comply with NHPA Section 106, instead of undertaking a separate process. The handbook explains how to align NEPA and NHPA Section 106 processes for maximum efficiency and public input, and provides a series of roadmaps for coordination of the two statutes.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Implementation of MARPOL Annex VI: Air Emissions
Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: Matt Haber, Senior Policy Advisor; Meetu Kaul, Attorney-Advisor; Seema Kakade, Attorney-Advisor; and Tony Miller, Engineer, U.S. EPA
Abstract: Please join us for a brown bag presentation by staff members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Civil Enforcement on the current state of play on the implementation and enforcement of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships Annex VI (emissions) standards, as codified in the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) regulates marine pollution from ships. Specifically, Annex VI of MARPOL addresses air pollution from oceangoing ships. Annex VI, among other things, establishes limits on NOx emissions from marine diesel engines. Annex VI also provides more stringent engine emission standards and fuel sulfur limits for ships that operate in specially designated Emission Control Areas. The quality of fuel that complies with the Emission Control Area standard changes over time. The United States has obtained designation for the North American Emission Control Area and the US Caribbean Emission Control Area.
The brown bag presentation will cover:
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Writing Great Briefing Materials
Date: Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Chris Heflin, DOC Director of Performance Excellence
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Reporting is an important aspect of performance management. Gain insights and tips from our DOC Director of Performance Excellence on developing clear and concise briefing papers.
The presentation will include the Federal "Plain Language" standards and guidelines for good charts and graphs. "Bad" and "Good" examples will be provided.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Progress and Updates on International Shark Conservation through CITES
Date: Monday, September 16, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Angela Somma, NMFS Office of Protected Resources, Endangered Species and Conservation Division
Abstract: Ms. Somma will provide an update on efforts within the international community to protect sharks by addressing international trade in sharks. Her focus will be on recent developments at the 16th Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) where the Parties extended protection to five commercially-exploited species of sharks and manta rays. In particular, CITES member nations voted in support of listing the oceanic whitetip shark, three species of hammerhead sharks (scalloped, smooth, and great), the porbeagle shark and manta rays in CITES Appendix II � an action that means increased protection, but still allows legal and sustainable trade. Ms. Somma will discuss U.S. involvement in CITES and how it contributed to the recent listings. Ms. Somma will also discuss how the U.S. is assisting with the implementation of the listings as well as ongoing efforts at the domestic level to manage sharks.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
A Fish Tale: Comparison of the Gut Microbiome of 12 Finfish and 3 Shark Species
Date: Thursday, September 19, 2013 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Carrie Givens, Ph.D. Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Branch of Aquatic Invasive Species
Abstract: The fish gut contains a significant bacterial population that can influence fishhealth and physiology. Elevated concentrations of certain bacteria when compared to the composition of the microbial assemblage in the surrounding water suggest that the fish gut provides a unique niche for a select, but diverse, group of bacteria. We used 454-pyrosequencing to survey the 16S rRNA ribotypes in the gut microbiomes of 12 finfish and 3 shark species, selected to encompass a wide range of lifestyles. Each species had a core gut microbiome; however, no individual ribotype was present among all species suggesting that the gut microflora community is adapted to the autecological properties and physiological conditions of each species. Results from manipulation experiments indicate that environmental variables can further affect the gut microbiome composition. We also found that the fish gut can serve as reservoir for the potential pathogens Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus during periods when environmental conditions are less favorable for these bacteria. Fish naturally expel this gut microflora that can then be transferred to other environmental reservoirs, implicating fish in the persistence and dispersal of these potential pathogens.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Old Data, New Tricks: A new analysis of Chesapeake Bay Benthic Monitoring Program Data
Date: Thursday, September 19, 2013 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Jennifer Bosch, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, NOAA OAR Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes / Science Advisory Board
Abstract: An increase in hypoxia is an environmental stressor associated with eutrophic environments that can shift benthic community structures. Chesapeake Bay is a eutrophic estuary where seasonal hypoxia has been increasing since the early 1950's. Utilizing the large dataset of macrofaunal abundance collected by the Chesapeake Bay Benthic Monitoring Program, in conjunction with concurrent measures of environmental parameters, this study examines how environmental conditions regulate the densities of opportunistic polychaetes in this estuarine system. Regression tree CART analysis was used to examine what environmental factors exert the greatest influence on patterns of polychaete abundance during different seasonal time periods. This study supports previous work indicating a shift in the dominant polychaete community to one made up of species known to be extremely adaptable to stressful conditions like hypoxia. Our analysis further shows that the magnitude of these polychaetes response to hypoxia is species specific and dissolved oxygen is the "master variable" controlling longterm trends in this community.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
High Seas MPAs: Progress, Politics and Prospects
Date: Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Kristina Gjerde, Senior High Seas Policy Advisor, IUCN
Speaker Bio: Ms. Gjerde is Senior High Seas Advisor to IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) High Seas MPA Specialist Group. A graduate of NYU School of Law, Ms. Gjerde initially practiced shipping law in a Wall Street law firm. For the past 10 years she has worked with IUCN and WCPA to advance the law, science and policy relating to sustaining marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Recent publications include: "Ocean in Peril: reforming the management of global ocean living resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction" (Marine Pollution Bulletin); "Using the Public Trust Doctrine to Achieve Ocean Stewardship" (Cambridge University Press); and "Challenges to Protecting the Marine Environment beyond National Jurisdiction" (International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law). She is co-founder of the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, the Sargasso Sea Alliance and the High Seas Alliance. The Sargasso Sea Alliance was awarded the International SeaKeepers Prize in September 2013.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Date: Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Joan Bondareff, Blank Rome LLP
Abstract: Ms. Bondareff will discuss the status of offshore wind energy leasing, impediments to offshore wind development, the role of resource agencies, and what's next for offshore wind.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Trophic structure in the Marginal Ice Zone in the Weddell Sea Antarctic
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Erica Ombres, NOAA Ocean Acidification Program
Abstract: Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes were measured in twenty species spanning four tropic levels from copepod to predatory fish in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the Weddell Sea at the beginning of the austral summer. Samples were taken from under the ice, at the ice edge and in the open ocean. A significant trend in the δ13C values of all species was found with the under-ice δ13C values being more depleted than those in the open ocean. This is most likely due to the reduced atmospheric exchange of CO2, upwelled water with depleted δ13C values, and continuous biological respiration under the ice, all of which contribute to very depleted δ13C values. δ15N values were significantly lower in the open ocean than the other ice conditions due to the increased reliance on primary production. Cluster analysis revealed trophic shifts between the different ice zones. The ice edge zone proved to contain the most species and was the best habitat for most species. The trophic shifts observed within species in the differing ice conditions mimicked the seasonal changes they undergo during the course of the productive season every year.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Incubation temperature effects on hatchling performance in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Leah Fisher, NOAA's Ocean Service: Policy, Planning & Analysis Division
Abstract: Incubation temperature has significant developmental effects on oviparous animals, including determining sex for several species. It has been observed that incubation temperature also affects traits that can influence survival, a theory that is tested in this study for the Northwest Atlantic loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). We conducted the first controlled laboratory incubation and experiments to test for an effect of incubation temperature on performance of loggerhead hatchlings. Ninety-nine hatchlings were tested produced from eggs incubated at 11 constant temperatures ranging from ~27°C to ~33°C. Following emergence from the eggs, we tested righting response, crawling speed, and conducted a 24-hour long hatchling swim test. Data indicate an effect of incubation temperature on survivorship, righting response time, crawling speed, change in crawl speed, and overall swim activity, with hatchlings incubated at 27°C showing decreased locomotor abilities. No hatchlings survived in both years when incubated at 32°C and above. Differences in survivorship of hatchlings incubated at high temperatures are important in light of projected higher sand temperatures due to climate change, and could indicate increased mortality from incubation temperature effects.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
China's Distant Water Fishing Fleet
Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Tabitha Mallory, Princeton University
Abstract: China is the world's largest producer of seafood, producing over a third of the world's wild marine catch in 2011, according to FAO statistics. As marine fish stocks come under increasing pressure, China's distant water fishing activities are becoming ever-more significant in sustainably managing world supplies of seafood. These activities also have effects on various geo-political, legal, military, and other issues.
In this talk, Dr. Tabitha Mallory (Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program) will explore drivers of China's distant water fishing activities, examine how China might manage its fleet in coming years, and encourage discussion of management and engagement strategies with China.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Fishery Management and Information Sharing Networks: The Association between Sector Management and Social Capital
Date: Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Gabe Dunham, NOAA, OAR, Sea Grant
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: The benefits from increased levels of social capital have been shown to manifest themselves in ways that can increase the efficiency of the use and regulation of natural resources, as well as increase the resiliency of resource dependent communities against fluctuations in abundance. While the literature shows evidence of the positive effects that social capital can have on management and stakeholder institutions, few studies examine the effects of changes in management on levels of social capital in commercial fisheries. This study employs network and econometric analyses to examine social capital in the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery. We compare alternative measurements of social capital, and find suggestive evidence of decreased levels of social capital associated with a recent change from effort-based to rights-based management. Increased knowledge of this relationship may provide tangible benefits to both management institutions and resource users.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Plastic pollution in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Date: Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Miriam Goldstein, California Sea Grant
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Parts of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a remote area nestled between the trade winds and the westerlies, have been dubbed the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Plastic pollution was first detected in this area in the early 1970s and has since become a matter of scientific and public concern. Relatively little is known about the consequences of plastic debris in the NPSG, but since most of the debris is in the form of small particles (<5 mm in diameter) on the ocean's surface, surface-dwelling biota are most likely to be impacted. I will discuss the abundance, distribution, and size of the plastic debris, as well as how plastic is interacting with pelagic invertebrates. Impacts to marine life include direct ingestion, increased surface area for oviposition, and the transportation of nonindigenous species.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
International Space University's 2013 Team Project "KOASTAL": Kenyan coast Observations through Affordable Space Technology AppLications
Date: Monday, December 9, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speakers: Steve Brody, Vice President for North American Operations, International Space University; and Charlotte Kiang, software engineer, Boeing Defense Systems
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: During the summer of 2013, 30 professionals from 12 countries participating in the International Space University's (ISU's) nine-week Space Studies Program undertook Team Project KOASTAL to address problems related to marine and terrestrial water pollution along the Kenyan coast.
Such water pollution threatens to destroy the coastal ecosystem's natural balance, and affects people living along the coast as their health, food supplies, and income are endangered.
The team members were individuals from a diverse set of academic and professional backgrounds, allowing for a fully interdisciplinary, as well as international, examination of the socioeconomic, environmental, technical, and policy issues and challenges related to the integrated management of coastal ecosystems in Kenya.
The project team researched information derived from interactions with various experts, including those of the SERVIR project, a joint NASA-USAID venture that taps satellite-based Earth observation data and science applications to help developing nations.
Project KOASTAL's solution is an integrated water pollution management and livelihood support system using marine, ground, and space sensors to supply data to state authorities in Kenya.
This presentation will detail the findings and recommendations of the project, encompassing an integrated three-step process including detection, response, and regulation of water pollution. The process includes the issuance of alerts and warnings, and uses existing collection and communication systems to ensure a cost-effective approach to the maximum extent possible.
Policy, law, and education and outreach recommendations are also included to inform and engage all members of the affected areas and their elected officials, with the hope that Project KOASTAL's effort could help improve and protect the lives of those in the coastal regions of Kenya.
This project was sponsored by NASA (Earth Science Division's Applied Sciences Program and Office of the Chief Scientist).
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Ammonium cycling in the rocky intertidal: remineralization, removal and retention
Date: Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Santhiska Pather, US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Rocky intertidal productivity is traditionally thought to be sustained almost solely by upwelled nitrate with remineralized forms of minor importance. Using tidepools as natural experimental mesocosms, we conducted 15N tracer experiments to test whether ammonium remineralized within the rocky intertidal is also a significant source of fixed N to localized ecosystem production. Comparison of tidepools with and without the dominant bivalve, Mytilus californianus, allowed consideration of its role in NH4+ cycling. Closed water incubation bottles were used to investigate the contribution of suspended microbes to NH4+ cycling. Tidepools with mussels had both greater NH4+ remineralization (two times) and NH4+ removal as compared to those without, with daytime rates greater than nighttime rates. Incorporation of 15NH4+ tracer by particulate organic matter and macroalgae, and the persistence of this signal in tidepools for several days following the experiment, showed retention of autochthonous NH4+ in the system. Remineralization rates were tightly correlated to removal rates when compared over all treatments and experiments, but NH4+ remineralization was significantly greater than removal, suggesting a surplus available to nearshore primary producers.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Value of Communicating Science: Lessons from the Knauss Fellowship
Date: Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 12:30pm EST
Abstract: As scientists in varying fields of research and academia, there is a significant emphasis placed on peer-reviewed publications and sometimes a disregard for the value of making those results available to the broader non-scientific community. The fact is that more and more scientists and government agencies alike are embracing the power of social and digital media to reach a variety of audiences by translating technical findings into plain language, and making the results more relatable to the public. In doing so, a community and other stakeholders will grow not only to understand the benefits of scientific endeavors but to share their support for these fields of research. In my year as the Knauss Communications Fellow within NOAA�s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, my eyes have been opened to many possibilities for promoting research in social media, and I have learned the power of sharing science through story-telling, and I hope to pass it along
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Changing vessel routes to open areas for offshore wind development could generate significant societal benefits
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Katya Samoteskul , NOAA OAR Climate Program Office
Abstract: As wind energy development becomes more prevalent, existing users of the oceans, such as commercial shippers, will be compelled to share their historically open-access waters with these projects. To assess tradeoffs between offshore wind development and commercial shipping, we demonstrate the utility of using cost-benefit analysis (CBA) framework. Specifically, we evaluate whether rerouting commercial vessel traffic farther from shore to open areas for wind development would produce societal benefits. We focus on less than 1,500 transits by deep-craft vessels between the ports in the US Mid-Atlantic. We propose to reroute the ships by an average of 18.5 km per trip. We estimate that over 29 years of the study, the net benefits of the proposed policy are approximately $14 billion (in 2012$). Considering the large societal benefits, changing vessel routes needs to be included in the portfolio of policies used to support the launch of the offshore wind industry.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Influence of predator identity on the strength of predator avoidance response in lobster
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 12:30pm EST
Speaker: Erin Wilkinson, NOAA NMFS Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Domestic Fisheries Division
Abstract: The American lobster, Homarus americanus, is an important benthic consumer in the Gulf of Maine and supports an extremely valuable fishery in New England. There is substantial interest in restoring large predatory fish species to the Gulf of Maine, and these predators may impact lobster populations through consumptive and behavioral effects that are likely to vary with size. Tethering experiments were used to examine the susceptibility of lobster size classes to predation in Saco Bay, Maine. The most susceptible sizes of lobster were then exposed to fish predators (Atlantic striped bass, Atlantic cod, and sea raven) separately in experimental mesocosm tanks. Juvenile lobster moved less and spent more time sheltered in the presence of cod or sea raven, but did not alter behavior in presence of striped bass. These predator-induced behavior changes can result in less foraging activity, which may translate into reduced growth and reproduction. Including these behavioral effects into population and ecosystem models will enhance our ability to understand and manage fisheries species.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
2014 Brown Bags
Introduction to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): Compliance at NOAA
Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Jay Nunenkamp, NEPA Policy and Training Coordinator, NOAA Office of Program Planning and Integration
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Mr. Nunenkamp will outline the basic requirements of NEPA and explain how they relate to the NOAA mission.
Note: This is part 1 of the NEPA Brown Bag Series sponsored by NOAA's Office of Program Planning and Integration (PPI)
Measuring at relevant scales: how whelks respond to differing prey levels across regions and years
Date: Monday, January 27, 2014 at 12:00 EST
Speaker: Will Tyburczy, NOAA Office of Policy, Planning and Integration
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Many multi-species models assume that the reproduction and mortality of predators relate directly to their immediate feeding rate and local prey abundance. Similarly, many empirical investigations measure short-term feeding rates of predators and extrapolate reproductive consequences. However, for annually reproducing species, where predation and reproduction occur on very different timescales, the validity of these assumptions remains in question. From 2009-2012, I measured growth, survival, and reproduction of the predatory whelk, Nucella ostrina, both in caged manipulations across Oregon and Washington, and in naturally isolated populations in Washington. Whelks were exposed to a range of prey abundances. Analysis revealed an effect of barnacle abundance on whelk growth, and a correlation between growth and reproduction, but showed no discernable relationship between barnacle abundance and whelk reproduction. A literature search also revealed large regional variation N. ostrina survival rates. The results demonstrate the value of conducting research at larger spatial and temporal scales.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2013 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar Series
The Antarctic Whaling Case at the International Court of Justice
Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Roger Eckert, Attorney-Advisor, NOAA Office of General Counsel Fisheries and Protected Resources Section
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Mr. Eckert will discuss the current dispute between Australia and Japan at the International Court of Justice regarding Japan's ongoing Antarctic whaling activities. His focus will be on the history of Antarctic whaling, efforts to manage commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and interpretation of the scientific research provision of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. At the heart of this case is whether Japan's whaling in the IWC's Southern Ocean Sanctuary is a scientific research program.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA Office of General Counsel.
Articulating Conservation Outcomes for Citizen Science: Emerging Principles and Practices for the 21st Century
Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Tina Phillips, Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: The field of conservation biology has tremendous potential to advance the science and practice of conserving the Earth's biological diversity. As funding for environmental organizations continues to decline, citizen science, or public participation in scientific research (PPSR) is increasingly being used as collaborative method between scientists and the public to advance our understanding of natural systems (Dickinson and Bonney 2012). Citizen science exists in many forms, from local, community-driven efforts, to large-scale, institutional projects that span the globe. Few projects, however have evaluated outcomes beyond program output and individual learning (Jordan et al. 2012). Here I report on emerging efforts, exemplar cases, and promising practices for documenting conservation outcomes across citizen science, which in addition to site and species management, can include education, research, policy, and community outcomes. I will also share results from a focus group involving leaders in conservation, citizen science, and evaluation, resulting in the articulation of diverse pathways that lead to conservation outcomes.
A Strategy to Decarbonize US Energy by the 2030s
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Alexander E. MacDonald, OAR Chief Science Advisor and Director, Earth System Research Laboratory
Abstract: Wind and solar power generation could provide societal benefits including climate change mitigation, but are subject to the variability of weather. A study was conducted over the US contiguous states to determine the geographic characteristics of wind and solar energy systems, augmented by natural gas plants and power transmission. The study used high-spatial and temporal-resolution weather data from 2006 to 2008 and electric demand data projected to 2030 to determine cost-optimal wind, solar, and natural gas plant configurations for domains of various sizes. It is shown that wind and solar energy penetration is maximized and total atmospheric carbon release and system costs are minimized by using the largest domain. Using achievable cost estimates for wind and solar energy, the study indicates that the crucial element of the transition is the implementation of a national HVDC power transmission system. Such a transition could be accomplished without an increase of electric costs, and would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 90% compared to the 2010 mix.
Date: Friday, January 31, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Sebastian Troëng, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Oceans, Conservation International
Abstract: The Ocean Health Index is the first assessment tool that scientifically compares and combines key elements from all dimensions of the oceans' health - biological, physical, economic and social - to measure how sustainably people are using the ocean. It builds upon a definition of a healthy ocean as one that provides a range of benefits to people, both now and in the future and it provides scores for ten public goals for the ocean including food provision, coastal protection, carbon storage, coastal livelihoods and economies and others. The detailed Index methodology was developed by a large group of scientists and organizations, and published in the journal Nature in 2012 (Halpern et al. 2012). Updated Ocean Health Index scores for 221 Exclusive Economic Zones and territories were released in October 2013 (http://www.oceanhealthindex.org). Already, the Index has been endorsed by the World Economic Forum and adopted by China, Colombia and the ecosystem assessment program in Israel where the Index methodology is now being applied at a national scale.
Research Libraries and Open Access: Issues and Actions
Date: Monday, February 10, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Julia Blixrud, Association of Research Libraries
Presentation slides (pdf)
Abstract: The goal of this briefing is to inform NOAA employees about open access issues and what the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is doing on this topic. Open access is one component of open scholarship, which also includes open data and open educational resources. Open access means free availability of literature on the public internet, with the only constraint on reproduction and distribution being to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited. ARL works with other organizations to advocate for policies and legislation to make the results of federally funded research freely accessible. One bill under consideration is the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR), which would build upon the directives in the February 2013 OSTP memo on increasing public access to research results.
A Bibliometric Analysis of Climate Engineering Research
Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Chris Belter, LAC Group, NOAA Central Library
Abstract: Over the past few years, climate engineering, also referred to as geoengineering, has become a widely discussed option for mitigating the effects of climate change. Given the increasing visibility of climate engineering proposals, it can be useful to examine both how much scientific research has been done on the topic and by whom it has been performed. Bibliometric analysis - the scientific study of scientific publications - offers methods and tools for quantitatively addressing such questions. In this presentation, I will summarize the results of a bibliometric analysis performed on scientific articles about climate engineering published between 1984 and 2012. I will address such topics as the number of articles published per year, the geographic distribution of article publication, the number of publications per proposal (ocean fertilization, solar radiation management, removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, etc), and the amount of collaboration between authors. These results can inform discussions about climate engineering and potentially guide future research on the topic.
Worldwide Health Effects of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
Date: Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: John Ten Hoeve, NOAA Presidential Management Fellow
Abstract: There has been renewed public interest in radioactivity from the Fukushima nuclear accident, as evidenced by recent news articles. Viral YouTube videos have suggested that radiation from Fukushima is detectable with a Geiger counter along the U.S. West Coast. In this talk, I will present results from a 2012 study on the worldwide dispersion of radioactivity and the resulting impact to human health from Fukushima. This study represents the first published estimation of health effects from the accident through inhalation and exposure pathways using a linear no-threshold model of human exposure. Exposure due to ingestion of contaminated food and water is estimated by extrapolation. Emissions are estimated from independent Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) observations. We estimate an additional 130 (15-1100) cancer-related mortalities and 180 (24-1800) cancer-related morbidities incorporating uncertainties associated with the exposure - dose and dose - response models used in the study. Sensitivities to emission rates, gas to particulate I-131 partitioning, and the mandatory evacuation radius around the plant are also explored, and may increase upper bound mortalities and morbidities in the ranges above to 1300 and 2500, respectively. Finally, I will discuss the validity of recent claims that significant radiation has reached the U.S. West Coast.
Shipwreck Litigation: The Law, Policy, and Regulation of Davy Jones' Locker
Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Kyle Jones, Law Fellow, International Section of NOAA's Office of General Counsel
Abstract: Join Kyle Jones, a Law Fellow in the International Section of NOAA's Office of General Counsel, for a fascinating look at the little-known field of shipwreck litigation. Mr. Jones will begin by recounting the development of shipwreck law generally, and will touch upon several famous high-stakes legal battles over some of the world's most notable shipwrecks (and their associated treasures). He will then discuss one salvor's ongoing efforts to recover an unidentified wreck in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the environmental and cultural harm that can result from unrestricted shipwreck excavation, and NOAA's efforts to regulate shipwreck recovery via an array of centuries-old laws. No law degree is required to enjoy this talk. Just an interest in responsible stewardship of our environmental and cultural resources.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA General Counsel Office.
Evaluation for a Sustainable Future
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 9:30am EST
Speakers: Matt Keene, US Environmental Protection Agency and 2014 Program Chair, American Evaluation Association; and Beverly Parsons, Executive Director, InSites, and 2014 President, American Evaluation Association
Abstract: The concept of sustainability is becoming kind of a big deal. In the global evaluation community there are indications that it will emerge as top priority for evaluation practice, research and policy over the next few years. For example, the 2014 theme of the American Evaluation Association (AEA), under the leadership of AEA President Beverly Parsons, is Visionary Evaluation for a Sustainable and Equitable Future. Complementary to the AEA 2014 theme, sustainability is also emphasized in the themes of the European Evaluation Society (2014), Environmental Evaluators Network (EEN) Pacific Forum (2013), European EEN (2014), and the International Year of Evaluation (2015). Through creative facilitated discussion (read no PPT and perhaps liberatingstructures.com), we'll discuss the relevance of the AEA 2014 theme, including its emphasis on systems thinking and relationships, to evaluation at NOAA and the environmental sector at large. The purposes of our discussion will be to: 1) stimulate conversations that elucidate connections and obstacles between evaluation and sustainability, particularly from the viewpoint of environmental agencies, and 2) generate practical next steps that will help to dismantle obstacles and clarify and strengthen those connections. If you are making dark chocolate truffles or pecan pie with gluten free crust on the morning of our get together, feel free to bring some along.
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA Evaluation Training and Capacity Building Subcommittee Series
Why the United States Should Join the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Warren Papworth, Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels.
Abstract: The U.S. has played an active role in the work of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), participating in all of the preparatory meetings to negotiate the Agreement, as well as all the subsequent meetings held once the Agreement came into force in 2004. Although President Bush transmitted the Agreement in 2008 (pdf) to the Senate for its advice and consent to accession, and the Departments of Commerce and the Interior submitted OMB-cleared proposed implementing legislation to Congress in 2009 (pdf), the United States has not yet become a party.
Fifteen of the 22 species of albatrosses are threatened with extinction, primarily due to high levels of mortality resulting from their bycatch in fishing operations. Albatrosses are highly migratory species, with many having a circumpolar foraging range. Consequently, it is not possible for one country alone to address this key threat, as it occurs not only in their territorial waters, but also on the high seas and in the territorial waters of other States. It was for this reason that ACAP was established - to coordinate international action to address this threat.
The United States is a breeding Range State to the Agreement, having jurisdiction over the breeding sites for three species of albatrosses. In his presentation, Mr. Papworth will explain that the United States should join ACAP because it has demonstrated that it is an effective international organisation that has been successful in achieving conservation measures that will protect albatrosses outside the United States' jurisdiction e.g. in fisheries managed by regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) such as the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA Office of General Counsel.
Parallels: Lewis and Clark and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Albert "Skip" Theberge, NOAA Central Library
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Both the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey had their roots in the administration of President Thomas Jefferson. Although, there is no direct connection between the two endeavors, there are surprising parallels in their mission and experiences: both had primary goals to map significant portions of our Nation; both had maritime goals - Lewis and Clark to find water communication between Atlantic and Pacific coasts - the C&GS to chart our Nation's waterways; both had expert boatmen; and both were confronted with the rugged Rocky Mountains - Lewis and Clark to pass over - the C&GS to establish primary land survey control. This presentation explores these connections as well as the parallels in the leadership and accomplishments of some of the primary personalities involved.
Note: This seminar is the first of a NOAA History Roundtable Seminar Series. There will be a short discussion following the main seminar concerning development of a NOAA History Roundtable discussion group. The goals as presently formulated are:
To further these goals, it is hoped that both active and retired NOAA personnel will participate and share their knowledge. To date a number of presenters have agreed to make presentations at dates to be determined.
Retrospective analysis of U.S. Endangered Species Act listing decisions reveals consistent standards for extinction risk
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Charlotte Boyd and Barbara Taylor, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Abstract: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides for the conservation of endangered and threatened species in the United States. The ESA is a powerful act - it is therefore important that listing decisions are seen to be objective, consistent, and scientifically and legally defensible. The Act defines 'endangered' and 'threatened', but does not provide specific guidance on how these definitions should be interpreted. While the two implementing agencies, the Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, have worked to clarify various terms and establish clear procedures, the lack of clear decision rules for mapping levels of extinction risk to endangered, threatened, or not warranted decisions leaves decision-making open to costly legal challenges. The purpose of the research presented here was to assess whether past listing decisions could be used to inform a set of standards to guide future listing decisions. We found that relatively simple decision rules based on quantitative analysis of extinction risks correspond well to actual listing decisions based on in-depth status reviews for a wide range of marine and anadromous species. We compare several such decision rules and consider how these rules compare with the Ashe memorandum, developed by the FWS to respond to their decision making regarding whether a species should be listed as threatened or endangered, and the IUCN rules employed by Canada and many nations sharing these highly mobile marine species. Using standards based on past listing decisions as reference points for future decisions would promote consistency and transparency while allowing for arguments to be made for exceptions to those standards needed to accommodate the full range of factors that may contribute to endangered or threatened status.
Some considerations for communicating uncertainty information in severe weather warnings
Date:TO BE RESCHEDULED (orignally scheduled for Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT)
Speaker: Kim Klockow, AMS/UCAR Congressional Science Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Abstract: This seminar will provide an overview of some potential opportunities and challenges with communicating uncertainty information, specifically in severe weather warnings. The presentation will highlight key findings from a set of decision experiments conducted using a large (n = 5564) sample of the U.S. public. In the experiment, each participant was presented with different graphical and verbal representations of tornado risk, and they made response choices at various distances to a series of fictitious storms. They also answered questions about their preferences for uncertainty information in various formats, which can be compared to their performance in the experiments, numeracy, and socio-demographic information.
Using this spatial decision setting, several effects became apparent: people inferred uncertainty into deterministic information based on distance; lengthening deterministic warnings caused people closer to the storm to perceive less risk, while people farther from the storm perceived more; simple verbal guidance and explicit estimates of uncertainty both improved decisions in our simulated task; and finally, map design influenced the perception of risk – specifically, using cool colors made people perceive less risk. Implications of findings for warning practice and future research will be discussed.
Linking Northeast Pacific recruitment synchrony to environmental variability
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Megan Stachura, Domestic Fisheries Division, NMFS Office of Sustainable Fisheries
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: We investigated the hypothesis that synchronous recruitment is due to a shared susceptibility to environmental processes using stock-recruitment residuals for 52 marine fish stocks within three Northeast Pacific large marine ecosystems: the Eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Gulf of Alaska, and California Current. There was moderate coherence in exceptionally strong and weak year classes and correlations across stocks. Based on evidence of synchrony from these analyses, we used Bayesian hierarchical models to relate recruitment to environmental covariates for groups of stocks that may be similarly influenced by environmental processes based on their life histories. There were consistent relationships among stocks to the covariates, especially within the Gulf of Alaska and California Current. This presentation will focus on the results from the Gulf of Alaska. The best Gulf of Alaska model included Northeast Pacific sea surface height as a predictor of recruitment, and was particularly strong for stocks dependent on cross-shelf transport during the larval phase for recruitment. Future research may be able to utilize these across-stock environmental influences, in conjunction with an understanding of ecological processes important across early life history stages, to improve identification of environmental drivers of recruitment.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
The International Trade and Fishery Management of Spiny dogfish (Squalus Acanthias) in Light of CITES List Insertion: A Social Network Analysis
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 12:30pm EDT
Speaker: Andrea Dell'Apa, Healthy Oceans Goal Analyst, Office of Management and Budget
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: The spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) is an important commercial shark species, with recent concerns over its conservation status. The major demand for its meat is from the EU market, with the U.S. and Canada as its two major contributors. The U.S. has yet to support a spiny dogfish listing in the CITES Appendix II, although the U.S. Atlantic stock is under a fishery management plan (FMP) that helped to provide a certified sustainable fishery. A cumulative sum technique was employed to compare trade data for spiny dogfish export from U.S. and Canada to the EU in relation to the FMP adoption. Also, a social network was constructed to visualize changes in the European trade for spiny dogfish after adoption of the FMP and to predict future trade flow potentially affecting the conservation status of regional dogfish stocks in relation to recent management measures introduced in Europe. The social network analysis revealed that the exclusion of spiny dogfish from Appendix II will eventually affect the conservation status of dogfish stocks in Africa, Asia, South America, and the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Results from this study suggest that the species listing would provide an economic benefit for the U.S. Atlantic fishery, and will potentially foster the conservation status of other regional spiny dogfish stocks worldwide.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Productivity and resilience: long-term trends, seasonal variability, and event-driven changes to the plant community of the accreting Wax Lake Delta
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Melissa Carle
Abstract: River deltas are dynamic depositional environments that are controlled to varying degrees by coastal and fluvial forces. Plant communities in deltas respond to many of the same allogenic forces that shape delta geomorphology. This study examines long-term trends, seasonal variability, and storm and flood event-driven changes in the plant community of the Wax Lake delta, a young, actively accreting river delta in coastal Louisiana, USA. A vegetation index (NDVI) calculated from a time series of 94 Landsat MSS and TM images was used to assess the long-term trends, seasonal fluctuations, and storm-event driven changes in plant community productivity within the delta. Analysis of peak growing season NDVI from 1975 to 2011 indicates that both total and mean (per unit area) NDVI in the delta have increased over time and that seasonal fluctuations occur that are related to water temperature and discharge. Comparison of NDVI data from before and after major storm events shows that storms passing directly over or to the west of the delta have a significant short-term impact on the plant community, most likely as a result of salt-water intrusion associated with storm surges. However, in each case, NDVI values recovered to within the 95 percent prediction interval for the long-term trend by the following growing season. Additionally, a combination of WorldView-2 and Land Satellite 5 Thematic Mapper imagery was used to assess the impact of the 2011 Mississippi River flood on the Wax Lake Delta. Vegetation community change was mapped from 2010 to 2011 and related to elevation change using plant species elevation distributions calculated from light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data. Changes in the land area in the delta were also assessed by regressing land area against water level for a series of pre- and post-flood Landsat 5 TM images. The results indicate a net growth of the areal footprint of the delta of approximately 5 km2 at mean sea level following this important flood event. Areal gains were greatest at high water levels, indicating substantial vertical accretion occurred across the subaerial delta. In addition, conversion from lower to higher elevation species was observed over at least 8.7 km2, or 31.8%, of the area studied. Overall, these results indicate that the plant community in the Wax Lake delta is increasing in productivity as the delta matures and continues to accrete both vertically and horizontally over time. The marshes in the delta show great resilience to storm disturbance, and a strong response to allogenic succession driven by extreme flood events. As the Wax Lake delta is essentially the product of an unmanaged river diversion, its productivity and resilience have important implications for large-scale diversions that have proposed to restore marshes elsewhere in the Mississippi River deltaic plain.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
Measuring Cetacean Responses to Military Sonar: Southern California Behavioral Response Study (SOCAL:BRS)
Date: Thursday, May 1, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Brandon L. Southall, SEA, Inc., University of California, Santa Cruz, Duke University
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: SOCAL-�-BRS is a multi-�-team collaboration designed to increase understanding of marine mammal behavior and provide a more robust scientific basis for estimating risk and minimizing effects of active, mid-�-frequency military sonar systems. The research team includes interdisciplinary expertise in marine mammal biology, behavior, and communication, as well as underwater acoustics, engineering, and biostatistics. Four field seasons were conducted involving visual observations, passive acoustic monitoring, animal-�-attached acoustic and movement tags, photo ID, biopsy, and controlled sound exposure methods on over 20 cetacean species in biologically important areas throughout the southern California Bight. A total of 137 individuals of ten species were tagged with six tag types, including several [Baird�s beaked whale (Berardius bairdii), Risso�s dolphin (Grampus griseus)] that had not been previously studied using such monitoring tools. Seventy-�-six controlled sound exposure experiments were conducted using specific protocols and protective measures to ensure animals were not harmed. Several sound types, including simulated military sonar, were projected through a deployed sound source from a research vessel and changes in vocal, diving, and horizontal movement behavior were measured. Additionally, in 2013 realistic mid-�-frequency active sonar from operational Navy vessels conducting routine training was integrated into SOCAL-�-BRS CEEs. Received levels on tagged animals were controlled to match (quite well) those from simulated sonar CEEs using in situ sound propagation modeling to position Navy vessels. Results to date indicate that Cuvier�s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) react most strongly to simulated sonar exposures with clear changes in vocal and diving behavior indicating avoidance responses at low received sound levels. Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) responses are more variable and depend on complex interactions of exposure conditions and individual behavioral state. Ongoing efforts include expanding sample sizes in other species using simulated sounds and with a strong emphasis on the use of operational Navy mid-�-frequency sonar systems to investigate the role of source proximity and exposure context on the type and nature of potential responses across species.
Stop the Presses: Leveraging News and Company Information with Nexis
Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: Karen DeLong (LexisNexis Group-HBE), Chris Vestal (LexisNexis Group-HBE), Mary Lou Cumberpatch, NOAA Central Library
Abstract: This Brown Bag seminar will highlight the rich sources of information available through Nexis.com. You will learn how to search for full-text newspapers, magazines, reports, and newsletters including the Washington Post, Time magazine, Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, PC Magazine, Popular Science, and hundreds more news sources; vet companies or people with public records and news resources to mitigate supply chain risks; set up News alerts to monitor the latest developments in your subject area; conduct company and industry research; and find specific concepts or people using advanced subject indexing. Nexis is available NOAA-wide from your NOAA Library.
Lessons Learned from Eight Years as NOAA Administrator
Date: Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: D. James Baker, former NOAA Administrator
Abstract: Join Dr. D. James Baker, NOAA's seventh administrator, as he reflects on eight years as NOAA Administrator. Dr. Baker served as NOAA Administrator during the administration of President Clinton, from May 1993 until January 2001
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA History Roundtable Brown Bag Seminar series.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
The Coast Survey - The Early Years 1807-1860.
Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Albert Theberge of the NOAA Central Library. He will present a series of seminars on the history of NOAA's oldest ancestor agency, the Coast Survey
Abstract: TBD
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA History Roundtable Brown Bag Seminar series.
Fungicide alters community and disease dynamics in an aquatic ecosystem
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 12:00 noon EDT
Speaker: Shane Hanlon, Division of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Abstract: Chytridiomycosis, an emerging infectious amphibian disease caused by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, has played a major role in amphibian declines. Studies have also shown that widespread pesticide use contributes to declines in amphibian health. Because these causes are not mutually exclusive, studies must examine the effects of multiple concurrent perturbations on amphibian declines. We conducted field studies to determine the interactive effects of the fungicide thiophanate-methyl (TM; at 3 concentrations) and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in southern leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus) tadpoles. In the field, we replicated similar treatments in aquatic mesocosms prepared to simulate aquatic communities. Tadpoles were added to the mesocosms after hatching, frogs were collected upon metamorphosis, and measures of survival or growth were assessed. We also recorded aquatic community measures to assess the effects of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and TM on aquatic community composition. Based on previous studies, we predicted that�Bd�and TM would act in opposition to directly affect amphibian health, while TM would alter aquaticcommunity composition, possibly negating the direct effects of either pressure on the amphibians. Counter to our predictions, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis mitigated the effects of TM by "protecting" tadpoles from TM-induced mortality, and both Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and TM altered aquatic community composition. However, we conclude that alterations to the measured aquatic community variables were not the cause of tadpole mortality, as has been recorded in previous studies. Our research illustrates that interactions between pesticides and pathogens impact amphibian health and aquatic community composition.�
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
Temporal patterns in fishing effort: using multilevel methods to explore the changes in time allocation according to the lunar cycle of a small-scale fishery in eastern Indonesia. Is socio-environmental variability redefining fishing profiles?
Date:Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 12:30 pm EDT
Speaker: Victoria Ramenzoni, NOAA Office of Program Planning and Integration
Abstract: The study of fishing behavior is central to the design of effective harvesting policies. Looking at the changes in the time spent fishing during the traditional lunar calendar; this research explored how environmental uncertainty is affecting patterns of effort in an artisanal tuna fishery in Eastern Indonesia. It relied on a combination of standard statistical approaches, multilevel models, and discrimination analysis applied to long-term repeated observations of fishing events (n: 2633). Results permitted to generate three fishing profiles that might explain the time spent fishing: generalist, conservative and opportunistic. Findings challenge previous research of the effect of the lunar cycle on effort, suggesting that new socio-ecological pressures have an impact on the time spent fishing during the full moon. This conclusion extends beyond equipment type (motorboat and canoes) and states the importance of studying adaptation processes and responses to change.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
The Coast Survey and the Civil War
Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Albert Theberge of the NOAA Central Library.
Abstract: The role of the Coast Survey in the Civil War is little known or understood. The Coast Survey served in virtually all theaters of the Civil War as topographers, hydrographers, scouts, and aides-de-camp. Coast Survey information was used in developing Union strategy for the overall conduct of the war, in developing tactics for certain individual battles, and in helping mold public opinion in the North through the Slavery Map and other cartographic products. Some of the most beautiful and accurate maps of the Civil War were produced by Coast Surveyors - Chattanooga and Vicksburg being prime examples. Blind artillery fire, using geodetic positioning techniques, was first developed by the Coast Survey for the use of David Dixon Porter's mortar boats on the lower Mississippi. March and sail with the Survey through many of the major campaigns of the Civil War - with McClellan on the Peninsula, Grant at Vicksburg and Chattanooga, Farragut and Porter on the Mississippi, and Dupont and Dahlgren during the blockade of Charleston. This is the third seminar of seven detailing the history of the Coast Survey, NOAA's oldest ancestor organization.
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA History Roundtable Brown Bag Seminar series.
The Development of Operational Long-Range Weather Prediction in the U.S.
Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 12:00 pm EDT
Speaker: Bob Reeves
Abstract: TBD
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA History Roundtable Brown Bag Seminar series.
Date: Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, Global Politics and Security Chair at the Master of Science Program in Foreign Service (MSFS) Program at Georgetown University.
Abstract: Ambassador Lagon will discuss illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and organized crime.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the Law of the Sea Convention Working Group brown bag series.
The Arctic Open Water Season Conflict Avoidance Agreement and the Management of Development Impacts in the Marine Environment
Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: is an attorney in private practice specializing in natural resource issues, including the mitigation of local impacts resulting from resource development. She has served as counsel to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission since 1985 and also serves as counsel to the Arctic Marine Mammal Coalition and the Alaska Nanuuq Commission. She recently published A Pioneering Effort in the Design of Process and Law Supporting Integrated Arctic Ocean Management in the Environmental Law Reporter, 43 ELR 10893 (October 2013).
Abstract: Ocean management experts, along with development experts in other fields, increasingly recognize the need for mechanisms to reduce user conflicts and address trade offs among competing uses of coastal zones, land, and natural resources. The terms "ecosystem-based management" and "marine spatial planning" express the awareness that we are in an age where decision-makers need tools to help them balance development demands against adverse impacts to local ecosystems and economies. These issues are especially prevalent where energy development and commercial activities are expanding in our coastal waters and the oceans beyond. Offshore oil and gas development in arctic Alaska carries a high risk of interference with nutritionally and culturally critical bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) subsistence hunting. Since the mid-1980s, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission has engaged offshore oil and gas exploration and development companies, including oil majors, in an annual process of collaboration and negotiation to create mitigation measures capable of avoiding adverse impacts to bowhead whales, habitat, and hunting opportunities. The process, founded on local ecological knowledge and western science, has become a staple of offshore oil and gas development in arctic Alaska. In addition to avoiding adverse impacts to subsistence uses that are protected under federal law, this highly efficient process also reduces conflicts that might otherwise slow offshore permitting. This system of collaboration provides useful insights into how the general concepts of ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning might be implemented in practice in other settings.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA Office of General Counsel.
Dynamics of soundscape in a shallow water marine environment of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin
Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Shane Guan, Office of Protected Resources, NOAA Fisheries
Abstract: Many aquatic animals use acoustic cues for orientation, communication, predation detection, and predator avoidance. Therefore, underwater acoustic field is an important ecological element for critical life functions of many aquatic animals. This research examines the soundscape of a critically endangered Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) population in the shallow water environment off the west coast of Taiwan. Underwater acoustic recordings were conducted between late spring and late fall in 2012 at Yunlin (YL), which is close to a shipping lane, and Waisanding (WS), which is relatively pristine. Site specific analyses were performed on the dynamics of the temporal and spectral acoustic characteristics for both locations. The results showed that the soundscape is dominated by acoustic energies in two major octave bands: 150-300 Hz and 1.2-2.4 kHz. The acoustic energy in the former frequency band is mainly associated with large container vessels in the shipping lane near YL, while the latter frequency band is from sonic fish chorus at nighttime. Further analyses indicate that sound from the fish may have more effects on the dolphin's communication, which occurs mostly within the octave band between 3 and 6 kHz. In addition, extremely large variation of low frequency acoustic energy throughout the study period was noticed at WS, where the water depths ranged between 1 and 4 m depending on tidal cycle. Fourier analyses of tidal levels and low frequency sound pressure showed matching periods of these variations, although with different phases. It is hypothesized that this phenomenon was probably caused by the inefficiency propagation of low-frequency acoustic waves in shallow water, which underlines the importance of geophysical feature in shaping the small-scale soundscape characteristics.
The Arc of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on Capitol Hill: What Congress' Changing Perceptions of NEPA Over the Years Means for Those Who Implement NEPA
Date: Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Horst Greczmiel, Associate Director for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Oversight, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Executive Office of the President
Abstract: Mr. Greczmiel will share the story of an environmental statute that was passed with vast bipartisan support in 1969, experienced its glory days, and suffered degradation through congressional exemptions and frustration.
Note: Note: This is part 2 of the NEPA Brown Bag Series sponsored by NOAA's Office of Program Planning and Integration (PPI)
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
From Sea to Shining Sea - Triumphs and Disasters of the Coast and Geodetic Survey 1867-1917
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Albert Theberge of the NOAA Central Library. He will present a series of seminars on the history of NOAA's oldest ancestor agency, the Coast Survey.
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA History Roundtable Brown Bag Seminar series.
Unmanned Maritime Vehicles: Regulatory Initiatives
Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Rand D. LeBouvier, Ph.D., CAPT, USN (ret) is the Strategic Communications Director at Bluefin Robotics Corporation. Dr. LeBouvier served for nearly 30 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring from the service as the Director of the Decision Making and Implementation course at the Naval War College. He was the first Head, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Section in the Air Warfare directorate in OPNAV where he was responsible for resources and requirements for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance UAV, the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, the Vertical Take-off and Landing UAV, and the Tactical Control System. Previous assignments include Current Operations officer on the SEVENTHFLT staff homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, commissioning Commanding Officer of USS Carter Hall, assistant Surface Commander and Lieutenant Commander Assignment Officer at BUPERS in Washington, D.C., Executive Officer of USS Germantown, where he participated in Operations Desert Storm/ Desert Shield, and J-5 Navy Planner for United States Southern Command in Panama, where he participated in the planning and execution of Operation Just Cause in December 1989.
Abstract: The presentation will discuss national and international efforts to classify, certify and regulate unmanned maritime systems including both surface and undersea vehicles. Recent efforts to engage the legal and safety ramifications of these technologies operating within territorial waters and on the high seas are similar to those experienced in the unmanned air vehicle industry operating in controlled airspace. Fortunately, lessons learned from the air domain may prevent a recurrence of the issues encountered with regulatory agencies such as the FAA that have caused inhibitive delays and missed opportunities in the development of unmanned air systems. Industry has a duty to ensure it anticipates and addresses safety, legal and even ethical concerns properly before uninformed popular perception drives response. Early mutual engagement between industry and these agencies can eliminate misunderstanding and can inform unmanned systems manufacturers and operators as to best practices and procedures. Adopting a cooperative stewardship approach to the environment in which they operate and with the agencies that watch over it will stand the unmanned maritime systems industry in good stead. This presentation will review key regulatory and standardization efforts currently underway.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA Office of General Counsel.
