Monday, December 12, 2005

Milestone achieved in Oceans Observation

On September 18, 2005, there was apparently a milestone for the Global Ocean Observing System GOOS with the deployment of their 1250th drifting buoy.

Bush Administration Response to U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy

This document is a 39 page response by the Bush Administration to the IOOS implementation and other recommendations by the US Commission on Ocean Policy.

NOAA IOOS Crosscut

This document NOAA spellos out its plan in FY 2006 to continue work on the IOOS.

Water Quality Monitoring at the FKNMS

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) has a Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP), which seeks to integrate data from a variety of sources for purposes of helping FKNMS management:


Purpose:

To recommend priority corrective action and compliance schedules addressing point and non-point sources of pollution; to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Sanctuary. This includes restoration and maintenance of a balanced, indigenous population of corals, shellfish, fish, and wildlife, and recreational activities in and on the water.

Recognizing the critical role of water quality in maintaining Sanctuary resources, Congress directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Florida, represented by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), to develop a Water Quality Protection Program for the Sanctuary. This is the first such program ever developed for a marine sanctuary and consists of four inter-related components: Corrective Action, Monitoring, Research/ Special Studies, and Public Education/Outreach.

PacIOOS

A symposium on September 8, 2005 focused on American Samoa’s participation in the evolution of a Pacific Islands Integrated Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS). PacIOOS is one of eleven regional coastal observing systems being developed to facilitate the use of ocean observations to support ecosystem and natural resource management, transportation, economic development, hazards risk management and public health and safety. The interagency U.S. IOOS Program represents a U.S. national contribution to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS).