IPHAB recommends initiatives such as a new global approach to HAB research to meet society needs in a changing world, improved research and management of ciguatera, and implementation of a new work plan for the IOC harmful algal bloom program for continued development. This collaboration demonstrates NOAA’s international leadership on HABs as well as within the US.

For more information, contact Rob.Magnien@noaa.gov

After a few years of planning, sweat, tears, scores of meetings, loads of paperwork, and 3 different acting deputy directors, the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science soft-released its new, audience-focused website in October of 2012 and we continue to roll out more enhancements and features.

The goal of the revised site is to consolidate the NCCOS web presence, tightly weave all related content together, deliver an experience that is both browser and device agnostic, and focus on our core research areas.

We additionally sought out to employ the latest technologies of both dynamic content management and also what is referred to in the industry as “responsive web design.”  In the recent past, websites may have been built to serve up different typed of content, or a different structure after detecting whether a user was viewing the site on a desktop computer or a mobile device.  Most weren’t even built to do this.  But these standalone, mobile-formatted sites were simplified versions of their parent sites, usually with limited functionality to increase page speeds over a slow connection.

When tablets started becoming more prominent, there was a need for websites that sat somewhere between a smart phone and a traditional computer. Then, as smartphones became smarter, you had higher quality resolutions with different layout modes — which ultimately meant a lot to account for if you were developing individual sites for each device.

A responsive website goes beyond this and dynamically adjusts design that can stretch and rearrange itself based on the width (or viewport) of the browser rendering the site.  Responsive design solves the problem at a very low level by resizing and rearranging elements on the screen to fit the user’s device. This is usually accomplished through a combination of fluid-width grids, flexible images (high and low resolutions), multiple media queries, and so forth.

Americans used 114 million smartphones in August, up from 101 million in the beginning of the year, according to comScore, which tracks the industry. The percentage of Web pages viewed from mobile devices reached 13 percent, up from 7 percent a year earlier. PC sales are expected to shrink this year for the first time since 2001, according to IHS iSuppli, a market research firm.  The revised NCCOS website is positioned to take advantage of this change in consumer behavior.

More reading:

• Uncle Same Wantes You (to Optimize Your Content for Mobile)
• Obama Administration Launches Sweeping Shift to Mobile

The prestigious Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation is awarded annually to outstanding global leaders or teams working to preserve and protect the world’s oceans and marine species. Dr. Golbuu will determine the best design for an expanded protected area network and use oceanographic models to identify priority locations for additional reserves to protect the country’s biodiversity.

Dr. Golbuu is currently a co-principal investigator of a National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s (NCCOS)-supported project “Linking Coral Reefs, Coastal Watersheds, and Human Communities in the Pacific Islands: Using a Science to Management Approach.” The hydrodynamic model upon which his Pew Fellowship is based was funded in part by NCCOS.

The unmoored buoy, foreground, and its rescue team on the deck of a local fishing vessel. From left to right are Tim Blackmon (KBRR), Kris Holderied (NOAA), Jasmine Maurer (KBRR) and Sid Wolford (boat captain).

In early January, a wave buoy operated by the Alaska Ocean Observing System in Cook Inlet broke free from its mooring for the third time in less than two years. The inlet has 30-foot tides and strong tidal currents, so immediate action was necessary to rescue the floating device before it escaped into the Pacific Ocean.

The Director of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s Kasitsna Bay Laboratory led the rescue effort with support from staff at the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Homer harbormaster and local fishermen. Using a fishing vessel, NOAA tide and current information and satellite-transmitted locations, the team was able to pick up the 400-lb buoy less than a day after it broke loose. They hauled it back to a nearby warehouse to keep it sheltered from the instrument-freezing elements.

When it’s not trying to escape, the buoy (now nicknamed “Bandit”) transmits the only real-time information about wave height and direction in Cook Inlet to many users, including NOAA weather forecasters, fishermen, boaters and even–how is this possible?–surfers. For additional information, read the post on the Alaska Ocean Observing System’s website.

A U.S. Coast Guard crane raises a sunken fishing vessel from Jakolof Bay, Alaska. The site is cordoned off with boom to prevent the boats’ oil from contaminating a nearby oyster farm.

A 5-foot snowfall created a snowy winter wonderland just before Christmas near the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Kasitsna Bay Laboratory in south-central Alaska. However, the heavy snow also sank two old, 50-foot fishing vessels in nearby Jakolof Bay, when one vessel capsized on top of the other. The U.S. Coast Guard oversaw salvage operations in mid-January to raise the vessels, but the complicated effort took four days to accomplish.

The top deck is the only visible part of a sunken fishing vessel in Jakolof Bay, Alaska. The U.S. Coast Guard raised the boats–sunk in a snowstorm–to reduce environmental damage.

Kasitsna Bay Laboratory supported the salvage effort by providing housing for the Coast Guard crew, which enabled them to stay near the operations rather than having to return across Kachemak Bay to their base each day. Removing the sunken boats prevented more diesel oil from leaking into the bay and threatening to contaminate local oyster farms.

For more information, read this article in the Homer Tribune.

Sea Island Habitat for Humanity is a local affiliate of the national organization that helps low-income working families in the community become first-time home owners. Habitat for Humanity has built or repaired over 400,000 homes around the world, providing more than 2 million people in 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter.

via NOAA Communicator – Issue 22 – November, 2012.

Since August 2009, Dr. Callender has served as NCCOS’s acting director. In this role, Dr. Callender quickly distinguished himself as a manager who put people first and kept his eye on the agency’s mission. Since being named as acting director, he led the transformation of the office, resulting in a new scientific mission focus, new business model, and increased national relevance. He guided the development of a new vision for NCCOS through a participative, consensus-based process involving virtually all staff as well as consultation with partners and customers. During a time of significant reductions in funding, Dr. Callender has reduced unnecessary costs, enhanced cost recovery, improved access to reimbursable funds, and worked to improve appropriations.

When I was asked to serve as NOAA’s incident commander for the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill, Dr. Callender willingly assumed the responsibilities of deputy assistant administrator for NOS to allow Dr. Holly Bamford to take on my assistant administrator duties. Dr. Callender’s focus on mission, responsiveness and sense of humor were invaluable to NOS headquarters during this time.

Before serving as acting director of NCCOS, Dr. Callender directed the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment.  In this role, he oversaw key NOAA science programs that included coral reef habitat mapping and monitoring; marine protected area efficacy assessments; the National Status and Trends Program; ecological forecasting (hypoxia, harmful algal blooms); biogeographic assessments of NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries; and coastal oceanographic characterization.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Callender directed the headquarters science and policy office at the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and previously served as assistant director for the Virginia Sea Grant Program at the University of Virginia. Dr. Callender was himself a Knauss Sea Grant fellow with the Oceanographer of the Navy. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Austin State University in geology and his doctorate from Texas A&M University. He is trained as an interdisciplinary scientist and has peer-reviewed publications in the fields of marine ecology, paleoecology, and deep sea biology.

I am pleased that NOS has found such an excellent leader to direct NCCOS. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Callender.

Thank you,

dmk

Dr. McTigue has also worked to grow internship and mentoring opportunities for Maryland students with other federal agencies and in private industry.

Late last month, coral research at Dania Beach made its way to the limelight when NSU officially opened its new Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park. The 86,000-square-foot research facility is now the largest in the nation dedicated to the study of coral reef ecosystems. The center will host coral specialists from across the globe, and make it possible for groundbreaking coral research to continue in the controlled setting of a state-of-the-art laboratory.

via NOAA-sponsored Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research Opens in Dania Beach, Florida - Ocean Service feature story.

See also: NOAA-Supported Coral Reef Institute Finds Home in New Facility

Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Turner received an NOS Employee of the Year Award for her nearly 20-year effort developing, enhancing, and sustaining NOAA’s ecological forecasting capabilities.

Erik Ebert of Beaufort, NC garnered a Team Member of the Year Award for developing standard operating procedures and metadata standards for fish sonar systems on NOS research vessels.

Geoffrey Scott, Janet Moore, Michael Fulton and Paul Comar of Charleston, along with Russell Callender, NCCOS’s acting Director, earned a peer recognition “Rafting “award for coordination among NOS offices responding to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Dr. Callender served as Master of Ceremonies for the award presentations. The award ceremony was held October 18, 2012 in the NOAA Auditorium, Silver Spring.

These efforts have been largely supported through the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s NGOMEX program where NOS has taken a leadership role in funding critical research on hypoxia, its impact to living resources and the transition of predictive ecological forecasting tools to stakeholders in the region. Every year Dr. Rabalais maps the hypoxic zone which results in annual media interest and ground-truthing and refinement of NOAA’s hypoxic zone forecast from earlier in the year.