Effects of stormwater management and stream restoration on watershed nitrogen retention
Date: Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Tammy Newcomer Johnson, NOAA National Sea Grant Office and University of Maryland
Abstract: Restoring urban infrastructure and managing the nitrogen cycle represent emerging challenges for urban water quality. We investigated whether stormwater control measures (SCMs), a form of green infrastructure, integrated into restored and degraded urban stream networks can influence watershed nitrogen loads. We hypothesized that hydrologically connected floodplains and SCMs are "hot spots" for nitrogen removal through denitrification because they have ample organic carbon, low dissolved oxygen levels, and extended hydrologic residence times. We tested this hypothesis by comparing nitrogen retention metrics in two urban stream networks (one restored and one urban degraded) that each contain SCMs, and a forested reference watershed at the Baltimore Long-Term Ecological Research site. We used an urban watershed continuum approach which included sampling over both space and time with a combination of: (1) longitudinal reach-scale mass balances of nitrogen and carbon conducted over 2 years during baseflow and storms (n = 24 sampling dates x 15 stream reaches = 360) and (2) 15N push-pull tracer experiments to measure in situ denitrification in SCMs and floodplain features (n = 72). The SCMs consisted of inline wetlands installed below a storm drain outfall at one urban site (restored Spring Branch) and a wetland/wet pond configured in an oxbow design to receive water during high flow events at another highly urbanized site (Gwynns Run). The SCMs significantly decreased total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) concentrations at both sites and significantly increased dissolved organic carbon at one site. At Spring Branch, TDN retention estimated by mass balance (g/day) was ~150 times higher within the stream network than the SCMs. There were no significant differences between mean in situ denitrification rates between SCMs and hydrologically connected floodplains. Longitudinal N budgets along the stream network showed that hydrologically connected floodplains were important sites for watershed nitrogen retention due to groundwater-surface water interactions. Overall, our results indicate that hydrologic variability can influence nitrogen source/sink dynamics along engineered stream networks. Our analysis also suggests that some major predictors for watershed N retention were: (1) streamwater and groundwater flux through stream restoration or stormwater management controls, (2) hydrologic residence times, and (3) surface area of hydrologically connected features.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
The Next Generation of Legal Research with Lexis Advance
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Chris Vestal (LexisNexis Group-HBE), Mary Lou Cumberpatch, NOAA Central Library
Abstract: In this session you will explore Lexis Advance, the next generation in legal research. You will learn how to:
Exploring Labor and Employment Law
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 at 3:00pm EDT
Speaker: Chris Vestal (LexisNexis Group-HBE), Mary Lou Cumberpatch, NOAA Central Library
Abstract: This session will enable you to:
Searching for Accountability: Do Efforts Such as GPRA, GPRAMA, and PART Help?
Date: Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Beryl Radin, Georgetown University, McCourt School of Public Policy
Abstract: For the past several decades, performance measurement requirements have become a crucial part of the effort to improve accountability in the federal government. Requirements have been attached to the budget process that seek to link measures of effectiveness to the funding of those programs. While the urge to improve program effectiveness is commendable, the experience with GPRA and PART has not always led to that goal. This presentation will review the reasons for this problem and draw on the NOAA experience with these efforts
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Committee.
Invasive Blue and Flathead Catfish in the Chesapeake Bay
Date: Monday, July 14, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Bruce Vogt, Ecosystem Science and Synthesis Manager, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Abstract: Blue and flathead catfish are considered invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay, as they have rapidly expanded into nearly every major tributary in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Blue and flathead catfish have the potential to comprise a highly valued recreational fishery as well as negatively affecting native species and the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office funds research on invasive catfish to help further understand their basic biology and potential negative effects on native species and human health. Research findings will help inform management and mitigation strategies. A report from the Invasive Catfish Task force is currently being drafted to develop recommendations to slow and reduce the spread of invasive catfish populations, minimize ecological and economic impacts, and improve public awareness.
Remote access via webinar will be available. See the General Information section above for details.
Reflections On My Time Aboard the JOHN N. COBB
Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: John C. Bortniak, CDR, NOAA Corps, Retired
Abstract: As part of the continuing History Roundtable series, John Bortniak will give a presentation of his experiences in Alaska as Commanding Officer aboard the NOAA ship JOHN N. COBB (and MURRE II) from 1990 to 1993. John will cover a bit of history of the COBB and the person it was named after, the mission of the vessel with operational photos, a tour of several points in Southeast Alaska, and of course, lots of beautiful pictures of Alaskan scenery and wildlife.
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA History Roundtable Brown Bag Seminar series.
Social Media and Severe Weather: What Do We Know and Where are We Going?
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Joe Ripberger, CIMMS, National Severe Storms Laboratory
Abstract: According to a recent report by the Department of Homeland Security, "social media and collaborative technologies have become critical components of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery" (2013). These technologies are critical because they provide a centralized mechanism for two-way communication before, during, and after disasters that allows the National Weather Service, Emergency Managers, the media, and affected communities to disseminate and receive information about a hazard in near real-time. As yet, however, we know relative little about who participates in this exchange of information and how it transpires throughout the course of an event. In this presentation, I will address this void by answering three basic yet important research questions: (1) Who uses social media to get information about severe weather and how has this evolved over time? (2) How does social media usage evolve throughout the course of a severe weather event? (3) What do meteorologists and forecasters think about social media and how has it changed the way they approach their jobs?
Date: Friday, July 25, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Hugh Schratwieser, NOAA Office of General Counsel
Presentation Slides (pdf format)
Abstract: This brown bag presentation will address the law and policies regarding international agreements and memoranda of understanding between NOAA and counterparts in foreign nations. Hugh Schratwieser of the NOAA Office of General Counsel Weather, Satellites and Research Section will provide an overview of the Case-Zablocki Act and its implementation by the Department of Commerce and NOAA's Office of General Counsel. Authority for making most determinations under the Case-Zablocki Act for NOAA international agreements is delegated to the NOAA General Counsel by the Department of Commerce General Counsel. Additional information on the Case-Zablocki Act and its implementation by the Department of Commerce and NOAA is available online at http://www.gc.noaa.gov/gc_case_zablocki.html. NOAA GC guidance on legal determinations under the Case-Zablocki Act is available online at http://www.gc.noaa.gov/documents/082604-faq-case-act-2p.pdf.
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the International Section of the NOAA Office of General Counsel.
Title>Hurricane Sandy and SWATH Network
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Robert Mason and Harry Jenter, USGS, John Fulton, NOAA
Robert Mason Presentation slides (pdf)
John Fulton Presentation slides (pdf)
Harry Jenter Presentation slides (pdf)
Abstract: Understanding the evolution and dissipation of overland storm tides and waves as they move across natural and manmade landscapes is critical to increasing coastal resilience and establishing early warning systems for coastal storm hazards. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the USGS is building an overland Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) network along the Atlantic Coast from Virginia through Maine to provide more timely storm-surge and wave data to enhance public awareness, help forecasters predict surge impacts, and inform emergency responders. During this brown-bag presentation the presenters will describe plans for implementation of the SWaTH and discuss collaborative opportunities and user needs and solicit input from NOAA scientists and engineers.
Developing Holistic Marine Data Management Solutions
Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Rob Bochenek, Information Architect and CEO, Axiom Data Science -- Rob Bochenek is an information Architect at Axiom Data Science an Anchorage based data science and cyberinfrastructure technology firm. Rob has over 15 years experience developing data management systems for a wide array of ecological and geophysical data types and user groups. He is also the technical lead for the Central and Northern California Observing System (CeNCOOS) and the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) which are both regional associations for the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).
Abstract: Data management of marine and coastal research data is particularly challenging because it can include a vast range of subjects and variables. Data relevant to marine scientists may include field, expedition or cruise observations, laboratory analyses, data from remote sensing satellite and observational platforms, model outputs, and various other sources. From a systems-level perspective, model and satellite data are often in standardized data formats and are easier to manage in an automated fashion than project level data (e.g., ad hoc spreadsheets and databases). However, these project data may be complex in nature, large in size (megabytes to terabytes) and packaged in advanced formats. Project data typically require individualized review, and even experts within subfields may have difficulty using data from different sources because of the plethora of data collection protocols. This talk will explore these issues more deeply, discuss strategies and demonstrate several technologies which have been developed to address these problems in a holistic way. The Research Workspace, being actively used by several NOAA research campaigns, will be presented as a solution for researchers to centralize, secure, share, document and publish projects, data and metadata. Additionally, several examples of cyberinfrastructure, developed with funding from NOAA and others, will be demonstrated which enable data resources (GIS, numerical models/remote sensed, sensor networks, time series and research project assets) to be discovered, integrated and visualized. Examples of these types of systems can be accessed online at http://portal.aoos.org/ and http://data.cencoos.org/.
Innovative ways to visualize and analyze environmental time-series data
Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dr. Richard Koehler, instructional hydrologist with the NWS Training Division and is located in Boulder, Colorado, and a retired lieutenant commander (NOAA Corps) with years of hydrographic, geodetic, and oceanographic data collection experience while aboard NOAA ships. Dr. Richard Koehler is a certified professional hydrologist with 30 years of environmental and water resources expertise. He is a retired lieutenant commander (NOAA Corps) with years of hydrographic, geodetic, and oceanographic data collection experience while aboard NOAA ships. Never satisfied with traditional time plots, he developed an intuitive way to view time-series which became the basis of his dissertation from the University of Arizona. The US Geological Survey has incorporated his techniques into the USGS Water Water website as a visualization tool. He is currently an instructional hydrologist with the NWS Training Division and is located in Boulder, CO.
Abstract: An environmental time-series dataset plotted as a "time map" and analyzed in a GIS-like manner offers environmental scientists and professionals an alternative approach to examining multiple types of time-series data. This technique can integrate data from numerous sources such as observations, model output, or other time-based data. Case studies and applications of multi-scale pattern identification and data QA/QC are presented to demonstrate the power of this technique. Important differences between time maps and spatial maps are shown. Specific visualization examples include streamflow, salmon migration, water temperature, drought indices, climate change scenarios, meteorological measurements and SNOTEL snowpack metrics.
Title: Rebels with a cause: engineering diatoms into fuel factories
Date: Thursday, August 21, 2014 at 12:00-12:30 pm EDT
Speaker: Emily Trentacoste, NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, California Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, email@example.com
Abstract: Diatoms are rebels of the microalgae world. They have unique evolutionary histories, bafflingly diverse metabolisms and bizarrely intricate morphologies. Many of the characteristics that make diatoms such oddballs among microalgae also make them excellent candidates as sources for biofuels. Engineering microalgae to produce lipids for fuel is not a new concept; however, all engineering attempts thus far have resulted in organisms with decreased fitness, which thwarts the advantages of using microalgae to produce fuel in the first place. We characterized, identified and targeted a previously ignored pathway - that of lipid catabolism, or the breakdown of lipids - for engineering. By knocking down the function of a specific lipase using targeted antisense RNA techniques, we produced strains that accumulated four times as many fuel-relevant lipids as wild-type strains, but showed no decrease in growth or division. This work showed that contrary to popular thought, growth and lipid accumulation are not mutually exclusive in microalgae.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
Title: International relations: Exploring global diversity, dispersal, and environmental selection in a marine diatom species
Date: Thursday, August 21, 2014 at 12:30-1:00 pm EDT
Speaker: Kerry Whittaker, NMFS Office of Protected Resources, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, Rhode Island, email@example.com
Abstract: Diatoms exhibit astounding levels of inter and intraspecific diversity, yet the mechanisms driving their diversification are little understood. I determined global population structure among > 450 isolates of the cosmopolitan, ecologically important diatom species Thalassiosira rotula. A "global snapshot" approach was used to sample isolates throughout a single year (2010) at sites distributed across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean basins and hemispheres. Isolates were genotyped using six microsatellite markers developed from 454 sequencing of this species. Clonal diversity within sites was as high as 100%, and divergence between sites reached FST values upwards of 0.2. The presence of genetically distinct populations demonstrates that significant divergence can occur despite the high potential for dispersal in these planktonic organisms. Principle coordinates analysis (PCA) and isolation-by-distance measures demonstrated that genetic distance was unrelated to geographic distance, suggesting that distance does not limit connectivity among diatom populations. Instead, genetic connectivity over global geographic space and time was significantly correlated with abiotic (temperature) and ecological (chlorophyll a) factors of the marine environment. These data suggest that geographic distance is not a barrier to genetic connectivity among diatom populations; instead, vast genetic diversity and high genetic structure is maintained and supported by ecological selection occurring over space and time.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
The USGS Hurricane Sandy Integrated Science Plan
Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: John Haines and Matthew Andersen, USGS
Abstract: The USGS, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, developed an integrated science plan across our diverse research programs. This presentation will provide an overview of the ongoing implementation of that plan with the objective to identify specific areas for further development and enhanced collaboration with NOAA programs in the short and long term. Following the thematic structure of our Sandy Science Plan ( http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1390/) the presentation will provide an introduction to the following activities:
Coastal Topography and Bathymetry - Overview of region-wide collection of Lidar data throughout the Sandy impact zone, improved products for delivery of topo-bathy elevation, and USGS research Lidar capabilities.
