Backgrounder: Northeast Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems

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BackgrounderNortheast Regional Association of
Coastal Ocean Observing Systems
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IOOS Two Closely Linked Components
U.S. IOOS
Global Component Global climate trends Boundary
conditions
Coastal Component Coastal ocean
conditions Impacts of weather and human actions
on marine resources activities
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In Turn, Two Coastal Components
Coastal Component
National Backbone Core variables Reference
stations Sentinel stations Satellites Data
management stds.
Regional COOS Densified core
variables Observations products to meet local
needs Integrated regional data sets
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U.S. IOOS

• National legislation pending
• Oceans Commission supports
• Ocean.US, NOAA creating blueprints to describe,
  justify the IOOS
• Funded to date through earmarks
• GoMOOS, COOA (UNH)
• First line item funding may come in NOAAs FFY
  2008 budget

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Design of Northeast Regional Association of
Coastal Ocean Observing Systems

• PIs Bogden, Campbell, Mountain, Pettigrew,
  Richert, Weller
• Advisory Committee 30 members from 17 marine,
  academic and government organizations
• Includes Paul Currier, Bob Groman from ODP
• Staff GoMOOS
• Funding for Gulf of Maine ODP

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Two Precursors to the RA

• GoMOOS
• Gulf of Maine Ocean Data Partnership
• Multi-institutional
• Gulf of Maine-wide coverage
• Governed by constituencies
• Aimed at end users
• Goal of data integration
• But many other observers, modelers

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NERACOOS Roles

• Probable Givens
• Regional planning
• Budgeting of regional IOOS priorities
• Standards setting for an operational system
• Funnel for new federal IOOS money coming into
  Northeast Region for distribution on open and
  transparent basis
• Data aggregator and integrator (leveraging Ocean
  Data Partnership and national backbone)

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NERACOOS Timeline

• By Feb 2007 Prototype user products
• By June 2007 Priorities identified
• By Sept 2007 Approach structure Business
  plan
• By Dec 2007 Governance decisions
• By Mar 2008 Organizational meeting

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NERACOOS Big Questions

• What should be the governing structure?
• How represent 2 subregions
• What legal structure
• What classes of membership
• How allocate governing board seats to users,
  research institutions, government agencies,
  industry
• How deal with self-interest

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How Does Ocean Data Partnership Want to Fit In?

• Thoughts on governing structure generally
• How should GoM ODP morph with GoMOOS, research
  universities and others into the Regional
  Association?
• E.g., how should ODP be represented within the
  Regional Association?
• What should be its legal and practical
  relationship with the RA?

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For example
Does ODP want to join the governing structure?
Academic/ Research Institutions
End Users and Industry
Ongoing Public Data Providers (GoM ODP)
And GoM ODP is a program/committee of the
Regional Association?
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Or relate as a stand-alone cooperator?
Regional Association
GoM ODP stand alone contributor of member
data bases