Impacts to Coastal Beaches and Barriers -The USGS has supported a sustained effort to provide tools to assess coastal vulnerability to storms, erosion, and sea-level rise. Storm vulnerability forecasts rely on NOAA data and forecasts and are provided for both "scenario" storms for long-term planning and in response to impending storms.
Environmental Quality and Persisting Contaminant Exposures, and Impacts to Coastal Ecosystems, Habitats, and Fish and Wildlife -USGS scientists have been investigating the impacts that storm-released pollutants may have had on animals, specifically mussels and sea turtles. Mussels have been collected at NOAA Mussel Watch sites. USGS scientists have also been studying the impacts of the storm at wetlands all along the mid-Atlantic and Northeast coasts using a dispersed network of surface elevation tables (SETs). About 10 of these SET locations are within the NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System between Virginia and Maine.
Ecological Impacts of Climate-Related Ichthyofaunal Shifts and Invasive Lionfish on the Northern Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Community
Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 12:30-1:00pm EDT
Speaker: Tony Marshak, Office of Science and Technology, NOAA Fisheries
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Large and apparently unprecedented increases in the abundance of juvenile gray (Lutjanus griseus) and lane snapper (L. synagris) within northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) seagrasses have been recently documented. Although previously occurring infrequently within the nGOM, their increased abundance coincides with regional warming trends, and may result in higher offshore presence. Additionally, recent invasion by the Indo-Pacific red lionfish (Pterois volitans) into nGOM offshore habitats has been documented. Increases in tropically-associated confamilials, and invasive lionfish, could result in pronounced competitive interactions with nGOM reef fishes, such as juvenile red snapper (L. campechanus), and cause shifts in the species composition of offshore fish assemblages. We experimentally investigated the intensity of these interactions between increasingly abundant tropical snapper species, red lionfish, and indigenous members of the nGOM reef fish community. Compared to tropical counterparts, red snapper demonstrated increased roving behavior, aggression, and predatory activity, suggesting greater ability to exploitatively outcompete lower latitude snappers. However, lionfish were significantly more active than red snapper and range-shifting reef fishes, suggesting their potential to competitively displace nGOM fish species. Our findings contribute to the assessment of the potential impacts of warming-related species shifts and marine invasions upon the nGOM reef-associated fish community.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
Round gobies in the Great Lakes Basin: How the spreading invasion is affecting diets and growth of top predators in Lake Huron tributaries.
Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 12:00-12:30 pm EDT
Speaker: Clarence Fullard, Aquatic Invasive Species Analyst, NOAA/NMFS, 2014 Knauss Sea Grant Fellow
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) are small (<150mm) benthic invasive fish now common to the Laurentian Great Lakes region. Although well studied in lakes, less research has investigated how the secondary invasion of round gobies into Great Lakes tributaries is changing riverine food webs. Previous studies have found increased predation of round gobies by smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in many areas of the Great Lakes where round gobies are common. This study used diet, growth, and stable isotope analysis of two lotic predators, smallmouth bass and rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris), to determine the impacts of round gobies to stream food webs in three Michigan rivers with different round goby abundances. Seasonal predation of round gobies occurred, but differed between predators and between rivers. There were positive relationships between round goby consumption and predator trophic positions, indicating that increased round goby populations are lengthening food chains leading to these predators. Contrary to other studies in the Great Lakes, increased round goby predation did not result in increased predator growth rates. Opportunistic and highly variable feeding habits may be buffering predators from significant changes to their trophic ecology and growth rates, which is contrary to the belief that these invasive fish are boosting the growth of popular game species.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
Ocean Acidification and its potential affects on Alaska fisheries and communities.
Date: Monday, September 15, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dr. Jeremy Mathis, oceanographer at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, and the director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Ocean Acidification Research Center.
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: The intensity, extent and duration of ocean acidification (OA) in the coastal areas around Alaska will increase as human-caused carbon dioxide continues to rise. Important commercial and subsistence fisheries in Alaska take place where enhanced OA will occur. Coastal human communities in southeast and southwest Alaska are highly reliant on fishery harvests and face the highest risk from OA. The results from a new study led by Dr. Jeremy Mathis and partners that assessed the vulnerability of coastal communities in Alaska will be discussed along with the regional OA observational program that includes moorings, gliders and coastal cruises.
World War I and Its Aftermath: The Commissioned Service of the Coast and Geodetic Survey; the Rise of Photogrammetry, Acoustics, and Electronics; Dust Bowl and Great Depression
Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker:Albert Theberge, NOAA Central Library
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Presentation Slides (pptx with audio)
Abstract:From the period just prior to the beginning of WW I until that just prior to the beginning of WW II was a period of great flux in the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Three outstanding directors guided the efforts of the Survey during this period. The first was Ernest Lester Jones, who upon the advent of WW I, helped assure legislation that formed the commissioned service of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the forerunner of today's NOAA Corps. Under his guidance, new techniques in electronics, printing, navigation, seismology, and aeronautical charting were incorporated into the survey. New ships were obtained as well. Upon his passing away in 1929, Raymond Stanton Patton became the director. Under Patton, shoreline preservation became a major thrust as did engineering seismology. Perhaps, the greatest accomplishment during the Patton administration was the expansion of the National Geodetic Network as WPA funds became available during the Depression years. Thousands of engineers were hired and geodetic survey parties traversed the United States adding to both the latitude/longitude networks and the establishment of elevation points putting the nation on a common elevation datum. Following Patton, Leo Otis Colbert took over the helm of the Survey, continuing the work of his predecessors, but also helping prepare the Survey for its finest hour, its work during the Second World War.
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA History Roundtable Brown Bag Seminar series.
Geospatial Data Sharing and Collaborative Decision Making: Addressing Climate Resilience, Extreme Weather and National Preparedness.
Date: Thursday, September 18, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dave Jones, Founder and CEO, Applications Futurist, StormCenter Communications, Inc
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Presentation Slides (pptx with audio)
Evaluation of Conflict Interventions: Challenges and Solutions
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Bruce Hemmer, Research Analyst, U.S. Department of State
Abstract: Conducting evaluations in conflict environments presents challenges that are in some ways similar to those facing NOAA when evaluating responses to weather and water emergencies. Determining the effectiveness of conflict interventions can be confounded by complex, dynamic and often dangerous conditions on the ground, limiting the ability to collect data with with which to conduct a meaningful evaluation. These challenges can be met in several ways: preparing staff and institutions for the conditions they will encounter, employing remote or passive techniques of collecting data as needed, establishing robust baselines, conducting real-time or interim evaluation, process-tracing and building local evaluation capacity.
This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Training and Capacity Building Subcommittee
The Coast and Geodetic Survey's Finest Hour
Date: Friday, September 26, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Albert Theberge, NOAA Central Library
Presentation Slides (powerpoint slides with audio)
Presentation Slides (powerpoint slides without audio)
Presentation Slides (revised version) (powerpoint slides)
Abstract:The Second World War marked the finest hour of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS;). Following in the wake of the World War I law that established a commissioned service in the C&GS;, over half of the officer contingent as well as 1100 civilians from the Survey served in the armed forces of the United States. Three major ships of the Survey were transferred into the Navy and served from the Aleutians to Guadalcanal. Coast Surveyors served in the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps in all major theaters of war as artillery surveyors, hydrographers, intelligence officers, cartographers, photogrammetrists, and navigators. They were at El Guettar, Sicily, Anzio, Monte Cassino, the Falaise Gap, the Bulge, and marched through Germany. In the Pacific, they served from Guadalcanal through New Guinea, the Philippines, Guam, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and on to Tokyo Bay. On the homefront, Coast Surveyors produced nearly 100 million maps and charts for Allied operations. For good measure, they also designed a world aeronautical chart system that was adopted by the International Civil Aeronautical Organization following the war. Join the Coast Survey as it helps put "iron on target", map uncharted reefs and islands of the Pacific, and help bring the world into a new era following the war.
Note: This seminar is part of the NOAA History Roundtable Brown Bag Seminar series.
Oceanography in Antarctica: a Sample from the Deep South
Date: Thursday, October 2, 12:00pm-12:30pm
Speaker: Sandy Aylesworth, NOAA's Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
Abstract:Since 1961, the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) has fostered a unique model of international cooperation to preserve the continent as a scientific reserve and promote research while banning military activity. Scientists are well acquainted with the challenges of conducting oceanographic research-oceanography is deeply labor and resource-intensive regardless of its location. In spite of those challenges, scientists have long studied the Southern Ocean and Antarctica's coastal waters. For decades, the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) has advanced oceanography in the Southern Ocean through work on the research vessels the Laurence M. Gould and Nathanial B. Palmer. Over the course of seven oceanographic cruises with voyages to Palmer Station, McMurdo Station, the Drake Passage and Amundsen Sea, I developed an appreciation for both the abundance and fragility of the Antartic marine ecosystem. In spite of the international terrestrial protections, Antarctic marine ecosystems are experiencing a host of dramatic changes and pressures, including sharp declines in krill populations, a loss of sea ice, and fishing. I will discuss the logistics and mechanics of conducting oceanography in extreme cold and wind, and share scientists' observations about the rapidly-changing Antarctic.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
The roles of nutrient dynamics and oceanographic processes in the structure and functioning of rocky intertidal macrophyte assemblages
Date: Date: Thursday, October 2 12:30pm-1:00pm
Speaker: Speaker: Sarah L. Close, OAR Climate Program Office
Abstract: In rocky intertidal habitats, oceanographic variability influences benthic communities primarily via changes in temperature, propagule delivery, and nutrient availability. Nutrient availability especially is thought to influence the diverse and productive macrophyte assemblages in these communities. While bottom-up regulation of communities provisioned by resource subsidies is known to play a role in community dynamics in this system, we are still developing an understanding of how this influences macrophytes. For intertidal macrophytes in coastal ecosystems, regional-scale oceanographic processes such as upwellig largely drive nutrient availability. Hence, coastal oceanography can be an important facator linking local areas across large spatial scales, and resolving the patterns of rocky intertidal macrophyte nutrient content (measured as athe ratio of carbon to nitrogen, or C:N) may provide insight to the coupling of local ecological and regional oceanographic processes. To examine biogeographic patterns of C:N ratios in intertidal macrophytes, and their relationship to oceanographic conditions, we conducted a study of these factors for four ecologically dominant species across 900 km of coastline in the northern California Current Large Marine Ecosystem over a 10 year period. We examined the relationship of macrophyte C:N to environmental forcing at the spatial scales appropriate to assess C:N--environment links in upwelling-influenced habitats.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
p>A case study for urban estuaries: All about the Delaware!
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Anna Hermes, NOAA Research Office of Labs and Cooperative Institutes and the Science Advisory Board, New Jersey Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, firstname.lastname@example.com
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Estuaries link terrestrial and marine biomes. They are locations of great complexity, with interwoven and often competing human and natural systems, now facing further and often un-quantified impacts from climate change. They provide conduits for trade, fresh drinking water for urban cities, and natural resources such as fisheries, and simultaneously often also sustain incredibly diverse wetlands, house migratory species, and act as buffers from storms. Balancing these often opposing forces requires a basic understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes of estuaries. Here, the Delaware Estuary is used as a case study. This presentation will demonstrate that long- term, interdisciplinary research programs can provide a more holistic understanding of how these components are interconnected, while specifically addressing the biogeochemistry of the Delaware. Sources of particulate organic carbon through the estuary for multiple seasons were assessed using stable carbon isotopes and organic biomarkers. Biomarker distributions revealed that bottom waters are geochemically distinct from surface waters, and that land-derived organic carbon is trapped in bottom waters where fresh and saltwater meet. Compound specific stable carbon isotopes of the biomarkers further suggest that a significant proportion of the land-derived material trapped mid-estuary is derived from marshes in the lower estuary. These results have implications for how land and sediment management practices will impact the overall carbon cycling in the Delaware, and also demonstrate the connectivities in these systems that can be identified through integrative study.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
Blue Crabs and Freshwater Inflows: Local Behaviors to Global Perspectives
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 12:30 pm
Speaker: Kimberly Bittler, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Department of the Interior, Texas Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, email@example.com
Abstract: Freshwater inflows are critical for the function and health of estuaries, but can become severely limited due to human use, drought, and diversions. The management of limited freshwater inflows is a growing concern, and the use of a focal species such as blue crabs can assist managers in allocating this limited resource. Previous studies have suggested that freshwater inflows affect populations of the commercially and ecologically important blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, especially in early life stages, but the nature and geographic extent of the relationship is unclear. The potential link between freshwater inflows and recruitment of blue crab post-larvae was examined in a series of behavior experiments and coupled models, and compared between case study systems. Broader relationships between abundance and salinity were examined from a global perspective by synthesizing available data on blue crab abundance from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mid-Atlantic. The results of these studies have implications for the management of freshwater inflows and blue crab stock management, and will aid managers as pressures on blue crab populations continue to grow in the future.
Title: Wind turbine wake characterization with remote sensing and computational fluid dynamics
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Speaker: Matthew Aitken, PhD, ORISE Research Fellow US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Research Triangle Park, NC
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Wind farm wake modeling, and hence turbine layout optimization, currently suffer from an unacceptable degree of uncertainty, largely because of a lack of adequate experimental data for model verification. Here, we analyze wake measurements taken with long-range scanning lidar in two separate experiments, one at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) and the other at a wind farm in the western United States. The presentation outlines a set of quantitative procedures for determining critical parameters from these extensive datasets�such as the velocity deficit, the size of the wake boundary, and the location of the wake centerline and the results are categorized by ambient atmospheric conditions. Despite specific reference to lidar, the methodology is general and can be applied to extract wake characteristics from other remote sensor datasets as well as output from numerical simulations. Experimental results are compared to a large eddy simulation (LES) of a turbine operating in the stable boundary layer using the actuator disk parameterization in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model.
About the Speaker: Matthew Aitken, PhD, is currently an ORISE Research Fellow with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Research Triangle Park, NC, where he is researching the use of the Market Allocation (MARKAL) energy system model to assess the economic and environmental implications of a variety of clean energy technologies. He recently received his PhD in physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he developed a statistical modeling procedure for quantifying wind turbine wake characteristics from both lidar measurements and CFD simulations, to help advance the optimization of turbine layouts and control systems at wind farms.
Volcanic Ocean Acidification and Coral Reef Ecosystem Study at Maug, Northern Mariana Islands
Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: David Butterfield, Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington and Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, Seattle
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Carbon dioxide emitted by volcanoes in the upper ocean over long timespans creates unique natural undersea laboratories to study the impact of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems. These hydrothermal sites are limited across the world's oceans and afford a unique way to study coral reef community adaptation and viability which cannot be duplicated by traditional laboratory microcosm or mesocosm experiments. Maug is a ring of 3 islands with a 200-m deep central caldera with a highly diverse coral community along the inner caldera and the outer fore reef shorelines. Shallow gas/hydrothermal vents along the inner shoreline of Maug's East island affect the water chemistry surrounding the coral reef communities of the caldera and have a significant local impact on corals. This talk will provide an overview of Maug and focus on the chemistry of the vents and their local impacts
About the Speaker: David Butterfield has a bachelor's degree in Chemistry and German from Portland State University, and PhD in Chemical Oceanography from the University of Washington. After a National Research Council Post-Doc at PMEL, he started working in the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean in 1993, where he is now Principal Research Scientist. His scientific interests center on the chemistry of hydrothermal vents and their impact on ocean chemistry and marine ecosystems. One of his specialties has been the development of instrumentation for coordinated chemical and microbiological sampling of hydrothermal fluids. He has worked on a wide range of deep-sea hydrothermal systems ranging from the carbonate chimneys of Lost City on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to actively erupting volcanoes NW Rota and West Mata in the volcanic arcs of the western Pacific. He is engaged in deep-sea cabled observatory work in the NE Pacific. The May 2014 expedition to Maug was his first research cruise that did not involve a submersible. See website: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/vents/index.html
Note: This seminar is sponsored by the Office of Ocean Exploration.
Does the driest part of the Sahara Desert have a rainy season?
Date: Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Owen Kelley, Research Scientist, NASA Goddard and George Mason University
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Within the Sahara Desert, there is a large region that receives less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) of rain a year on average, which makes this region one of the driest on Earth. Among the challenges to studying the climate of this region is that, in an area almost as large as the southeast United States, there are only four rain-gauge stations and no weather radars. Understandably, there has been a lack of consensus about the existence of any seasonal rainfall patterns here. This talk will present evidence for multiple rainy seasons in this extremely dry part of the Sahara Desert using 15-years of observations by the TRMM satellite, which was built by NASA and by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In particular, the TRMM satellite's precipitation radar and lightning sensor are used in this study. To validate seasonal patterns observed with TRMM, various African rain-gauge datasets were obtained from the NCDC, WMO, UCAR, and NOAA Central Library. Climate forecast models disagree about even the sign of the expected change in Saharan rainfall over the next century. Conceivably, improved documentation of current climate may facilitate an increase in consensus among climate forecasts.
Telling the Performance Story: Logic Models, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
Date: Monday, November 10, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Samantha Schasberger currently serves as a Program Analyst for the Economic Development Administration.
Presentation slides with audio (pptx)
Text of audio (txt)
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: The Economic Development Administration (EDA) will discuss how it is revamping performance measurement and evaluations. As EDA tackles integrating performance measurement and evaluation into program management, it is building upon a new foundation: a logic model. This presentation will highlight EDA's new logic model, explaining how logic models provide an essential context to make data meaningful. The presentation will also discuss the development of new indicators and the process EDA envisions as it improves its ability to tell its performance story.
This seminar is sponsored by the NOAA Evaluation Training and Capacity Building Work Group
Citizen Science: Opportunities for Collaboration to Promote Public Involvement in Science
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speakers: John McLaughlin, NOAA Office of Education and Tina Phillips, Cornell University Lab of Ornithology (remote)
Presentation slides with audio - Part 1 (pptx)
Presentation slides with audio - Part 2 (pptx)
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: There has been rapid growth in the field of citizen science, in which the public participates in authentic research. NOAA has a diverse portfolio of citizen science projects. There are options for these projects to communicate both internally and externally. Internally, the NOAA Citizen Science Community of Practice relies on grassroots participation from personnel throughout the Agency to share resources and best practices. The Federal Community of Practice on Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science expands the conversation by involving programs throughout the federal government. A newly-formed Citizen Science Association (CSA) is looking to advance the entire field by establishing a global community of practice. An example of a resource available for the field and shared by the CSA is the User's Guide for Evaluating Learning Outcomes from Citizen Science. This guide, the result of over three years of NSF-funded work, was recently released to help projects gather evidence of their outcomes.
Continuous Multidisciplinary Observations in the Southern California Current Elucidate Events in Climate, the Ecosystem, and Fisheries
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2014 at 12:00pm EDT
Speaker: Dr. Uwe Send, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Dr. Mark D. Ohman, Professor of Biological Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography/U.C. San Diego, and Dr. David Demer, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Mark Ohman Presentation Slides (pdf)
David Demer Presentation Slides (pdf)
Uwe Send Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Continuous time-series of physical, chemical, planktonic ecosystem, and fisheries variables are being collected at several locations in the Southern California Current System, a major Eastern Boundary Current upwelling ecosystem. These time-series represent a productive collaboration among many investigators, institutions, and agencies, with shared funding from different NOAA line offices. The mooring technology employed is highly modular and allows real-time data access to any sensor from top to bottom, supports a multitude of research or operational needs, and allows expansion to emerging requirements by sharing the infrastructure with others. The deployment locations are embedded in and interlinked with other important observing programs, in particular those using ship surveys, gliders, passive acoustics for marine mammals, and satellite remote sensing.
The advent of this mooring program has made it possible to resolve short-duration, 'event-scale' perturbations to the upper ocean, a significant advance over the coarse temporal resolution of the past. The detection and resolution of high-frequency processes is particularly important because these events are thought to play a disproportionate role in determining nutrient fluxes, organism exposure to acidified waters and hypoxia, larval fish feeding success, and carbon export. Climate variability and climate change are expected to alter the statistical distributions of such events (i.e., their frequency, duration, intensity), with pronounced impacts on marine organisms and populations. Continuous in situ observations of multiple variables also resolve the spatial propagation of signals (e.g., via coastally trapped waves) and the phase lags between physical-chemical forcing and biotic responses. We will show examples from moored observations of upwelling event-triggered blooms, causing low pH, undersaturated conditions, that first peak then draw down CO2. We will illustrate our ability to measure nitrate consumption and relate it to plankton abundance and rapid changes of f-ratios. We will show how a La Nina event causes hypoxia on the shelf. The present warm and low chlorophyll conditions will be addressed in terms of different timeseries collected at the moorings. The custom-built Echotag acoustic sensors on the moorings also resolve zooplankton and fish, permitting detection of responses to interannual changes in habitat conditions.
The technology is constantly evolving. Our multi-wavelength irradiance sensors at the surface and at 40m and 80m now allow very good estimates of total water column chlorophyll on a daily basis. Multi-frequency acoustics from the moorings would allow toll-gate observations of fish migrations, especially when coupled with acoustic tag receivers, which are presently on one mooring. The addition of genomic samplers will be tested next spring, and we have an engineering concept to collect optical data to help calibrate ocean color satellite sensors using the existing moorings.
Conservation genetics of commercially exploited fishes: developing quantitative criteria for utilizing genetic data to prescribe fisheries management strategies
Date: December 2, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Alexis M. Jackson, Ph.D., Highly Migratory Species Management Division, NOAA Fisheries, firstname.lastname@example.com
Abstract: Overfishing is contributing to significant declines in marine species worldwide. Research presented will evaluate the contribution of genetic data to enhancing conservation and fisheries management of commercially important fishes. Two empirical population genetics studies were first conducted on groupers that aggregate to spawn. The population structure of Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) was evaluated across the Caribbean Sea using mitochondrial DNA, microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Results suggested ocean currents and migrations of adults to spawning sites may contribute to restricted gene flow and regional genetic differentiation among subpopulations. The population structure of Leopard grouper (Mycteroperca rosacea) in the Gulf of California was then evaluated using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites. Oceanographic conditions in the Gulf of California largely explain patterns of genetic differentiation and asymmetrical connectivity among subpopulations of M. rosacea, with demographic history of populations shaped by sea level fluctuations during the late Pleistocene. Interpreting results from these empirical studies ultimately warranted a meta-analysis. Data from 386 empirical genetics studies on marine and diadromous fishes was analyzed in order to develop a set of quantitative criteria for using varying magnitudes of population structure (based on fixation indices such as F-ST-, G-ST-, etc.) to prescribe stock management strategies for commercially important fishes.
Speaker Biography: Dr. Alexis Jackson is currently the 2014 Knauss Sea Grant Fellow in the Highly Migratory Species Management Division (HMS) at NOAA Fisheries. She completed a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University in 2008, and completed a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz in early 2014. Alexis is broadly interested in marine conservation and fisheries management of commercially important species. Her past research experiences have involved studies of deep-sea connectivity with use of the submersible "Alvin", phylogeography studies of commercial tuna and mackerel in the Indonesian archipelago, and utilized interdisciplinary methodologies to enhance ecosystem-based management in the Gulf of California. Her dissertation work focused on the application of population genetic data to fisheries management and marine policy impacting fishes that aggregate to spawn. In her current work in HMS, she is focused on international and domestic issues related to shark conservation and fisheries management, and incorporating the best available science into fishery management plans.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
California's water: where do salmon fit in?
Date: December 3, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Sean Hayes, PhD, Salmon Ocean Ecology Group, NOAA Fisheries, SWFSC, Santa Cruz CA
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: The state of California ranks as the 8th largest economy in the world supporting a vast array of tech, entertainment, government, research, and of course agricultural industries along with a population of approx. 37 million people. The under appreciated circulatory system of this machine is water provided primarily by the Central Valley's Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed, roughly 1/10th the area and flow of the Columbia River basin. These Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers are fed by seasonal rainfall lasting only 6-7 months per year and augmented by snow melt and groundwater. California's vast resource demands utilize this water, which is diverted through a network of storage reservoirs, conveyance and pumping systems known as the Central Valley and State Water Project. If this circulatory system has a heart, it is the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, known simply as the Delta. Formerly a vast wetland, the Delta is now the hub of water diversion for the state, consisting of 1800 km of aging levees directing 1100 km of river channels through 2000 km2 of reclaimed farm land. As most of this land has subsided more than 3-5 m below sea level, there is growing concern about seawater intrusion. This watershed also supports 4 runs of Chinook salmon and a winter steelhead run. The status of these populations range from fully endangered, to threatened, and candidates for listing by the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), and still these fish support a longstanding commercial and recreational fishery. Despite their relatively small economic contribution compared to other sectors of the economy dependent on water transfers from the delta, the ESA status, historical importance, and charisma of Central Valley salmon places them at a focal point of federal and state water management decisions, some of which is hampered by uncertainty as to which variables are truly limiting salmon and their recovery. As a way of addressing these uncertainties NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center has recently implemented several large-scale programs designed to provide empirical data on limiting factors in both the freshwater and marine environments. These programs include basin-scale telemetry to monitor migration and survival, targeted studies evaluating predator impacts, and ocean surveys to enhance our understanding of the role of fluctuating marine conditions on these stocks. These studies have been designed to provide input into large life-cycle models and ultimately insight to management decision related to both water and fish.
Reducing Coastal Risks on the East and Gulf Coasts
Date: December 5, 2014 at 12:15pm EST
Speaker: Stephanie Johnson, Water Science and Technology Board, National Research Council, email@example.com
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: Economic losses from coastal storms have increased substantially over the past century, largely due to increases in population and development in the most susceptible coastal areas. Climate change poses additional threats to coastal communities from sea level rise and possible increases in the strength of the most intense hurricanes. This report, produced at the request of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, examines coastal risk reduction strategies for the East and Gulf Coasts and principles to guide future investments. The report finds the nation has been largely reactive to date, with the majority of coastal-storm-related federal investments provided only after disasters occur -- and very little of that funding used for strategies that reduce the consequences of coastal storms, such as land purchase or hazard zoning. Given the enormous and rising costs of coastal disasters, a strategic national vision is needed for reducing risks, guided by a national coastal risk assessment that identifies areas most at risk. Benefit-cost analyses, constrained by acceptable risk (life safety, social, and environmental), is a reasonable framework for evaluating coastal risk management investments. Stronger incentives should be used to improve pre-disaster planning and mitigation efforts at the local level.
Speaker Biography: Stephanie Johnson is a senior program officer with the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences. Since joining the NRC in 2002, she has worked on a wide range of water-related studies, on topics ranging from desalination, water reuse, contaminant source remediation, and ecosystem restoration. She has served as study director for fifteen NRC committees, including the Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades Restoration Progress (2004-20014) and the Committee on the Evaluation of Chesapeake Bay Program Implementation for Nutrient Reduction. Previously, she worked as a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Dr. Johnson received a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia.
The National Academies of Science Gulf Research Program: An Overview
Date:Thursday, December 11, 2014 at 12:00 pm EST
Speakers: Chris Elfring is Executive Director of the Gulf Research Program at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Kim Waddell is a Senior Program Officer with the Gulf Research Program, Maggie Walser is a Senior Program Officer with the Gulf Research Program.
Presentation slides (pdf)
Abstract: In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire caused the release of approximately 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. As part of legal settlements with the companies involved, the federal government asked the National Academy of Sciences - an independent, non-profit organization chartered by Congress in 1863 to provide independent, expert, scientific, engineering, and healthcare advice to the nation - to establish a new $500 million, 30-year research program focused on human health, environmental protection, and oil system safety in the Gulf region. The new program, called the Gulf Research Program, is directed to work in three areas: research and development, education and training, and environmental monitoring. Activities will focus on the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. outer continental shelf regions, but work that transfers knowledge to or from other offshore U.S. or international hydrocarbon-producing regions is allowed under the mandate. The program, which began planning in July 2013, now has had a year to take shape. This presentation introduces the program, summarizes program planning, outlines the program's mission and goals, and describes first-year activities. It will highlight the program's intended emphasis on facilitating innovation, education, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary work.
Speaker Biographies:
Chris: Chris Elfring is Executive Director of the Gulf Research Program at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Her role is to guide the program's planning and initial implementation, building from the general requirements in the Settlement Agreement to a multi-faceted science program of lasting impact. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of starting the new program, including strategic planning, community outreach, interactions with the relevant stakeholders and scientific advisors, staff and budget management, and implementation as activities are designed. Previously, Ms. Elfring was Director of both the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) and the Polar Research Board (PRB), where she was responsible for strategic planning, project development and oversight, financial management, and personnel. Work under her oversight addressed many aspects of polar science (covering issues in the Arctic, Antarctic, and cold regions, from icebreakers to research priorities in Antarctica) and weather and climate science (covering issues from climate modeling and climate change impacts to weather forecasting and urban meteorology). She provided strategic leadership to the suite of activities known as "America's Climate Choices." She was a leader in the planning of International Polar Year 2007-2008, and has a geographic feature in Antarctica, Elfring Peak, named in her honor of her polar science work. Ms. Elfring has a long-standing interest in the policy dimensions of science and communicating science to non-scientists. She began her career in Washington as a AAAS Science Fellow in 1979. In 2012, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) awarded her the Cleveland Abbe Award for Distinguished Service to the Atmospheric Sciences and she was elected an AMS Fellow. Kim: Kim Waddell is a Senior Program Officer with the Gulf Research Program, after serving three years as a study director with the Ocean Studies Board at the National Research Council (NRC) in Washington, DC. His recently completed reports include An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Fish Stock Rebuilding Plans in the United States. Dr. Waddell rejoined the National Academies in 2011 after a 6-year hiatus during which he was a research associate professor at the University of the Virgin Islands and Texas A&M; University working to build marine and environmental research capacity in the Caribbean region. He received his Ph.D. in biological sciences from the University of South Carolina and his B.A. in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Waddell is a serious "foodie" and wine geek thanks to nearly 15 years in the food and wine industry. He enjoys tennis, world music, and people with a sharp sense of humor. Maggie: Maggie Walser is a Senior Program Officer with the Gulf Research Program. She contributes to strategic planning and leads education initiatives of the program. Since joining the National Research Council (NRC) staff in 2010, she has worked on a number of weather and earth science studies, including such topics as climate science, weather research and policy, climate change and water security, and Arctic research priorities. In 2008-2009, she was the AGU/AAAS Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow and worked on water and energy policy and legislation with the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Prior to her time on the Hill, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the National Council for Science and the Environment. She received a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry from the University of California, Irvine in 2007. Her doctoral research focused on the composition and photochemical aging of secondary organic aerosol.
Fishes associated to Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems in La Parguera, Puerto Rico
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2014 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Ivonne Bejarano, NOAA Restoration Center, Office of Habitat Conservation, NMFS, firstname.lastname@example.com
Presentation Slides (pdf) available through NOAA Google Drive. If you are non-NOAA, please email Dr. Bejarano for presentation slides.
Abstract: Description: This study surveyed the fishes associated to mesophotic coral ecosystems of the La Parguera shelf-edge from 40 to 70 m depth. Fishes were surveyed with visual census using trimix rebreather diving. One hundred and three species were identified, with high abundances and species richness. Most species were common inhabitants of shallow reefs, but some were restricted to mesophotic depths. The fish assemblage at mesophotic depths was different from shallow areas (30 m or shallower), with taxonomic composition, abundance and the proportion of trophic guilds varying with increasing depth. The largest changes within the mesophotic fish community along the depth gradient occurred at 60 m, similar to that reported for algae and corals. The presence of several shallow reef species at mesophotic coral ecosystems, several of them commercially important and some considered to be threatened by fishing pressure in shallow areas, suggests that Mesophotic coral ecosystems are important habitats for the conservation of reef fishes.
Note: This seminar is part of the 2014 Knauss Fellows Brown Bag Seminar series.
Speaker's Biography: Ivonne Bejarano is a Knauss fellow working at present in the NOAA Restoration Center, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine Fisheries Service. Ivonne received both her masters and doctoral degree in Biological Oceanography at the University of Puerto Rico. During her masters she surveyed the relationships between water turbidity and fish and coral communities. In her Ph.D. she studied the distribution of reef fishes with increasing depth and mesophotic coral ecosystems.
2015 Brown Bags
NOAA Evaluation Training and Capacity Building Seminar
Date: Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: Abigail Harper, NOAA Director of Program and Risk Management, Office of the Deputy Undersecretary
Presentation Slides with audio (pptx)
Abstract: 1) Learn methods to reveal how well your organization is performing, 2) Discover how to anticipate barriers that may put your organization off-track and what to do about it, and 3) Enterprise Risk and Performance Management are Techniques to Help.
Speaker's Biography: Ms. Harper has 30 years of experience in satellite systems, program/project management and strategy development. She is currently the Director of Program and Risk management at NOAA after previously serving as Deputy Assistant Administrator, systems for NOAA Environmental Satellite Information Service (NESDIS) and GOES-R program manager. Prior to coming to NOAA, Ms. Harper held positions of increasing responsibility at NASA GSFC in systems engineering and project management.
Note: This seminar is hosted by the NOAA Evaluation Training and Capacity Building Work Group, Monica Montague, chair
How NOAA, USCG, and maritime industry worked together to move shipping lanes away from endangered whale-feeding grounds
Date: Monday, January 26, 2015 at 12:00pm EST
Speaker: NOAA Department of Commerce Gold Medal Team - see bios below
Presentation Slides (pdf)
Abstract: NOAA aims to reduce the risk of whale ship strikes, which can cause serious injuries and death to many whale species. As a result of a large number of ship strikes occurring in 2007 and 2010 on ESA-listed whale species off the California coast, ONMS and NMFS employed a collaborative approach to move shipping lanes away from k